FranchiseVerdict
Deka Lash logo
FV-00728·STRONGExcellent86

Deka Lash

Health & Wellness - OtherFranchising since 2016Website
Investment
$286K – $461K
64th pct Other
Avg revenue
$282K
8th pct Other
Royalty
6.0%
16th pct Other
Units
124
82nd pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $286K – $461K including a $60K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $282K/year.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 46/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 126 loans (below the industry average).
  • Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
DL Franchising, LLC
Parent company
DL Brands, LLC
Incorporated in
Utah
HQ
3527 Washington Road, McMurray, PA 15317
Auditor
Mumford Group
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$9.3M
vs $8.3M prior year
⚠ Going-concern note
Disclosed in FDD 2025
Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.

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 Deka Lash unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $282,068
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: personal services
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $286K–$461K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $6K–$15K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

15%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$59K
EBITDA margin
21.0%
Total invested
$384K
Payback
78 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 Deka Lash 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

$790K

on $3.9M purchase

Total debt

$3.2M

SBA $2.0M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees operate lash extension and beauty service studios, performing services like lash extensions, lash lifts, and related treatments for retail clients. Day-to-day operations include client bookings, service delivery, staff management, inventory control, and marketing within their protected territory.

CEO
Jennifer Blair
Founded
2015
FDD year
2025
States available
30

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$286K – $461K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$6K – $15K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$60K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Studio Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$282K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Weighted Average Gross Revenue by Segment
Sample size
119 units
vs category median 12 · large
Range (low → high)
$38K$773K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
3 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Revenue rank8th
vs Health & Wellness - Other peers
Investment cost rank64th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank16th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank82th
vs Health & Wellness - Other peers
Risk score rank11th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
124
Opened
7
Last reporting year
Closed
13
Turnover rate
10.5%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-4.6%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+0.8%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
124-6
Franchised units
2024
130
Franchised units
2025
123
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 24 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 · 24 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
126
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

46
Risk · 0-100
STRONG46 / 100

Deka Lash shows system contraction and profitability opacity, presenting moderate-to-cautious risk for franchisees despite protected territory and no litigation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDUnit count declined 4.6% YoY (124 units) — indicates system contraction rather than growth
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — cannot assess actual profitability or ROI despite $282k avg revenue
  3. 03MINORHigh initial investment ($285.9k-$460.8k) with royalty floor of $1,000/month minimum creates fixed cost burden
  4. 04MINORAverage revenue of $282k may not support $1,000/month minimum royalty + operating costs in mature/declining market
  5. 05MINOR6% royalty + $1,000 minimum royalty structure heavily favors franchisor over struggling locations

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
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
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
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
Pennsylvania

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
46 hrs
On-the-job training
0 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

100 numbers

Locked
(704) 761-••••
NC
(248) 430-••••
MI
(860) 292-••••
CT

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Deka Lash · FDD (2025) PDF

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