Trio of Lube Companies Represented on Franchise 500 List

Every year at this time, Entrepreneur Magazine compiles its list of the top 500 franchise companies in the United States, a ranking the publication calls the “Franchise 500.” And while the late 1990s and early 2000s saw as many as six fast lube companies on the list, last year there were only two, Jiffy Lube and Grease Monkey.

In what could be interpreted as a positive sign, however, this year three companies made the Franchise 500 list.

Jiffy Lube International remained the highest-ranked fast lube company, though the nation’s largest fast lube chain did tumble to 37th on Entrepreneur’s list, down from 11th in 2009 and 14th in 2008. (The company was ranked seventh in 2007 and 20th in 2006.) The magazine also placed Jiffy Lube 68th in its list of “Fastest-Growing” franchise companies and 31st in its list of “Top Global” franchise companies.

Jiffy Lube was ranked just behind Super 8 Motels and just ahead of Merry Maids in the overall list of top franchise companies.

The second company to make this year’s list was Grease Monkey, which placed in 228th spot, up nearly 100 spots from its position of 323rd last year and 290th in 2008. (Grease Monkey placed 415th in 2007 and 442nd in 2006). Grease Monkey found itself ranked just behind N-Hance (a cabinet restoration firm) and The Cleaning Authority (a residential housekeeping firm). Grease Monkey also was ranked 173rd in Entrepreneur’s list of “Top Global” franchise companies.

After a one-year absence, Express Oil Change found itself back in the Franchise 500, taking the 487th position. The company had been ranked in the 346th position in 2008.

In addition to this trio of fast lube companies on the Franchise 500 list, Entrepreneur also included nine “oil change-plus” companies — those that perform oil changes and other auto maintenance service, but not as their “core” service offerings — up from seven companies last year:

• Midas moved up to 23rd position from 31st overall last year. The company was ranked 40th in 2008.

• AAMCO Transmissions climbed to 55th position from its ranking of 66th last year.

• Meineke Car Care Centers jumped to 132nd position from last year’s ranking of 221st.

• Tuffy Associates/Car-X Auto Services dropped to 199th position after being ranked 159th last year.

• Precision Tune Auto Care fell to 325th position, down from 220th position last year. (The company was ranked 326th in 2008.)

• Merlin 200,000 Mile Shops re-entered the Franchise 500 rankings in 334th position after a four-year absence. The company had been ranked 491st in 2006.

• Honest-1 Auto Care made its debut on the list, coming in at the 373rd position.

• Mr. Transmission/Transmission USA fell to 416th spot after holding down the 334th position in 2009.

• Milex Complete Auto Care rejoined the list in 479th position after a one-year absence; the company had been ranked 402nd in 2008.

Dropping off the list was Big O Tires, which was ranked 134th last year (and 170th in 2008).

The top five franchise companies as ranked by the magazine were Subway, McDonald’s, 7 Eleven, Hampton Inn and Supercuts. Subway has held the top spot for 16 of the past 17 years.

Entrepreneur only considers franchise companies that have submitted a full Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC) to the government. The magazine verifies the information contained in the UFOC, then considers factors such as the company’s financial strength, stability, growth rate, system size, etc. to create its ranking. Other factors considered are number of years in business, length of time franchising, start-up costs, litigation history and the availability of company-supplied financing.

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