Bottom line
- Total investment $165K – $211K including a $60K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $486K/year (median $392K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 70 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 1000.0% CAGR over 3 years with 153 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 BUMBLE BEE BLINDS unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
22%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 BUMBLE BEE BLINDS units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$292K
on $1.5M purchase
Total debt
$1.2M
SBA $0.7M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Bumble Bee Blinds franchisees operate a window covering retail and installation business, selling custom blinds, shades, and shutters to residential and commercial customers. Daily operations include sales consultations, site measurements, product ordering/inventory management, and coordinating professional installation teams. Revenue is generated through product markup and installation labor.
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 · 26 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
Bumble Bee Blinds presents elevated risk due to active litigation, non-transparent unit economics, aggressive unsustainable growth trajectory, and parent company financial uncertainties despite a protected territory and reasonable initial investment.
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHActive litigation involving parent company governance and ownership disputes creates operational uncertainty and potential distraction from franchisee support
- 02MINORNo average net income disclosure despite 153 units operating — impossible to validate ROI claims or unit economics transparency
- 03MINORExplosive 178.2% YoY unit growth is unsustainable and suggests potential oversaturation of territories or recruitment-driven expansion rather than organic demand
- 04MINORMinimum $500/month royalty fee ($6,000 annually) represents 1.2% of average revenue even at top tier — high fixed cost burden for struggling locations
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — ambiguous language requiring immediate clarification on parent company financial health and bankruptcy risk
- 06MINORHigh franchise fee ($59,500) coupled with non-disclosure of net income creates misalignment of incentives — franchisor profits upfront while franchisee bears long-term risk
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
65 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
BUMBLE BEE BLINDS · FDD (2025) PDF