The restaurants in Georgia and Louisiana were independent franchises.

There have been allegations by independent franchises that Cold Stone's business practices have put them at a competitive disadvantage.

Other overseas Sogo stores survived under independent franchises, through which the Japanese company has also managed to raise capital.

Supermarket chains and independent franchises have gone bankrupt; the number of Korean groceries has dwindled.

A few independent franchises kept the Naugles name until 1995.

There are also signs of tension among the 12 independent franchises, which operate the gateways that handle customer service, billing and distribution.

Commerce Bank had an independent franchise in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania region.

She said that Coke sold its South African bottling operations to independent franchises in 1986.

What's more, many car dealerships are independent franchises, so such chicanery might not be the "intracompany" affair you suggest.

Formerly a store manager, now owns an independent franchise.