FranchiseVerdict
Children’s Orchard logo
FV-00521·CAUTIONExcellent95

Children’s Orchard

Education - Children's ProgramsFranchising since 2015Website
Investment
$227K – $336K
53rd pct Children's Pr…
Avg revenue
$419K
33rd pct Children's Pr…
Royalty
4.0%
6th pct Children's Pr…
Units
13
39th pct Children's Pr…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $227K – $336K including a $25K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $419K/year (median $367K).
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 72/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Children’s Orchard, LLC
Parent company
NTY Franchise Company, LLC
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
13895 Industrial Park Blvd, Ste 100, Plymouth, MN 55441
Auditor
LB Carlson, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$3.8M
vs $3.8M 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 Children’s Orchard unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $418,805
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: education
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $227K–$336K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $15K–$20K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

22%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$67K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$299K
Payback
53 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Children’s Orchard units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$754K

on $3.8M purchase

Total debt

$3.0M

SBA $1.9M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Children's Orchard franchisees operate retail stores specializing in consignment and resale of children's clothing, furniture, and accessories. Day-to-day operations include managing inventory intake from consignors, pricing merchandise, staffing the retail location, and handling customer transactions. Franchisees are responsible for marketing, local community building, and managing the consignor payment process.

CEO
Ronald G. Olson
Founded
2014
FDD year
2026
States available
8

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$227K – $336K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$15K – $20K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
4.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
$2,000 per year
Total fee load
4.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$419K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$367K
Item 19 type
Average and Median Net Sales
Sample size
13 units
vs category median 16
Range (low → high)
$257K$753K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank33th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Investment cost rank53th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank6th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank39th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Risk score rank87th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
13
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
2
Turnover rate
15.4%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
1.0%
Net growth (yr3)
-13.3%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-27.8%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
13-2
Franchised units
2025
15
Franchised units
2026
18
Franchised units

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).

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 · 13 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
2
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

72
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION72 / 100

Children's Orchard presents HIGH RISK due to a contracting unit base, substantial litigation history involving breach of contract and financial misrepresentation, zero net income transparency, and an unsustainably small franchise system.

Score breakdown · what drove the 72 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count: 13 units with -13.3% YoY contraction indicates system is shrinking, not growing
  2. 02HIGHTwo litigation settlements totaling $1.05M within recent history suggest systemic issues with contract enforcement and financial transparency
  3. 03MINORNo average net income disclosure despite $418,805 average revenue—inability or unwillingness to provide profitability data is a major transparency red flag
  4. 04MINORHigh initial investment ($226,700-$335,500) with only 4% royalty structure may indicate franchisor relies on upfront fees rather than franchisee success
  5. 05MED13-unit system is extremely small and vulnerable; franchisees have minimal peer support network and franchisor has limited resources
  6. 06MINOR10-year term locks franchisees into relationship with shrinking brand with no demonstrated path to profitability

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius/Population
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
2
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Minnesota

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
49 hrs
On-the-job training
18 hrs
POS system
Resale World
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

21 numbers

Locked
(501) 246-••••
AR
(702) 839-••••
NV
(423) 472-••••
TN

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Children’s Orchard · FDD (2026) PDF

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