FranchiseVerdict
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FV-01603·MODERATEStandard67

Medicine Shoppe

Health & Wellness - OtherFranchising since 1970Website
Investment
$130K – $896K
33rd pct Other
Avg revenue
63rd pct Other
Royalty
3.0%
1st pct Other
Units
271
91st pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $130K – $896K including a $0 franchise fee, 3.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 113 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -8.8% 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
Medicine Shoppe International, Inc.
Parent company
Cardinal Health, Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
7000 Cardinal Place, Dublin, Ohio 43017
Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$226.8B
vs $222.6B 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 Medicine Shoppe 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: personal services
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $130K–$896K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $175K–$245K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

25%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$180K
EBITDA margin
24.0%
Total invested
$723K
Payback
48 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

Franchisees operate independent pharmacy retail locations, dispensing prescription medications, OTC products, and health services. Daily operations include managing inventory, processing prescriptions, counseling patients, staffing technicians, and maintaining compliance with pharmaceutical regulations and DEA requirements.

CEO
Brad Cochran
Founded
1970
FDD year
2025
States available
36

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$130K – $896K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$175K – $245K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$0
Royalty
3.0%
Gross Sales or Fixed Fee · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
n/d
Total fee load
3.0%
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
271
Opened
8
Last reporting year
Closed
29
Turnover rate
10.7%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-7.2%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-8.8%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
271-21
Franchised units
2024
292
Franchised units
2025
297
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 12 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 · 12 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
113
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

64
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE64 / 100

Contracting franchise system with hidden unit economics, unprotected territory, litigation exposure, and parent company legal liabilities presents high-risk investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORUnit count declining 7.2% YoY (271 units) indicates system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents realistic ROI assessment and suggests franchisor may be hiding poor unit-level economics
  3. 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; multiple franchisees could operate in same area, cannibalizing sales
  4. 04HIGHParent company Cardinal Health faces SEC accounting settlements and extensive opioid/product liability litigation, creating reputational and financial risk to franchise system
  5. 05MINORFranchisor has filed three arbitration actions against franchisees for breach and non-payment, signaling franchisee financial distress or operational conflicts
  6. 06MINORHigh investment ceiling ($895,653) combined with declining units and no profitability data creates significant capital-at-risk scenario
  7. 07MED5-year term is relatively short; limited time to recoup investment if system continues deteriorating

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
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
6
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Ohio

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 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

99 numbers

Locked
(620) 251-••••
KS
(727) 375-••••
FL
(620) 663-••••
KS

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Medicine Shoppe · FDD (2025) PDF

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