Six franchise brands run a pet store. Here they are beside the independent version of the same business, with each brand’s fees as it publishes them and worked out in dollars. A brand can bring customers an independent has to earn one by one. The question is whether it brings in more than it costs.
Typical for a pet store: $300k to $1M in sales, and the owner keeps 11% to 18% after paying for its own marketing. Change either to your own numbers.
Work each brand out at
How the two sides are counted
Sales. A brand’s name brings customers an independent wins one at a time, so each brand is worked out at the sales it reports where we have them, and at yours where we don’t.
Marketing. On your own you pay for all of it, about 3% of sales here (the SBA’s usual range for ongoing marketing). The ad fund does part of that job, so it is counted once, not twice.
Survival. New franchised businesses were about 5 to 6 points more likely to make it through their first two years in Census data, and about half of all new businesses close within five years. It is not in the dollars; each brand’s details give the sources.
Your own pet store and each brand, side by side
The independent version
Your own pet store
Built and run under your own name
Cost to open
$107k to $399k
Annual sales
$550ktypical
Franchise fee
None
Royalty + ad fund
Noneall marketing is yours
$77,000
The owner keeps in a year, after about $17k of marketing
Taking new owners
Pet Wants
Fresh pet food delivery and retail
Total investment
$138k to $219k
Avg. annual sales
$228k to $1.1M
Franchise fee
$49k
Royalty + ad fund
7% + 2% of sales
$47k
The owner keeps in a year at $670k in sales (what it reports), after $60k to the brand
$30k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming
Pet supply boutique with grooming
Total investment
$184k to $507k
Avg. annual sales
$582k to $620k
Franchise fee
$50k
Royalty + ad fund
7% + 2% of sales
$42k
The owner keeps in a year at $601k in sales (what it reports), after $54k to the brand
$35k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
EarthWise Pet
Natural pet food store with grooming and self-wash
Total investment
$467k to $828k
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$45k
Royalty + ad fund
5% + 2% of sales
$50k
The owner keeps in a year at $550k in sales (your sales), after $39k to the brand
$28k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Wag N' Wash
Natural pet food store with grooming and self-wash
Total investment
$521k to $1.4M
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$50k
Royalty + ad fund
In the details
The fee is not a simple share of sales, so it is not worked out in dollars. The details show it as the brand words it.
Taking new owners
Pet Supplies Plus
Pet supply stores with grooming
Total investment
$537k to $2M
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$50k
Royalty + ad fund
2% to 3% of sales
$61k to $66k
The owner keeps in a year at $550k in sales (your sales), after $11k to $17k to the brand
$11k to $17k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Pet Evolution
Natural pet food store with grooming and self-wash
Total investment
$804k to $1.2M
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$59k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 1% of sales
$44k
The owner keeps in a year at $550k in sales (your sales), after $39k to the brand
$33k less a year than on your own
Free account
See all 6 pet store brands side by side
Every brand’s investment and fees, and what the owner keeps against running your own
The yearly sales the first 3 report, and a plus to add brands to your comparison and benchmark them in your account
Members see the sales every franchisor reports, for every brand
Free, no card. A new account accepts the Terms and the Privacy Policy. smbnest is a self-assessment tool and never takes a cut of your deal or a fee from a franchisor.
Before you sign: what to read in the disclosure document
Every franchisor must give you its Franchise Disclosure Document at least 14 days before you sign or pay. These are the parts that answer the questions above.
Items 5 to 7, the fees and the investment. The franchise fee, every other fee (technology, training, transfer, renewal), and the full opening budget, including working capital.
Item 19, what owners earn. Whether the brand states owner sales or earnings at all, and for which units. Put its figures in the boxes above in place of the typical ones.
Item 20, units opened, closed and sold. How many owners left in each of the last three years, and a list of current and former owners you can call.
Item 12, the territory. Whether you get a protected area, and what the brand can open or sell inside it.
Item 21, the franchisor’s own finances. Whether the company behind the brand is in good health.
smbnest is a self-assessment tool, not individualized advice. Fees are as each brand publishes them on its franchising page and in its disclosure document, reviewed in the month shown, and change; the figures in dollars are worked out at the sales you enter and are not a forecast. We never take a cut of your deal or a fee from a franchisor. Before you sign, speak with a franchise attorney and a qualified financial adviser, and call owners from the disclosure document.
Your guidesmbnest
The guide is an automated assistant. Answers come from this business’s model, its sources and your plan; they are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Talk to a person