Pickles & Ice Cream has cultivated important relationships with our vendors. These relationships allow us to collaboratively buy inventory and design our own special cuts that can be found only in a Pickles & Ice Cream boutique. These special cuts set us apart from our competitors and allow lower costs and increased margins.

Our systematic buying process streamlines the dollars spent on inventory to ensure each market has the quantity necessary to drive the boutique towards success. Monthly analysis of inventory and buying trends further allows us to discover the mix that makes each market successful.

Our corporate office offers specialized technical support and assistance with daily questions or needs on virtually any subject. We want to hear about your successes and even your difficulties in order to help tomorrow be even better.

A professional public relations firm is available to franchisees for everything from a press release to ensuring that Pickles & Ice Cream is noted in national news.

Our franchise is a proven concept and design that allows personal franchisee ideas and input to tailor an individual boutique to its market. We are a unified group of franchisees that work with each other on things like inventory needs and merchandising ideas. As a franchisee, you will be surrounded by a family of owners that have valuable experience to offer you.

Our corporate office and the owners of Pickles & Ice Cream Franchising are committed to your success. Your success means our success. We believe that our concept is the best in the industry and that we have what it takes to be an effective and enjoyable career choice for serious franchisees. Our customers tell us repeatedly that we offer the friendliest service and best fashion in town. We are able to do that because we are committed to making Pickles & Ice Cream the best it can be in each of our markets.

Is it necessary to have previous retail experience?
We believe that retail experience gives you an advantage when you open your own boutique but it is not required. There is much more than retail sales involved in owning your own retail business. As a Franchisee, you will be required to participate in a training program prior to your opening. Our extensive training program will provide you with hands-on experiences in the boutique environment and will expose you to valuable sales techniques that you can use in your own boutique.

Our franchisees typically come from many backgrounds... from investment banker, to nurse or even a stay-at-home mom. The one thing they have in common is a drive to succeed and an enthusiasm for helping new moms-to-be enjoy maintaining their sense of style during this special time in their lives.

Does my city have to be a certain size?
Yes, in general, we believe that the area in which you will operate your franchise must have enough of a customer base to support a Pickles & Ice Cream boutique. We will help you determine if your area fits into our franchising plan prior to providing you with a franchise offering.

What is the franchise fee?
The franchise fee is $30,000. This fee includes your initial training at the home office and sales training at the corporate-owned boutiques in Dallas and Plano. You will be responsible for transportation, meals and lodging. We will assist you in making the necessary arrangements and provide you with more detail after you have reviewed our Uniform Franchise Offering Circular and have decided to become a franchisee.

What is your franchise royalty fee?
Our franchise royalty fee is 6 % of your boutique's gross revenues. This royalty fee is payment for use of the Pickles & Ice Cream name as well as continual support from our corporate office. Additional information about our franchise royalty fee is included in our Uniform Franchise Offering Circular.

What will it cost to open a boutique?
Your actual investment may vary depending on many factors, including the size of your city, the amount of space required by your franchise, and the business capabilities of your management team and employees. Our estimate for how much it will cost to open a Pickles & Ice Cream franchise ranges from $167,200 to $366,000. This estimate includes such items as store construction, initial inventory, and equipment. Additional information about this estimate is included in our Uniform Franchise Offering Circular.
How much money can I make?
Actual results vary from franchise to franchise. We cannot estimate the results of any particular franchise or market.

Is there an advertising requirement?
We feel very strongly that effective advertising is one of the key factors in operating a successful business of any kind. Advertising makes your current and future customers continually aware of your presence. Pickles & Ice Cream requires that you spend a percentage of your revenues on advertising. We will help you assess different advertising techniques and help you design a strategy that will suit your market.

What kind of training will I receive?
All franchisees are required to successfully complete a 9 day training session, which includes classroom and sales floor training. The training will take place at the Home Office in Dallas, TX and the Dallas and Plano company-owned boutiques. In addition to providing initial training, our training team will work with you in your boutique prior to opening, assisting with the set-up of everything from your computer systems to your window displays. Your exact training and opening schedule will be worked out between you and our training team.

What other support can I expect?
We provide ongoing inventory support and a company-wide intranet site to keep you informed of new and interesting products and ideas, management information and developments of interest. We are proud that our Pickles & Ice Cream family is interested in supporting one another as well. Our franchisees share ideas with one another and are genuinely interested in the success of Pickles & Ice Cream as a whole. The corporate office is always available to assist with the daily operations and management of your boutique.

How big are your boutiques?
Our boutiques vary in size depending on the shape and orientation of the retail site you choose. An architectural plan designed by our corporate architect will be used to build out the selected site. Our design plans are based on day-to-day operations in a boutique environment and will have a uniform concept that can be found in all Pickles & Ice Cream boutiques.

What kind of retail space should I look for?
We believe that Pickles & Ice Cream boutiques fit well within specific types of retail centers. It is our goal to assist you in choosing just the right type of center that includes what we feel is the right mix of neighboring businesses. Assistance in selecting the site that is right for your market is a part of your initial franchise fee.

Should I visit some of your boutiques and talk to the owners?
As a potential franchisee that has been provided a Uniform Franchise Offering Circular, you are welcome to visit our franchised boutiques and speak to owners. Visiting our boutiques and/or speaking personally with owners will give you a feel for the company and the kinds of franchisees we have. We appreciate advance notice from you prior to calling or visiting our boutiques. Advance notice will allow us to notify owners that you are reviewing a Uniform Franchise Offering Circular and are interested in opening a Pickles & Ice Cream boutique.

What is a typical time frame for opening a Pickles & Ice Cream boutique?
It usually takes about 6 months from the time you receive our Uniform Franchise Offering Circular until the time you have your grand opening. This time is needed because of the seasonal nature of our clothing and the buying process.

I’m ready to get more information. What is the next step?
Complete and submit the application on the following page to start the process. The following steps outline the rest of the Franchisee Application process.

1. Submission of Pickles & Ice Cream® Application and review by PIC Franchising staff
2. Initial telephone interview & Q&A Opportunity
3. Upon mutual agreement, we will send you the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC)
4. Visit Pickles & Ice Cream® home office for an interview and tour of company owned boutiques
5. Upon mutual agreement, prospective Franchisee will be able to contact and visit with current franchisees to discuss Pickles & Ice Cream® Franchise ownership.
6. Enter into a Development Agreement and Franchise Agreement
7. Begin boutique development phase
8. Training session at Pickles & Ice Cream® home office and Dallas and Plano boutiques
9. Strategy and execution assistance for boutique opening
10. Your Grand Opening!!

Click Here to Download the Pickles & Ice Cream Franchise Application.

Please fill out the application and fax it to 972-980-9681. Based on the information you provide, we will be in touch.

This is an Adobe PDF file and will require Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded from Adobe's website. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, click here to download it.

The information contained herein concerning the Pickles & Ice Cream franchise (the “Franchise”) should not be construed as an offer to the residents of any jurisdiction in which registration of the Franchise is required and has not been obtained, and is not directed to any person in any such jurisdiction by or on behalf of Pickles & Ice Cream (“Franchisor”) or anyone acting with Franchisor’s knowledge. No Franchise will be sold in any such jurisdiction by or on behalf of Franchisor until the offering has been declared effective and the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular, as registered in such jurisdiction, has been delivered to the offeree before the sale and in compliance with the franchise laws of such jurisdiction.