FranchiseVerdict
FV-00596·MODERATEExcellent91

Color Glo

OtherFranchising since 1983
Investment
$63K – $68K
18th pct Other
Avg revenue
$63K
2nd pct Other
Royalty
4.0%
3rd pct Other
Units
65
69th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $63K – $68K including a $40K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $63K/year (median $77K).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 8 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -15.6% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
CGI INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Parent company
CGI INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Incorporated in
Minnesota
HQ
9825-35 West 74th St. Eden Prairie, MN 55344 USA
Auditor
Abdo
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.2M
vs $2.0M 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 Color Glo unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $63,233
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $63K–$68K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $500–$2K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

15%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$10K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$67K
Payback
79 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 Color Glo 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

$114K

on $569K purchase

Total debt

$455K

SBA $0.3M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Color Glo franchisees operate mobile or storefront-based businesses offering exterior restoration services, likely including driveway sealing, concrete restoration, or similar color-coating applications. Day-to-day operations involve customer acquisition, service delivery, equipment maintenance, and territorial management within their protected zone.

CEO
Gary E. Smith
Founded
1983
FDD year
2024
States available
24

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$63K – $68K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$500 – $2K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
4.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
n/d
Total fee load
4.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$63K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$77K
Item 19 type
Gross Sales
Sample size
65 units
vs category median 20 · large
Range (low → high)
$22K$463K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank2th
vs Other peers
Investment cost rank18th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank3th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank69th
vs Other peers
Risk score rank64th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
65
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
1.5%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
2.0%
Net growth (yr3)
-4.4%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-15.6%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
65-3
Franchised units
2023
68
Franchised units
2024
77
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 30 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 · 30 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
8
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

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

Color Glo presents elevated risk due to franchisor going concern issues, shrinking franchise network, historical litigation over product claims, and unclear profitability with average revenues barely exceeding initial investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-4.4% YoY) suggests system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating serious financial viability questions about franchisor
  3. 03HIGHLitigation history (2012-2014 product performance lawsuit settled for $70,000) raises product liability and misrepresentation concerns
  4. 04MINORNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosure prevents assessment of actual franchisee profitability
  5. 05MINORAverage revenue of $63,233 is only marginally above total investment ($63,300-$68,375), making ROI timeline unclear and risky
  6. 06MINORRoyalty structure ($150/month minimum) creates fixed cost burden even during low-revenue months

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Not allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Non-compete
1 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Minnesota

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
70 hrs
On-the-job training
63 hrs

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

Locked
(612) 390-••••
Joe Foerster Color Glo
MN
(803) 796-••••
George Elfering Elfering Enterprises, Inc.
SC
(651) 470-••••
Bob Litke Color Glo P.O. Box
MN

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Color Glo · FDD (2024) PDF

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