Red Star News reporter | Chen Qingyuan
Editor｜Pan Li
Recently, Guan Xiaotong and the related "Natural Stay" milk tea company were sued by a company in Wenzhou for a franchise contract dispute. The court was the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court.
In response to the indictment, the official Weibo "Natural Naturalv" of Chengdu Natural Stay Catering Management Co., Ltd. issued a statement late at night on April 6 in response, saying: Guan Xiaotong is not the subject of the contract, nor does he participate in the company's operation and management.
In response to the online rumors about Guan Xiaotong and the company being sued, a lawyer has been appointed to investigate according to law and actively handle it.
"Guan Xiaotong Studio" Weibo subsequently reprinted the statement of Natural Stay, and said: "We sincerely hope that everyone can rationally screen information on the Internet. Regarding personal attacks and slanderous remarks caused by information transmitted on the Internet, the studio has commissioned lawyers to continue to collect evidence, and will also We reserve the right to be held accountable in accordance with the law.”
↑ Statement issued by "Natural Stay"
According to media reports, Natural Stay has opened nearly 200 stores in 52 cities across the country since it opened its first store in December 2020.
According to statistics, the franchise fee of a natural stay is 128,000 yuan, and it only has a 3-year use period. After 3 years, an additional 20,000 yuan franchise fee will be paid every year.
Only by calculating the franchise fee of 128,000 yuan, 200 stores can generate 25.6 million yuan for Natural Stay.
Tianyancha shows that Chengdu Natural Stay Catering Management Co., Ltd. was established in August 2020, and Guan Xiaotong’s father Guan Shaozeng indirectly holds 35% of the shares.
According to the official website of "Natural Stay Milk Tea", the brand was founded by Natural Stay Company and Guan Xiaotong, who is the store manager.
It is worth mentioning that a franchisee previously broke the news that the Natural Stay Milk Tea Company did not issue an invoice to it, nor did it have a commercial franchise license.
According to media reports, the controversial "star restaurant" has been on the hot search for many times, and "rollover" incidents have occurred frequently. Record the relevant regulations.
Red Star View invited Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, CCTV Social and Law New Media "Lawyer Said" lawyer Dou Longbin to discuss whether Guan Xiaotong has a legal relationship with "Natural Stay", and the celebrity The legal issues involved behind affiliated restaurants.
Red Star's opinion: Guan Xiaotong Studio forwarded the response that "Guan Xiaotong is not the subject of the contract, and has not participated in the company's operation and management". Does it mean that Guan Xiaotong has no legal relationship with "Natural Stay" and does not bear any responsibility?
Dou Longbin:
From the literal meaning, Guan Xiaotong is not the subject of the contract and has not participated in the operation and management of the company. There is really no falsehood.
In this lawsuit, Guan Xiaotong is also listed as a defendant. In judicial practice, the advertising spokesperson will be jointly and severally liable for damages to the quality of food and drugs by ordinary consumers.
Therefore, in this dispute, I personally think that Guan Xiaotong is not necessarily responsible for this personally, although she is also listed as a defendant.
However, I also noticed one point. Netizens found out that this milk tea brand was indirectly held by Guan Xiaotong's father, which means that the star's family can indeed get operating income indirectly from this milk tea brand.
Therefore, in terms of liability for contract disputes, it will affect the income of indirect shareholders to a certain extent.
Red Star's view: According to media reports, many star-related catering franchise stores "overturned" frequently, and many franchise institutions do not have commercial franchise licenses. Is the franchise contract signed by the franchisee and the company valid?
Dou Longbin:
Celebrity-related chain catering institutions also need to abide by the "Regulations on the Administration of Commercial Franchise".
The regulations clearly stipulate that relevant institutions need to file with the competent commercial department before they can carry out relevant business.
Whether the star-linked catering chain has a commercial franchise license needs to be further verified by the court.
If the franchising agency opened by Mingxing does not have a business license, it may face a problem and the franchise contract is invalid.
If the contract is invalid, the party who is at fault needs to return the property acquired through the contract; if it cannot be returned, it must be compensated at a discount; if both parties are at fault, they must share the property.
Red Star's opinion: Many franchisees join a company because of the "star effect", but later find out that the star is not actually the operator. Do you have any legal advice for franchisees and stars?
Dou Longbin:
In fact, such disputes are high, and many times it comes from the expectations of franchisees.
When their expectations fail, they may file lawsuits for contract disputes, some of which can be linked to celebrities, and some that cannot be linked to celebrities.
Most franchisees join this type of restaurant, usually for the star's fan effect, or to demonstrate the star's credibility before participating in the franchise.
After joining, the franchisee may find that the star has not substantially participated in the quality control and operation of the brand, and the franchisee may also face some commercial risks.
I personally suggest that franchisees should inspect the brand before joining the brand, and understand the weight of the star in the brand. Are they simply spokespersons, or they directly or indirectly participate in the management of the brand. In this case, The rights and interests of franchisees will be relatively protected.
Therefore, I would like to remind celebrity artists that while enjoying the dividends brought by artist traffic, they must also take on the responsibility of supervising the compliance management of the brands they are involved in.
If this commercial brand is not operated properly, it may be reversed, and it can become a sharp sword to cut off star traffic.
Some stars will consider and try to solve the problems that they may not be popular in the future through business transformation.
However, in the commercial transformation of stars, some stars have successfully transformed, and some have failed.
For those who are successful, I think he is more of throwing away his artist status and then seriously participating in the management of his brand, rather than hanging up a name and leaving it to others to take care of it.
This transformation must guarantee the image that the star has built in the past.
The second is that a celebrity artist must be worthy of the fans who follow him and recognize him, because fans buy products or join brands for the stars themselves, so they must protect their fans.