Music Go Round

Founded: 1986 Franchising since: 1994
In 1986, Bill Shell opened Hi Tech Consignments Inc., a Minneapolis-area buyer and seller of new and used musical instruments, gear and equipment. Seven years later, after the company was purchased by Winmark (formerly Grow Biz), it changed its name to Music Go Round. Music Go Round stores buy, sell, trade and consign new and used musical products. Winmark also franchises Once Upon A Child, Plato's Closet, and Play It Again Sports.

605 Hwy. 109 N., # 400 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55441

Phone: (800)592-8049/ (763)520-8582

Franchisor is a publicly-held company with 100 employee(s); 5 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2009	35	0	0	0
2008	37	0	0	0
2007	38	0	0	0
2006	41	0	0	0
2005	39	0	0	1

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North carolina, North dakota, New hampshire, New jersey, New mexico, Nevada, New york, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode island, South carolina, South dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West virginia, Wyoming

Exclusive territories available.
Territory size: 5-mile radius

Special Programs
Many Music Go Round locations participate in events for VH1Â’s Save the Music and in the Mill City Music Festival. Through these events, musical instruments are given to underprivileged children and schools.

Total investment: $252.3K-324K Franchise fee: $25K

Ongoing royalty fee: 3% Term of agreement: 10 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	No
Startup Costs	No	No
Equipment	No	No
Inventory	No	No
Accounts Receivable	No	No
Payroll	No	No

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $300K
Cash liquidity requirement: $75.7K-97,2K
Business Experience:

• Industry experience
• General business experience

Operations

• 10% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 3
• Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (95% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 2 weeks

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Grand opening
• Internet
• Security/safety procedures
• Field operations/evaluations
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks
• Regional advertising

Franchise 500® rank:
#493 (2007);