From the filings
Software purchasing at 's Gymboree Play & Music is controlled at the franchisor headquarters in California, where a small leadership team oversees a 45-unit system. The brand mandates a CRM/CMS and an extranet license agreement, signaling centralized technology standards. With 44 franchised locations and an average unit volume of $264,492, the addressable market is compact but may reward vendors who align with mandated infrastructure.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ongoing fee load
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
11%of gross sales (FY2024)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 6 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall establish and maintain at its own expense a bookkeeping, accounting and recordkeeping system conforming to the requirements, data processing systems, formats and accounting basis prescribed by Franchisor from time to time.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor shall have the right at any time to remotely retrieve and use such data and information from Franchisee’s Computer System or Required Software that Franchisor deems necessary or desirable.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Within thirty (30) days after the last day of each month and concurrently with each payment of royalty fees, Franchisee shall deliver to Franchisee a statement of Gross Receipts, expenses, class attendance, and related information for each monthly session on a form provided by Franchisor as well as any other reports…
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We have the right to receive rebates, commissions or other compensation from designated suppliers, and we have the right to designate ourselves or our affiliates as a designated supplier, whether one of many, one of a limited number of suppliers, or the only designated supplier.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right to modify or discontinue any of the programs or curricula, in its sole business judgment.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
79849.14Item 8
Of this amount, $79,849.14 (approximately 5%) represents our revenue from required purchases and leases of products and services by franchisees, such as our sales of program aids, catalogs, and consumer products, and equipment to franchisees.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We have the right to receive rebates, commissions or other compensation from designated suppliers, and we have the right to designate ourselves or our affiliates as a designated supplier, whether one of many, one of a limited number of suppliers, or the only designated supplier.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
A charge not to exceed the reasonable cost of the evaluation and testing must be paid by you.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you desire to purchase products or services from someone other than an approved supplier, you must submit to us a written request to approve the proposed supplier, together with such evidence of conformity with our specifications as we may reasonably require (including drawings, brochures, samples and related…
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall make such modifications or alterations to the premises (including, without limitation, the changing of, and the assigning to Franchisor of, the telephone number, facsimile number and e-mail address) immediately upon termination or expiration of this Agreement
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must at all times be in compliance with (a) the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (“PCI DSS”) (as they may be modified from time to time or as successor standards are adopted), (b) the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”), (c) regional, national, and local laws and regulations…
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must present to its customers such evaluation forms (including electronic forms) as are periodically prescribed by Franchisor and must participate and request its customers to participate in any surveys performed by or on behalf of Franchisor.
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor and its designated agents shall have the right at all reasonable times to examine and copy, at Franchisor’s expense, the books, records, accounts and tax returns of Franchisee, whether in electronic or paper form.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the sole and absolute right to modify, add to, and delete from, the Manuals at any time.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You must operate the Center only at the location (or, in the case of a Mobile Play Center, locations) approved by us (“Approved Location”).
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 11
Except as we otherwise approve in advance in writing, you may not establish or maintain any separate websites, social media sites, or other electronic media or devices in connection with your Center.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 11
In addition to the contributions to the Brand Fund, you must spend at least $4,000 annually for local advertising and promotion of the Center, specifically expenses for direct mail and other promotional materials which we have approved in advance in writing.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If a Cooperative has been established applicable to your Center at the time you commence operations under the Franchise Agreement, you must immediately become a member of the Cooperative.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees that Franchisee will purchase such equipment, products, services and supplies only from suppliers that Franchisor has designated.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees that Franchisee will purchase such equipment, products, services and supplies only from suppliers that Franchisor has designated.
Payments
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 16
You must participate in our gift certificate/card program for all Centers operating under the System, as prescribed by us in the Operating Manual or otherwise in writing
People
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee and all staff of the Center shall comply with Franchisor’s qualifications, dress, grooming, general appearance and demeanor standards and wear such uniforms as Franchisor specifies from time to time in its sole and absolute discretion.
Point of sale
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We have the right at any time to remotely retrieve and use such data and information from your Computer System or Required Software that we deem necessary or desirable.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may also require (i) you (or, if you are a corporation, partnership or limited liability company, a principal of you) or your principal operating officer, and (ii) your Operations Manager to attend additional remedial training programs as specified by our Franchise Operations Department whenever, in our opinion…
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 11
If we do, you (or a principal who owns at least 50% of the entity and is approved by us) must GPPI, Inc. Multistate FDD 2024 attend.
Gymboree Play & Music operates 45 locations—44 franchised and one company-owned—making it a compact but centrally managed target for software vendors. The brand reported an average unit volume of $264,492 in its 2024 FDD, with a 6% royalty rate and a 10-year initial franchise term. Year-over-year unit growth was not disclosed. For vendors, the opportunity lies in a system where technology standards are set at headquarters, not by individual franchisees, and where mandated tools already create a defined integration landscape.
The 2024 FDD lists five executives at the franchisor level: Group Senior Vice President Xinkai Chen, Senior Director of Franchise Business for North America Kathleen McFerrin, Senior Manager of Site Planning and Equipment Robin Kubota, Manager of Franchise Development and Operations Bonnie Stewart, and Marketing Manager Andrea Coan. No chief information officer or dedicated technology buyer is named. In practice, software purchasing authority likely rests with Chen and McFerrin, given their senior operational roles. Vendors should expect a top-down evaluation process rather than a decentralized, franchisee-driven procurement model.
The FDD mandates two technology components: a CRM/CMS and an Extranet License Agreement. No specific vendor names are disclosed for these systems, and no POS, payroll, or scheduling platforms appear in the mandated technology disclosures. This suggests the brand may rely on a limited, possibly legacy, stack or that additional tools are adopted at the franchisee level without franchisor mandate. Vendors offering CRM, content management, or extranet solutions that integrate with youth-services operations may find a receptive audience if they can demonstrate compatibility with the existing mandated framework.
Item 8 of the 2024 FDD—which typically outlines procurement restrictions—was not extracted in the available data, so the brand’s supplier model remains undisclosed. Renewal conditions, however, are detailed in Item 17: franchisees must provide timely notice, renovate premises, remain in good standing, satisfy all monetary obligations, sign the then-current franchise agreement (which may differ materially), execute a general release, meet training requirements, and pay a renewal fee equal to 10% of the then-current initial franchise fee. These 10-year renewal cycles may create natural windows for technology evaluation and vendor switching, though no specific contract calendar is published.
The full 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. It contains the legal and operational disclosures that govern the franchise system, including Item 11 technology mandates, Item 1 executive listings, and Item 17 renewal terms. Reviewing the FDD directly is the most reliable way to verify the information summarized here and to identify additional vendor-relevant details not captured in this profile. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, explore FranCloud’s research tools.
Questions vendors ask
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FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment Gymboree Play & Music files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
57 operators run 57 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| CA | 17 |
|---|---|
| NJ | 8 |
| TX | 5 |
| NY | 4 |
| FL | 4 |
Ownership
unknown of zeavion holding pte.
Related Youth services brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.