Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory International

In response to the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the resulting changes in loan criteria by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory experienced a significant decrease in their annual new retail openings. The CFO of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory sought to mitigate this decrease by using Master License Agreements to expand into foreign countries and regions. In this decision making case, CFO Bryan Merryman struggles with the change in loan policy for the U.S. Small Business Administration that greatly reduced the number of entrepreneurs that could raise enough capital to purchase, build out, and open a new franchise. Bryan wanted make up for this decrease by expanding into new countries and regions, modeling an earlier success that the firm experienced with an expansion into Canada. The company felt that the countries and regions such as India, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Taiwan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia presented significant opportunities.