IMAGE Studios Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $773K – $1.7M
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
IMAGE Studios is a franchise that leases private, upscale salon suites to independent beauty professionals such as stylists, estheticians, and nail techs. Franchisees run the facility, earning rent and managing suites rather than providing salon services directly.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A IMAGE Studios franchise requires a total initial investment of $773K – $1.7M, including a $65K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2024. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $773K – $1.7M
- 59th pct Personal Care…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Cohort-only Item 19Incl. company outletsPartial period
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 12th pct Personal Care…
- Units
- 129
- 45th 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 median · 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 $773K – $1.7M including a $65K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports 2025 total revenue for 82 Reporting Salons (open full year), grouped into 4 occupancy cohorts (Tables 1-4); per-table avg/median figures are presented only in image-based tables not captured in text. Cohort high/low ranges from notes: 90%+ occ $301,347-$792,387; 80-89% $261,565-$861,839; 70-79% $248,615-$503,309; <70% $166,531-$632,804. Highest/lowest fields use the overall max ($861,839) and min ($166,531) across cohorts. Figures unaudited.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 71/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +33 franchised outlets in the latest year (34 opened, 1 closed); 31 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 86.8% CAGR over 3 years with 129 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Image Studios Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- IMAGE Studios HOLDCO, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2026 FDD
- Predecessor
- IMAGE Studios 360 Franchise, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and President
- Jason Olsen
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 1370 South 2100 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
- Auditor
- Bangerter, Lund & Associates
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $7.0M
- Most recent fiscal year
Affiliated brands
- IMAGE Studios
- IMAGE Studios Foothill
- IMAGE Studios Ogden
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jason Olsen
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2024
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 29
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 212% above the typical personal care & beauty franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $65K | $65K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $35K | $75K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $674K | $1.6M |
| Total initial investment | $773K | $1.7M |
Source: IMAGE Studios 2026 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
- $773K – $1.7M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $35K – $75K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $65K – $65K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $1K – $3K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for IMAGE Studios is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one IMAGE Studios unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 reports 2025 total revenue for 82 Reporting Salons (open full year), grouped into 4 occupancy cohorts (Tables 1-4); per-table avg/median figures are presented only in image-based tables not captured in text. Cohort high/low ranges from notes: 90%+ occ $301,347-$792,387; 80-89% $261,565-$861,839; 70-79% $248,615-$503,309; <70% $166,531-$632,804. Highest/lowest fields use the overall max ($861,839) and min ($166,531) across cohorts. Figures unaudited.
Item 19 of this FDD reports outlet performance by the occupancy rate each salon achieved, and states no single system-wide average. The figure shown here is not one the filing publishes; the cohorts it does disclose are listed with it.
Includes company-owned outlets
Covers a partial period, not a full year
- Item 19 type
- revenue and earnings
- Sample size
- 82 outlets
- vs category median 38 · large
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 177 Personal Care & Beauty brands
Item 19 · by the occupancy rate each salon achieved
What the filing does disclose
Each row below is quoted from the FDD's own Item 19 table. The single average above is not - the filing states no system-wide figure, and we cannot attribute the one shown to any row here.
Item 19 detail
Item 19 reports 2025 total revenue for 82 Reporting Salons (open full year), grouped into 4 occupancy cohorts (Tables 1-4); per-table avg/median figures are presented only in image-based tables not captured in text. Cohort high/low ranges from notes: 90%+ occ $301,347-$792,387; 80-89% $261,565-$861,839; 70-79% $248,615-$503,309; <70% $166,531-$632,804. Highest/lowest fields use the overall max ($861,839) and min ($166,531) across cohorts. Figures unaudited.
By occupancy achieved
| Segment | Sample (outlets) | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| 90%+ Occupancy (Reporting Salons) | 32 outlets | $531K |
| 80-89% Occupancy (Reporting Salons) | 21 outlets | $462K |
| 70-79% Occupancy (Reporting Salons) | 11 outlets | $354K |
| <70% Occupancy (Reporting Salons) | 18 outlets | $328K |
opening year cohort
| Segment | Sample (outlets) | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Opened in/before 2019 - Year 1 AUV | 10 outlets | $362K |
| Opened 2020 - Year 1 AUV | 8 outlets | $374K |
| Opened 2021 - Year 1 AUV | 7 outlets | $373K |
| Opened 2022 - Year 1 AUV | 13 outlets | $347K |
| Opened 2023 - Year 1 AUV | 31 outlets | $426K |
| Opened 2024 - Year 1 AUV | 26 outlets | $405K |
| Opened 2025 - Annualized AUV | 34 outlets | $293K |
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 8.0% (near the Personal Care & Beauty median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports revenue and earnings rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 86.8% CAGR over 3 years across 129 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 medians
How IMAGE Studios Compares
Category median of published Personal Care & Beauty brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 129
- Opened
- 34
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.8%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +86.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +86.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 3
- Reacquired
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 31
- 0.24 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 37
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 29 states 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.
29
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
IMAGE Studios presents moderate-to-high risk due to lack of financial disclosure, rapid unit growth sustainability questions, and high capital requirements relative to disclosed average profitability.
Why this reads harsher than the A grade: the grade weighs financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency across the whole filing, while this summary lists individual flags without that weighting. The flags are worth checking with current owners; neither is investment advice.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Bangerter, Lund & Associates
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
Score breakdown · what drove the 71 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORAggressive unit growth of 35.1% YoY raises sustainability concerns; rapid expansion often precedes market saturation or quality degradation
- 02MINORDual royalty structure ($300/week minimum) creates unpredictable cash flow burden, especially in early ramp-up phases
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | UT |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Online and Salt Lake City, Utah
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Property Management Software (CRM/accounting platform)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Property Management Software (CRM/accounting platform)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
120 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a IMAGE Studios franchise?
The total investment to open a IMAGE Studios franchise ranges from $773K – $1.7M, with an initial franchise fee of $65K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do IMAGE Studios franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the IMAGE Studios FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns IMAGE Studios?
IMAGE Studios is franchised by Image Studios Franchise, LLC. Its parent company is IMAGE Studios HOLDCO, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the IMAGE Studios 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 IMAGE Studios FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is IMAGE Studios's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for IMAGE Studios (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 IMAGE Studios franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, IMAGE Studios has 129 total units in the United States, including 127 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 34 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is IMAGE Studios a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates IMAGE Studios as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 71 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.