Lifestyle Publications
Formerly known as City Lifestyle
Bottom line
- Total investment $38K – $46K including a $30K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 62/100.
- 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
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 Lifestyle Publications unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
216%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees operate local lifestyle publications (print and/or digital), generating revenue primarily through advertising sales to local businesses. Day-to-day activities include selling ad space, managing content/editorial calendars, managing relationships with local advertisers and subscribers, and overseeing publication distribution. The franchisor provides brand, templates, and operational support in exchange for 7% of advertising revenue and a $30,000 upfront fee.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 26 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 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Lifestyle Publications presents meaningful compliance and transparency risks, with regulatory consent orders, undisclosed financials, employment classification exposure, and franchisor financial concerns offsetting moderate growth metrics.
Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating
- 01MINORFour consent orders from state securities divisions across multiple states indicate systemic franchise disclosure and registration compliance failures
- 02MINOR2020 class-action settlement regarding misclassification of publishers as independent contractors suggests potential employment law exposure and operational model vulnerability
- 03MEDFinancial performance metrics (average revenue and net income) not disclosed in FDD Item 19, making ROI assessment impossible and indicating potential weak unit economics
- 04MINORUnit growth of 14.9% YoY is modest for a franchise system and may mask higher churn rates not reflected in net unit count
- 05MINORRevenue model tied to 'Advertising Value' (7% royalty) is opaque—unclear how advertising value is calculated, audited, or enforced
- 06HIGHGoing concern status suggests potential financial instability at franchisor level, raising questions about support, training, and long-term viability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Lifestyle Publications · FDD (2025) PDF