Crdn Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
CRDN is a specialty franchise that restores clothing, textiles, and contents damaged in fires, floods, and other insured losses. Franchisees run a restoration operation working with insurers and contractors to clean and return damaged belongings in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A CRDN franchise requires a total initial investment of $85K – $539K, including a $46K – $65K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $85K – $539K
- 24th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 9th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 127
- 68th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $85K – $539K including a $46K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 discloses per-job gross sales billed (average/median/high/low per job by service category: textile-only, electronics-only, art-only, full-service contents-only, combo, and total jobs) for FY2022-2025 for franchised and the one company-owned (Huntington) outlet, plus % of territories attaining/surpassing average and median. This is per-job, not annual whole-unit revenue, so avg_gross_sales/median_gross_sales/net income cannot be derived on a whole-unit annual basis.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 74/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports historical average/median/high/low billed per job (not whole-unit revenue) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network, LLC
- Parent company
- None
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Wayne Wudyka
- CEO experience
- 24 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Michigan
- HQ
- 2060 Coolidge Hwy, Berkley, MI 48072
- Auditor
- Kaufman Richard CPAs PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $18.7M
- vs $17.5M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- as is its sole shareholder
- Huntington
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Wayne Wudyka
- Headquarters
- Michigan
- Founded
- 2001
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 40
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about average for a cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown20 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed Licensing Fee | $16K | $16K | |
| Territory Fee | $16K | $35K | |
| Initial Package Fee | $14K | $14K | |
| Initial Training Expensesnot refundable | $1K | $3K | |
| Dry Cleaning Trainingnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Real Estate Purchase/Lease and Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $15K | $65K | |
| Plant Machinery and Equipmentnot refundable | $0 | $160K | |
| Ozone Machinenot refundable | $300 | $1K | |
| Storage Facility Rent and Depositnot refundable | $0 | $12K | |
| Storage Racking Systemnot refundable | $2K | $20K | |
| Accounting, Legal, and Other Professional Feesnot refundable | $0 | $5K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costsnot refundable | $0 | $6K | |
| Signage, Exterior Onlynot refundable | $500 | $1K | |
| Boxes, Solvents and Detergentsnot refundable | $250 | $1K | |
| Vehiclenot refundable | $0 | $20K | |
| Full time marketing personnot refundable | $10K | $20K | |
| Computer hardwarenot refundable | $0 | $8K | |
| Point of Sale Systemnot refundable | $0 | $10K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $0 | $40K | |
| Additional Fundsnot refundable | $10K | $100K | |
| Total initial investment | $85K | $539K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $85K – $539K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $100K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $46K – $65K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Training fee | $8K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $250 – $1K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
CRDN did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one CRDN unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
25%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 discloses per-job gross sales billed (average/median/high/low per job by service category: textile-only, electronics-only, art-only, full-service contents-only, combo, and total jobs) for FY2022-2025 for franchised and the one company-owned (Huntington) outlet, plus % of territories attaining/surpassing average and median. This is per-job, not annual whole-unit revenue, so avg_gross_sales/median_gross_sales/net income cannot be derived on a whole-unit annual basis.
- Item 19 type
- historical average/median/high/low billed per job (not whole-unit revenue)
- Sample size
- 138 territories
- vs category median 32 · large
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 192 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% — below the Cleaning & Maintenance average of 9.7%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports historical average/median/high/low billed per job (not whole-unit revenue) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+3.2% 3-year CAGR) with 127 units.
Multi-unit rate
50% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Crdn Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 127
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 11.5%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 50.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +3.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +3.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 22
- Closed (3yr)
- 13
- Terminated (3yr)
- 2
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 10
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 3.2%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 2.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 3.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
CRDN presents moderate-to-high risk: undisclosed unit profitability, franchisor financial concerns, unprotected territory, and opaque growth metrics create significant uncertainty for ROI projections.
Litigation (Item 3)
CRDN filed two related actions (federal and RI Superior Court) against a former franchisee and his affiliated business to enforce a settlement agreement/promissory note and collect on defaults, following an earlier trade-secret/breach-of-contract suit; a default judgment of $448,794.81 was entered against one defendant.
Largest disclosed settlement: $448,794
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kaufman Richard CPAs PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 74 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — impossible to assess true profitability despite $1.5M average revenue
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is False — indicates potential financial instability at franchisor level
- 03MINORWide investment range ($84,650–$538,850) suggests inconsistent unit economics or hidden costs
- 04MINORTerritory not protected — franchisees face direct competition from other CRDN locations
- 05MINOR127 units with unknown growth trajectory — no clarity on system expansion or contraction
- 06MINOR6% royalty on gross sales (not net) means profitability erosion regardless of actual margins
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 600,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | American Arbitration Association office closest to franchisor's principal business address (Michigan) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Michigan |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
CRDN filed two related actions (federal and RI Superior Court) against a former franchisee and his affiliated business to enforce a settlement agreement/promissory note and collect on defaults, following an earlier trade-secret/breach-of-contract suit; a default judgment of $448,794.81 was entered against one defendant.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 29 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 9 hrs
- Training location
- CRDN home office in Berkley, Michigan and Huntington's facilities in Huntington Woods and Oak Park, Michigan (some training may be virtual)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 8 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- RestorNet
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: RestorNet
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
7 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
CRDN · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a CRDN franchise?
The total investment to open a CRDN franchise ranges from $85K – $539K, with an initial franchise fee of $46K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do CRDN franchise owners earn?
CRDN does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the CRDN FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the CRDN FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is CRDN's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for CRDN (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many CRDN franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, CRDN has 127 total units in the United States, including 126 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is CRDN a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates CRDN as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 74 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.