You can rock hard, eat hard, buy merchandise hard, even sleep hard with Hard Rock Cafe International. The company operates the Hard Rock Cafe chain of theme restaurants, which serve up typical American fare, as well as rock-music memorabilia and plenty of Hard Rock-branded merchandise. The chain has more than 125 company-owned and franchised locations in more than 45 countries. The company also has about 10 branded hotels and hotel casinos operated by third-parties, as well as four concert venues in the US and Mexico. Its collection of rock n' roll memorabilia boasts more than 70,000 items. The Hard Rock chain is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

Starhotels was founded in 1980 by Ferruccio Fabri and is now headed by his daughter Elisabetta. Starhotels offers an authentic Italian experience, whether you're in Rome, Paris, or New York. The family-owned company owns and operates 20 luxury hotels in Italy, as well as The Michelangelo in New York and the Castille in Paris. Starhotels are located in urban areas and feature regional d�cor and cuisine true to each area of Italy. (The Michelangelo's restaurant, Insieme, and the Castille's restaurant, The Assaggio, both feature popular dishes from all over Italy). Starhotels are tailored for the upscale traveler and business executive. Hotels average about 200 rooms each, and some properties have residences for long-term stays.

WNBA operates the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), comprised of 12 professional teams throughout the US that play from May through September after the NBA wraps its season. Several of the league's teams are controlled by current NBA franchise owners and most share the same arenas as their men's league counterparts. The WNBA governs league operations, regulates franchise ownership, and negotiates broadcasting rights and marketing sponsorships. Its games are broadcast on Walt Disney's ABC and ESPN networks, as well as on NBA TV.

The Melting Pot Restaurants wants its customers to bubble, bubble all their toil and trouble away over a pot of cheesy fondue. The company operates and franchises a chain of more than 140 restaurants in about three dozen states that specialize in themed, multi-course fondue meals for couples. Its dipping sauces range from cheeses, pestos, and teriyakis to flambeed chocolates. Each restaurant also offers an extensive list of wines, cognacs, and cordials. The first Melting Pot opened in Florida in 1975. CEO Mark and president Bob Johnston (brothers) opened the first franchised location in 1979 and bought the chain in 1985.

Jazzercise shows people how to shake their booties toward fitness. A leading fitness instruction operator, the company has more than 7,800 franchised instructors across the US and in more than 30 countries offering some 32,000 weekly fitness classes that blend jazz dancing with an aerobic workout. Jazzercise generates revenue through franchise fees, as well as the sale of clothing, books, and other merchandise. The company's JM DigitalWorks unit produces Jazzercise workout tapes and provides video production services to other clients. Its Jazzertogs division offers fitness apparel and accessories. CEO Judi Sheppard Missett, a professional dancer, founded Jazzercise in 1969 and began franchising in 1980.Jazzercise, Inc. is the world's leading franchiser of dance and fitness classes. The company pioneered its own brand of dance-based exercise routines. These are taught by certified Jazzercise instructors across the United States and in Europe, Japan, and Latin America. The company has over 5,000 franchises, and an estimated 450,000 students worldwide. Franchisees pay a nominal start-up fee to the company, and then 20 percent of gross revenues monthly. Founder Judi Sheppard Missett choreographs new routines approximately every ten weeks. The company also produces videos, music recordings, and other educational materials, as well as a computer-based CyberStretch program that aims to prevent repetitive stress injuries among office workers. The company's retail division sells exercise wear, accessories, and items bearing the Jazzercise logo. The division sells primarily through a mail-order catalog. Jazzercise also operates a video production division, JM DigitalWorks, which produces Jazzercise videos and also does videotape production, post-production, and duplicating work for hundreds of other clients.

Pittsburgh Steelers Sports has forged a championship tradition in Steel Town. The company owns and operates the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football franchise, which has won a record six Super Bowl titles. The team joined the National Football League in 1933 as the Pirates (renamed in 1940) but claimed only eight winning seasons during its first 40 years. However, the Steelers dominated the 1970s when the team won four championships under head coach Chuck Noll with the help of such stars as Terry Bradshaw and Lynn Swann. Pittsburgh won its latest Super Bowl following the 2008 season. Dan Rooney, son of late team founder Art Rooney, and his son Art Rooney II lead a group that owns the Steelers.

Crispers operates a small chain of about 40 casual-dining restaurants in Florida. The eateries offer a menu of traditional and flatbread sandwiches, soups, and salads, along with a selection of smoothies and other frozen drinks. In addition to dine-in seating, the restaurants offer take-out service. Crispers was founded in 1989 by Bill Whitaker; it is owned by grocery store operator Publix Super Markets.

In the past, the world knew us as IHOP, an American icon to our guests and a franchising company that was focused on providing strategic leadership and vision for our franchisees and on enhancing value for our shareholders. With this dedicated focus, we cultivated a core expertise in brand revitalization and franchising know-how which became the basis for the winning formula that has defined the financial success of our business in recent years. With the addition of Applebee’s to the IHOP family of restaurants in November 2007, we made a bold new commitment to our brand revitalization abilities and to the power of franchising. DineEquity promises to make our two businesses more powerful and more successful than either brand could have been apart. Along with our new name comes a new opportunity to focus even more clearly on how we win: energizing our brands, improving the operational performance of our franchise systems, and maximizing franchise development. These goals, along with our intention to transform Applebee’s to a nearly 99% franchised system, will inform how DineEquity provides leadership for our Applebee’s and IHOP brands, today and into the future.

Headquartered in Newtown, Pennsylvania The Rose Group is one of the fifty largest franchisee companies in the United States and currently owns and operates restaurants in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Rose Group Support Center associates in Accounting, Administrative Services, Executive, Human Resources, Marketing, Payroll, People Development/Training, Real Estate and Strategic Planning Departments support operations at sixty-two franchise restaurant locations.

Four Seasons Hotels provides its customers with year-round opulence. Four Seasons Hotels company manages some 80 luxury hotels and resorts in more than 30 countries. Most properties are operated under the Four Seasons name, but some are Regent hotels. It has ownership interests in only about half of its properties, having shifted from a hotel owner to a hotel operator in the 1990s. In 2007 Four Seasons Hotels board members took the company private in a deal worth nearly $4 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates (through his private holding company Cascade Investment) and Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal's Kingdom Hotels together own 95% of the company, in equal shares. Company founder and chairman Isadore Sharp owns the rest.

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