Bella Bridesmaids
Bottom line
- Total investment $103K – $262K including a $50K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $363K/year (median $290K).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 60/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 17 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -28.1% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Bella Bridesmaids unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
17%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Bella Bridesmaids units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$218K
on $1.1M purchase
Total debt
$872K
SBA $0.5M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Bella Bridesmaids franchisees operate boutique retail locations specializing in bridesmaids' dresses, alterations, and wedding party attire. Day-to-day activities include client consultations, styling appointments, inventory management, seamstress coordination for alterations, and event sales management during peak wedding seasons (spring/summer). The model depends heavily on local wedding market density, repeat referrals, and prom/special occasion traffic.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 23 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Declining unit base, hidden profitability metrics, and high capital requirements relative to average revenue create significant risk despite protected territories and absence of litigation.
Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 25.5% year-over-year (45 units down from ~60), indicating systemic franchisee struggles or exits
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19, preventing ROI assessment and hiding profitability reality
- 03MINORRoyalty structure with $600 minimum means franchisees at lower revenue ($363K avg) pay ~2% effective rate, but struggling locations may hit the floor — masking true cost burden
- 04MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio: $102.9K-$262K startup against $363K average revenue = 28-72% of first-year gross, creating extended breakeven periods
- 05MED5-year term is relatively short in franchise context; combined with unit decline, suggests confidence issues
- 06MINORWedding/bridesmaids market is seasonal, event-dependent, and highly sensitive to economic downturns affecting discretionary spending
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
69 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Bella Bridesmaids · FDD (2024) PDF