CAverage43/100FDD 2024
Bella Bridesmaids: Litigation & Risk
Cleaning & Maintenance · FDD Items 3, 4 & 5
Lower Risk
No litigation cases disclosed in FDD Items 3 and 4.
Source: FDD Items 3–5
FDD Items 3 & 4
Litigation Metrics
- Cases disclosed
- 0
- Total from FDD Items 3 and 4
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor or officer bankruptcy
- Verdict score
- 43 / 100
- FranchiseVerdict composite · higher is better
- Rating
- C
- A / B / C / D / F verdict grade
7(a) FOIA data · FY2020–present
SBA Loan Performance
Aggregated from public SBA 7(a) loan disclosures. Charge-off rate is the share of loans that were charged off or settled for less than the full balance.
- Total 7(a) loans
- 12
- Government-backed loans issued
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- vs 16% franchise average
- 5-yr charge-off rate
- N/A
- Defaults
- 1 loans
- Loans charged off or defaulted
- Total loan volume
- $1.9M
- Avg loan size
- $159K
- Participating lenders
- 6
FDD Items 5, 6 & 17: What You Give Up
Contract Risk Indicators
- Mandatory arbitration
- Required
- Disputes resolved outside court, limits your legal options
- Jury trial waiver
- Waived
- You give up the right to a jury trial
- Non-compete
- 2 yrs
- Post-termination restriction on similar businesses
- Franchisor can compete
- Yes
- Franchisor can open competing locations in or near your territory
- Right of first refusal
- Yes
- Franchisor can match any purchase offer when you try to sell
- Governing law
- IL
- State whose law governs disputes. Relevant if you're not based there
What drove the 43/100 verdict
Risk Score Breakdown
- 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 FDD text. Not a regulatory or legal classification
Litigation data from FDD Items 3, 4, and 5. SBA data from public 7(a) FOIA records (FY2020–present). Not legal advice. Consult a franchise attorney before signing any franchise agreement.