Peter Moss, a business school professor, and his wife, Elaine, a corporate executive, bought a Hair Shear franchise in the suburban Maryland area in July 2007. Hair Shear was a national chain of over 2,000 stores, all of which were franchisee owned. Peter and Elaine Moss contracted with Philip Levinson, a commercial real estate agent authorized by Hair Shear, to obtain a suitable location for their franchise. During her training session at Hair Shear headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, Elaine learned of the importance of a good location for the success of the franchise. The first location identified by the real estate agent did not work out because the strip malls main tenant, a day spa, vetoed the entry of a hair dressing salon, considering the salon to be a competitor. Elaine Moss identified a second location only to be told much later by the real estate agent that the location was taken by a barber friend of the landlord. Disappointed by their inability to find a suitable location, the Moss met a couple who owned multiple Hair Shear stores in Maryland who suggested that they typically negotiated directly with landlords. This couple suggested a third location for the Moss to consider. The dilemma facing Peter and Elaine Moss is two fold: which of the two was the ideal location for their store? The larger question was, should they bypass the authorized real estate agent and negotiate directly with the landlord?
The Housing Market in Coastal South Florida from the Perspective of the Real Estate Agent
