What is franchise unit retention?
Unit retention measures how many of a franchise system's units stay open over a period — the inverse of churn, and the health indicator marketing can't spin. It is computed from Item 20's disclosed openings, closures, terminations, and reacquisitions rather than claimed. Our published metric recomputes three-year unit survival from each brand's disclosed unit history; the corrupt raw retention field some portals reprint is deliberately excluded.
Method, in one line: units at risk (open at window start plus opened during it) versus exits (terminations plus cessations) over the brand's three most recent disclosed years. The full methodology and study are published — cite them freely. Retention below the pack in a growing category is the single loudest red flag in Item 20.
Compiled from franchise disclosure filings — never hand-typed.