FranchiseVerdict
DECORATING DEN INTERIORS logo
FV-00724·MODERATEExcellent81

Decorating Den Interiors

RetailFranchising since 1970Website
Investment
$53K – $73K
7th pct Retail
Avg revenue
53rd pct Retail
Royalty
9.0%
69th pct Retail
Units
211
79th pct Retail
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $53K – $73K including a $40K franchise fee, 9.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 56/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 31 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -6.2% 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
DECORATING DEN SYSTEMS, INC.
Incorporated in
Missouri
HQ
8659 Commerce Drive, Easton, MD 21601
Auditor
UHY LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$3.6M
vs $3.2M 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 DECORATING DEN INTERIORS 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: $53K–$73K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $5K–$12K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

21%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$15K
EBITDA margin
2.0%
Total invested
$71K
Payback
57 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

DDSI franchisees operate as independent interior design consultants, meeting with residential clients to design living spaces, select furnishings, and manage project completion. Day-to-day work involves client consultations, design proposals, vendor coordination, and project oversight—typically working from home or a small design studio with a 9% (scaling to 7%) royalty payable on all gross sales.

CEO
JAMES S. BUGG, JR.
Founded
1969
FDD year
2025
States available
37

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$53K – $73K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$5K – $12K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
9.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
4.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
13.0%
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
211
Opened
19
Last reporting year
Closed
30
Turnover rate
14.2%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
10.0%
Net growth (yr3)
-5.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-6.2%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
211-11
Franchised units
2024
222
Franchised units
2025
225
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 22 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 · 22 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
31
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

56
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE56 / 100

Decorating Den Interiors presents material risk: a contracting system with no financial transparency, unprotected territory, litigation history over service delivery, and aggressive royalty structure on an unproven profit model.

Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-5.0% YoY) indicates shrinking franchise system and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (Avg Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) prevents accurate ROI assessment on $52,725–$73,400 investment
  3. 03HIGHRecent litigation (2023) with $112,000 settlement over service delivery failures raises quality control and customer satisfaction concerns
  4. 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other DDSI franchisees and non-franchised interior designers
  5. 05MEDHigh royalty burden (9%–7%) combined with undisclosed profitability means franchisees may struggle to achieve positive cash flow
  6. 06MINORShort 5-year franchise term limits ability to recoup initial $39,900 franchise fee and build long-term equity

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Maryland

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
165 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
B.O.S.S.
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

31 numbers

Locked
(770) 498-••••
Ms. Elliott and Ms. Woods have operated a Decorating Den Interiors unit franchise at
GA
(617) 696-••••
DSNE is a Massachusetts corporation and was formed on March
MA
(770) 560-••••
Allen Hugo has been President of TMC since its formation. Mr. Hugo has also been employed by ZMT Designs, Inc., as a franchise developer for Beef Jerky Outlet since December
GA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

DECORATING DEN INTERIORS · FDD (2025) PDF

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