FranchiseVerdict
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FV-00440·MODERATEStandard76

California Closets

Business Services - Printing & SignsFranchising since 1980Website
Investment
$872K – $1.8M
100th pct Printing & Si…
Avg revenue
67th pct Printing & Si…
Royalty
6.0%
10th pct Printing & Si…
Units
62
57th pct Printing & Si…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $872K – $1.8M including a $70K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 62/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 1 loans (below the industry average).
  • 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
California Closet Company, Inc.
Parent company
FS Brands, Inc.
Incorporated in
California
HQ
2001 W. Phelps Road, Suite 1, Phoenix, AZ 85023
Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$782.2M
vs $850.4M prior year

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 California Closets unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: retail
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $872K–$1.8M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$90K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

3%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$45K
EBITDA margin
6.0%
Total invested
$1.4M
Payback
369 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate custom closet design and installation showrooms, managing in-home consultations, 3D design work, and coordinating fabrication/installation of closet systems. Day-to-day operations include sales meetings, design appointments, project management, and retail showroom management. Revenue comes from design fees, product markups, and installation labor.

CEO
Charles E. Chase
Founded
1981
FDD year
2025
States available
22

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$872K – $1.8M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $90K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$70K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
62
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
24
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
61%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
5.6%
Net growth (yr3)
+2.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-2.6%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
38+1
Franchised units
2024
37
Franchised units
2025
39
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 19 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 19 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
1
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

62
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE62 / 100

California Closets presents elevated risk due to lack of financial transparency (no Item 19), stagnant system growth, and high capital requirements without disclosed revenue/profit benchmarks to justify ROI.

Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure (average revenue and net income) creates inability to assess ROI on $872k-$1.78M investment
  2. 02MINORMinimal system growth (2.7% YoY) with only 62 units suggests market saturation or weak franchise model appeal
  3. 03MEDHigh initial investment ($872k-$1.78M) combined with 6% royalty and no disclosed profitability benchmarks creates significant financial risk
  4. 04MINOR10-year term is relatively long for a custom installation business with high customer acquisition costs and unproven unit economics
  5. 05MINORCustom closet market is highly competitive with local/regional competitors and big-box alternatives (California Closets brand recognition may not justify premium pricing)

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Zip Codes
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
162 hrs
On-the-job training
119 hrs
POS system
CXM platform
Operating tech stack

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

34 numbers

Locked
(416) 863-••••
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP PwC Tower,
(415) 972-••••
San Francisco Office
CA
(216) 741-••••
The Franchise Advisory Council is located at
AZ

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

California Closets · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above