“Franchise” Sellers Boost Girl Scout Cookie Sales But Irk Parents
By ROGER McDEVERT
May 20, 2012
As if Girl Scout cookies do not taste delicious enough, half the enjoyment is helping a little girl realize her dreams. This is why some have raised an eyebrow at so-called Girl Scout cookie “franchise sales,” or when a third-party sells cookies on behalf of an active girl scout. Oftentimes during a franchise sale rather than a spunky, freckle-faced pre-teen girl, cookie buyers find themselves buying from a middle-aged, Spanish-speaking man with a paunch belly. Cookie sales are up, but affilate selling has caused an acute tummy ache in some parents.
A group of girl scouts prepares to sell cookies to passers-by.
On Tuesday, the Girl Scout Regional Council for the County of Los Angeles passed a resolution with a 5-4 vote officially authorizing all area scouts using franchise sales. Already franchise sales make up approximately 10% of cookie sales in Los Angeles County. This season they should be much more.
Girl Scouts of the USA sold $760 million in cookies last year. The L.A. County region made up roughly $25 million of that total. With franchise sales, the regional president Evelyn Hand expects the region will sell much more. “I am hoping we reach $45 million this year with franchise sales,” said Hand.
Franchise sales allow scouts to leverage their selling power by taking on “affiliate” sellers. A scout can select whomever she wants as an affiliate seller – including males or mature adults. Also, there is no limit to the number of affiliates a scout can taken on.
Niloofar McGee, mother of "Mustang" Sally, pilots a bus loaded with franchise sellers.
The most famous – and controversial – scout to use affiliates is “Mustang” Sally McGee from West Santa Marino. Last year, the 11-year-old used in excess of 200 affiliate sellers and grossed sales of over $100,000. In a Nickelodeon cable network interview, Ms. McGee defended the use of affiliates: “We work very hard to sell cookies, and I want to sell as many as I can to help the Girl Scouts.”
"Mustang" Sally McGee in an archival photograph.
Some mothers are not so enthusiastic. Wanda Wilkes, mother of a 10-year-old scout, questions the lessons taught with affiliate sales. “I heard about ‘Mustang’ Sally [McGee]’s mother pulling a flatbed truck into Home Depot parking lots to pick up affiliates.” Others echoed Wilkes concerns. “I heard the same story about ‘Mustang’ Sally [McGee] getting affiliates from Home Depot,” said Brenda Hoff. “These girls should be selling the cookies themselves.”
Hand explained why she supports affiliate sales: “The world has changed. Work for modern women often is not so much doing the work but directing the work. There is no better way to prepare them for managing a home or a work site.”
Someday soon, perhaps this year, we will see many more Girl Scout cookie sellers on street corners who look less like Buffy Davis and more like George Lopez. Behind it all will be an enterprising young woman who goes by the name “Mustang Sally.”
Tammy Petrow contributed reporting to this story.
