Dakota London Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Dakota London is a beauty franchise operating luxury hair extension salons with premium hair and expert stylists. Franchisees run the salons, managing stylists, appointments, and retail.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A DAKOTA LONDON franchise requires a total initial investment of $372K – $523K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $372K – $523K
- 41st pct Personal Care…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 39th pct Personal Care…
- Units
- 3
- 8th pct Personal Care…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Personal Care & Beauty · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Personal Care & Beauty 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 $372K – $523K including a $50K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 21 audited financial statements of DKL Franchising, LLC (FYE Dec 31, 2024) are in Exhibit H, which the OCR text renders as blank image-only pages (lines 8413-8508). No franchisor balance-sheet, income, or revenue figures, nor the CPA firm name, are recoverable from the text. Franchisor was formed Nov 26, 2024 and has not been in existence 3 years.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 38/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports company owned only 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
- DKL Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- AZ Strands, LLC
- Predecessor
- AZ Strands (first salon opened 2011)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
- Scott Cotten
- Incorporated in
- AZ
- HQ
- 6590 N. Scottsdale Rd., Unit 130, Paradise Valley, Arizona 85253
- Auditor
- Metwally CPA PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Scott Cotten
- Headquarters
- AZ
- Founded
- 2024
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 15% below the typical personal care & beauty franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $70K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $273K | $404K |
| Total initial investment | $372K | $523K |
Source: DAKOTA LONDON 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $372K – $523K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $70K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $488 |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $120K – $130K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
DAKOTA LONDON 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 DAKOTA LONDON unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
34%
Within 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 21 audited financial statements of DKL Franchising, LLC (FYE Dec 31, 2024) are in Exhibit H, which the OCR text renders as blank image-only pages (lines 8413-8508). No franchisor balance-sheet, income, or revenue figures, nor the CPA firm name, are recoverable from the text. Franchisor was formed Nov 26, 2024 and has not been in existence 3 years.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- company owned only
- Sample size
- 3
- vs category median 38 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $873K→$1.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 179 Personal Care & Beauty 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 9.0% (near the Personal Care & Beauty average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports company owned only rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
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 Personal Care & Beauty averages
How Dakota London Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 3
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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
Dakota London presents HIGH RISK due to going concern status, minimal unit base, lack of financial substantiation, and questionable unit economics that may not support the claimed profitability.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Metwally CPA PLLC
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 38 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status indicates the franchisor may have solvency or operational viability issues
- 02MINOROnly 3 units in system with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnation or failure to scale
- 03MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot validate $261,963 avg net income claim
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($372k-$523k) relative to only 3 franchise locations indicates unproven model
- 05MINOR7% royalty on $1.1M avg revenue = $77.5k annually, representing 30% of claimed net income — sustainability unclear
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% 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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 4 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Maricopa County, Arizona |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | AZ |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 43 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 37 hrs
- Training location
- Phoenix, AZ (corporate HQ and company-owned salon) for Phase 2; virtual for Phase 1; franchisee's Salon for Onsite Training
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Mango Mint
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Mango Mint
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
DAKOTA LONDON · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a DAKOTA LONDON franchise?
The total investment to open a DAKOTA LONDON franchise ranges from $372K – $523K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do DAKOTA LONDON franchise owners earn?
DAKOTA LONDON 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 DAKOTA LONDON 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 DAKOTA LONDON FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is DAKOTA LONDON's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for DAKOTA LONDON (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 DAKOTA LONDON franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, DAKOTA LONDON has 3 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 3 company-owned units.
Is DAKOTA LONDON a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates DAKOTA LONDON as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 38 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.