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can a store name be changed at will? qinhan hutong, a chinese culture training giant that has been operating in china for 22 years, has changed its name due to tight capital chain.after the sudden closure of more than 90 directly-operated stores on august 27, some of its franchise stores also "couldn't sit still"(daily economic news previously reported that "the founder of the national studies giant qinhan hutong, which suddenly closed a large number of stores across the country, responded exclusively: actively save itself and strive to retain more than half of its directly-operated stores.")

changing the name is a helpless move by the franchisee, but a senior person in charge of the mall operation told the reporter of "daily economic news" thatin the case of the collapse of the qinhan hutong headquarters, the company's name change will eventually be approved"however, there is suspicion that companies are inducing defaults, which is not conducive to encouraging honest business operations."

regarding the sudden name change of its franchise stores, the reporter of daily economic news learned that:wang shuangqiang, the founder of qinhan hutong, was not aware of this in advance.。

"an enterprise with independent legal personality can change its name, business scope, etc. according to law, but the name change does not affect its continued legal liability as a legal entity." jia yuqian, a lawyer at beijing longan law firm's shanghai branch, said in an interview with the daily economic news, "if parents choose a franchisee course based on their recognition of qinhan hutong, and the franchisee changes its name and adjusts the course and teaching materials, (if) it is contrary to the original intention of the parents, the parents' request for a refund should be supported."

a franchise store in qinhan hutong that has been renamed. image source: provided by the interviewee

many franchise stores changed their names to "save themselves"

in addition to more than 90 self-operated stores, qinhan hutong also has many franchise stores. the official wechat video account of qinhan hutong mentioned that as of may 2024, qinhan hutong has nearly 200 stores in beijing, shanghai, guangzhou, shenzhen, chengdu and other places.

"we just received the news today that a new investor has taken over, so we have changed the name now." on september 2, when a reporter from the "daily economic news" called the former branch in qinhan hutong, shenzhen as a consumer, the staff who answered the phone said this.

the reporter learned from the interview that three qinhan hutong stores in the area have changed their names. the practice of changing the store names overnight also surprised the mall.

a staff member of the mall where the former shenzhen qinhan hutong branch is located told reporters that as of september 2, the mall had not received any information about the brand changing its name or signboard: "we have not received any notice (in advance) from them (qinhan hutong) that they are changing their signboard. there may be some changes, but the specific (situation) requires official notification."

even if the store name is changed in a short period of time, the negative impact of the qinhan hutong explosion on the consumer side will not disappear, and consumers' trust in it has already declined.

"we are taking classes in the renamed store and are now preparing to finish the course quickly. what if it goes bankrupt in the future?" an interviewee told reporters.

in addition to shenzhen, the reporter of daily economic news learned that all seven stores of qinhan hutong in chongqing are franchise stores.this time, due to the closure of more than 90 direct stores by the headquarters, the company is considering changing its name.。

“qinhan hutong is still doing well in chongqing.but once the headquarters exploded, all the parents saw the public opinion and did not give us any time to respond... we are all victims too, and now we can only actively save ourselves"a staff member of a franchise store in qinhan hutong, chongqing, told reporters that several local stores have been greatly affected and may change their names in the future.

the franchise store suddenly changed its name. did the headquarters know about it? "it may be that our joint-venture store changed its brand." on september 2, a reporter from the daily economic news interviewed wang shuangqiang, the founder of qinhan hutong, and sent him photos. he did not give further explanation, but said, "we are making a new announcement overnight and reporting (the situation) to the local governments."

lawyer:

if the selection is contrary to the original intention, parents can ask for a refund

qinhan hutong's direct-operated stores were temporarily closed on a large scale due to a broken capital chain and unpaid employee wages, forcing many domestic franchise stores to change their names in an effort to "save themselves."

"an enterprise with independent legal personality can change its name, business scope, etc. according to law, but the name change does not affect its continued legal liability as a legal entity." jia yuqian, a lawyer at the shanghai branch of beijing longan law firm, said in an interview with the daily economic news that the obligations determined before the enterprise changed its name will not affect its continued performance after the name change. "if parents choose a franchisee course based on their recognition of qinhan hutong, and the franchisee changes its name, and the courses and teaching materials are adjusted, (if) it is contrary to the original intention of the parents, the parents' request for a refund should be supported." jia yuqian said.

jia yuqian said that if the franchise contract between the franchisee and the qinhan hutong headquarters stipulates restrictive terms such as the operating period, then if the franchisee unilaterally terminates the contract and causes losses to qinhan hutong, "the headquarters can assert its rights based on the contract agreement."

as for businesses operating in shopping malls, "generally, they are not allowed to change their names at will so that the mall can manage them uniformly. if a store needs to change its name, it should inform the mall according to the contract and obtain permission to avoid breach of contract." jia yuqian told the daily economic news reporter that even if the qinhan hutong franchisee believes that the brand is in crisis and needs to change its name to protect its own business, it should first actively communicate with the mall operator and obtain permission. "if the name is changed without permission, there is a possibility of breach of contract."

a senior person in charge of the operation of the shopping mall told the reporter of "daily economic news" that although the contract between the mall and the merchants stipulates that the name cannot be changed, "but in this case (the bankruptcy of the qinhan hutong headquarters), the name change will eventually be allowed. because if it is not allowed, the shops and merchants cannot operate, which will directly harm the rights and interests of parents who purchase courses. the mall also has to face these disputes, and it is ultimately a lose-lose situation. but in this process, there is suspicion that the company induces breach of contract, which is not conducive to encouraging honest business operations."

so, do franchisees in many parts of the country who believe that they are "dragged down" by the headquarters' credibility have the right to claim compensation from qinhan hutong?

"this requires distinguishing the nature of the franchisees. if the franchise is carried out through franchising or brand authorization, and the enterprise has independent legal personality, it has the right to sue for compensation." jia yuqian further told the "daily economic news" reporter that whether the claim can be supported also depends on whether the closure of the store by its headquarters violates the contractual agreement signed by both parties. if qinhan hutong has breach of contract, violation of regulations and other related circumstances, franchisees can claim compensation based on this.

jia yuqian also pointed out that after the franchise contract is terminated, qinhan hutong should also return the franchisee's deposit and guarantee in a timely manner.