AplusFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A APLUS franchise requires a total initial investment of $240K – $2.3M, including a $15K franchise fee. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $240K – $2.3M
- 24th pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 21st pct Retail
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 265
- 35th pct Retail
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Retail · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Retail avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchising since 1993. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $240K – $2.3M including a $15K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 42/100.
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Sunoco Retail LLC
- Parent company
- Sunoco LP
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and President
- Joseph Kim
- Incorporated in
- PA
- HQ
- 8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 600, Dallas, Texas 75225
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $23.1B
- vs $22.7B prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
APLUS franchisees operate tutoring and academic enrichment centers, providing one-on-one and small-group instruction in core subjects (math, reading, writing) and test preparation. Daily operations include student enrollment and retention, scheduling tutors, curriculum delivery, parent communication, and local marketing.
- CEO
- Joseph Kim
- Headquarters
- TX
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 10
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 44 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $15K | $15K | |
| Rent (Three months)not refundable | $16K | $124K | |
| Construction Costsnot refundable | $78K | $1.1M | |
| Permitting Costsnot refundable | $21K | $83K | |
| Architectural Drawingsnot refundable | $21K | $63K | |
| Existing Conditions AutoCAD Drawingnot refundable | $4K | $4K | |
| Engineering Project Management Feenot refundable | $6K | $6K | |
| Store Fixtures and Equipmentnot refundable | $83K | $293K | |
| Interior Graphicsnot refundable | $13K | $52K | |
| Exterior Graphicsnot refundable | $17K | $47K | |
| Initial Opening Inventorynot refundable | $42K | $125K | |
| Permits (Business)not refundable | $3K | $12K | |
| Permits (Beer/Wine)not refundable | $500 | $13K | |
| Technology Feenot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Uniformsnot refundable | $150 | $1K | |
| Insurance (Three months)not refundable | $4K | $6K | |
| Collateral Depositnot refundable | $10K | $21K | |
| Misc. Suppliesnot refundable | $500 | $2K | |
| Initial Grand Openingnot refundable | $3K | $3K | |
| Proprietary Itemsnot refundable | $1K | $6K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.1M | $4.6M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $240K – $2.3M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $56K – $115K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $300K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Up to 6% of Gross Sales
- Ad fund
- Lesser of $1,500 or 2% of Gross Sales
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Technology fee | $600 |
| Training fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Retail averages
How Aplus Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 265
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.8%
- Company-owned
- 19
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -0.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -1.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 11
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 4.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 0.7%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 13 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
APLUS exhibits meaningful systemic risk: unit decline, undisclosed financials, active litigation, and possible franchisor solvency concerns, offsetting the modest $15K franchise fee.
Litigation (Item 3)
Sunoco (R&M), LLC and Sunoco, LLC v. Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Company, Greyhound Aramingo Petroleum Co., Inc., and Sergey Gorlov. Filed June 2020 in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas for breach of contract and indemnification arising from failure to perform contractual duties regarding litigation settlement from September 2014 accident at Sunoco-branded gas station. Claims include breach of dealer franchise agreement, indemnity obligations, insurance requirements, and bad faith insurance denial.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Grant Thornton LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 42 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining (-0.8% YoY) signals system contraction and potential saturation
- 02MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosures (Avg Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) prevents ROI validation
- 03HIGHActive litigation for breach of contract and indemnification raises franchisor accountability concerns
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees in same market
- 05MINORWide investment range ($239K–$2.27M) suggests inconsistent unit economics and unclear scaling
- 06HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — potential financial instability at franchisor level
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Sunoco (R&M), LLC and Sunoco, LLC v. Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Company, Greyhound Aramingo Petroleum Co., Inc., and Sergey Gorlov. Filed June 2020 in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas for breach of contract and indemnification arising from failure to perform contractual duties regarding litigation settlement from September 2014 accident at Sunoco-branded gas station. Claims include breach of dealer franchise agreement, indemnity obligations, insurance requirements, and bad faith insurance denial.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 75 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 116 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Sunoco back-office operating system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Sunoco back-office operating system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
13 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
APLUS · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a APLUS franchise?
The total investment to open a APLUS franchise ranges from $240K – $2.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $15K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do APLUS franchise owners earn?
APLUS does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is APLUS's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for APLUS (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many APLUS franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, APLUS has 265 total units in the United States, including 246 franchised units and 19 company-owned units.
Is APLUS a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates APLUS as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 42 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.