The billionaire owner of the San Diego Padres owns an organization that allegedly has been playing hardball with mom-and-pop entrepreneurs in a franchising empire that spans greater than 1,000 businesses — and it has also been accused of attempting to silence trade press who’ve reported on its tough tactics.
Peter Seidler – who is also the grandson of the infamous Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, who moved the beloved Bums to Los Angeles in 1958 – took command of the Padres in 2020.
In December, Seidler also took a majority stake in Unleashed Brands — a Texas-based firm with roughly 1,300 franchises for youth-focused businesses like martial arts studios, trampoline parks and test prep — through his buyout firm Seidler Equity Partners, which has about $5 billion under management.
Unleashed had a checkered history before Seidler took over. It has faced lawsuits from several franchises with accusations that range from being charged hidden fees to working for much longer hours than they were led to imagine when buying licenses.
San Diego Padres Owner Peter Seidler’s company Unleashed Brands was allegedly behind an effort to steer franchisers to boycott trade publication Franchise Times. Getty Images
A suit filed by an Urban Air Franchisee Association alleging that Unleashed added big recent royalty fees after operators signed franchise agreements was dismissed in May 2021 when a Dallas federal judge said operators needed to sue individually and never as a bunch.
A gaggle of 54 Premier Martial Arts franchisees sued Unleashed Brands on Nov. 18, 2022, in a Tennessee federal court alleging they were “tricked” into becoming operators after being given false guarantees including the profitability of the karate studios and the hours needed to operate them. Unleashed says it’s an indirect owner of Premier Martial Arts and never a part of the franchise agreement so needs to be dropped from the case.
A judge has not ruled yet on whether to drop Unleashed from the suit.
The corporate has also been accused by some business owners of clamping down on their efforts to form franchisee associations, which permit them to band together to fight for higher rights and fewer fees, in response to sources.
Unleashed didn’t reply to the allegations it clamps down on independent franchisee groups.
Thwarted in his try and get Robert Moses’ help to construct a recent stadium for the Dodgers in Brooklyn, Walter O’Malley (right) relocated his franchise to Los Angeles in 1958.AP
The tough, penny-pinching tactics stand in sharp contrast to Seidler’s status because the Padres owner, where he has the third-biggest payroll in baseball and has been blasted for being too generous with players including Manny Machado and Xander Boegarts.
The Padres are certainly one of this season’s biggest disappointments and sure will miss the playoffs.
Little Gym franchisee Tiffany Cianci claims her Little Gym franchise in Frederick, Md., was terminated for forming a franchisee association.
She took Unleashed to arbitration last 12 months but was searching for a delay in late January from testifying due to her high-risk pregnancy on the time. The Recent York Times reported about her plight before Unleashed’s clampdown in arbitration.
Operators of chain Premier Martial Arts sued Seidler’s company in May alleging they were sold a false bill of products. Premier Martial Arts
Unleashed’s lawyer’s insisted Cianci fly across the country to attend the hearing in Arizona — despite her being “diagnosed with a threatened miscarriage,” she alleged in a letter to the Arizona State Bar reviewed by The Post.
She made a proper grievance to the Arizona State Bar March 30 against the 4 attorneys involved which has been reviewed by The Post.
An Arizona State Bar spokesman confirmed the grievance and said there was an open charge against three of those attorneys that’s currently in investigation.
The Post called the attorneys in query and received no response.
“My counsel informed [Unleashed’s legal team] I used to be in energetic labor and on bed-rest. He informed them that I used to be not prone to have the ability to attend two days of depositions, and that I … needed to avoid stress as I used to be fighting the pain and the emotional toll,” the letter said.
They “endured in demanding that I be produced [for depositions in person] directly, and no matter condition,” she alleged.
Cianci not only lost her arbitration case, but additionally her child.
Seidler’s company pursued legal motion against a former Maryland Little Gym franchisee while it allegedly knew she was going through a high-risk pregnancy.The Little Gym
Earlier this 12 months, a number one trade publication, the Franchise Times, published critical stories about Unleashed with headlines like “Unleased Brands faces turmoil at 4 or 5 recently acquired concepts” and “Longtime leader at The Little Gym criticizes recent owner Unleashed Brands in a song.”
In response, the corporate this spring attempted to orchestrate a mass boycott of the outlet, sources claim. Beth Ewen, a former senior editor at Franchise Times, who wrote several of the critical stories, pointed to an anonymous website, nofranchisetimes.com.
Ewen said she believes the positioning, which encouraged fellow franchisors to stop participating within the publication’s conferences or to advertise with them, was launched by Unleashed Brands employees.
“Seidler buying Unleashed is inexplicable to me because normally private equity investors run on the sniff of unhappy franchisees and litigation,” Ewen told The Post. “If I were the owner, I can be attempting to resolve this.”
Seidler this winter gave Manny Machado an 11-year $350 million contract.Getty Images
Unleashed CEO Michael Browning has said he didn’t launch the positioning, though he agrees with the message, in response to a May 23 Franchise Times article.
“While it’s disappointing that some are continuing to retread the usual false narratives from social media which have repeatedly been disproven, Unleashed Brands’ focus stays steadfastly on driving profitability to our franchisees and delivering quality experiences to our customers,” an Unleashed Brands spokeswoman told The Post.
Seidler didn’t return calls.
Seidler has been accused of nickel-and-diming other businesses his equity firm has scooped up.
He bought Rawlings sporting goods in 2018 after which in 2021 added Easton Sports. Rawlings then closed a Minnesota plant, eliminating 80 jobs and moving production of baseball bats to Easton’s China facility.
Peter Seidler’s corporations have been accused of being bad actors.Getty Images
“I feel [this] is bad for his or her image and bad for what people wish to take into consideration Major League Baseball, America’s pastime,” Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said on the time.
Other brands under Unleashed include Snapology, Class 101 College Planning, and XP League.