FranchiseVerdict
Metal Supermarkets logo
FV-01619·STRONGExcellent95

Metal Supermarkets

Formerly known as Main Squeeze Juice Co.

OtherFranchising since 1987Website
Investment
$341K – $593K
79th pct Other
Avg revenue
$2.2M
42nd pct Other
Royalty
6.0%
17th pct Other
Units
85
74th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $341K – $593K including a $45K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $2.2M/year (median $1.8M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 41/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 125 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 15.3% CAGR over 3 years with 85 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Metal Supermarkets Franchising America Inc.
Parent company
MSKS IP, Inc.
Incorporated in
Ontario
HQ
5399 Eglinton Avenue West, Suite 210, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M9C 5K6
Auditor
MNP LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$11.3M
Most recent fiscal 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 Metal Supermarkets unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $2,160,901
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $341K–$593K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $50K–$110K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

59%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$324K
EBITDA margin
15.0%
Total invested
$547K
Payback
20 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 Metal Supermarkets units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

31.6%

3.94× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

2.55×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$7.1M

on $17.3M purchase

Total debt

$10.2M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($8.6M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Metal Supermarkets franchisees operate retail-focused metal distribution centers selling steel, aluminum, brass, and specialty alloys to contractors, fabricators, and manufacturers. Day-to-day operations include managing inventory, processing orders, fulfilling local delivery requests, and building B2B customer relationships in protected territories.

CEO
G. Stephen Schober
Founded
1985
FDD year
2024
States available
33

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$341K – $593K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$50K – $110K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$45K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$2.2M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.8M
Item 19 type
Gross Sales
Sample size
55 units
vs category median 20 · large
Range (low → high)
$519K$6.2M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
6 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank42th
vs Other peers
Investment cost rank79th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank17th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank74th
vs Other peers
Risk score rank4th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
85
Opened
4
Last reporting year
Closed
2
Turnover rate
2.4%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
98%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+2.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+15.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
83+2
Franchised units
2023
81
Franchised units
2024
72
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 21 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 · 21 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
125
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

41
Risk · 0-100
STRONG41 / 100

Mature, slow-growing system with undisclosed profitability data, active litigation over franchisor disclosure practices, and high investment barrier relative to transparent performance metrics.

Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — impossible to assess true profitability or ROI at $340K-$592K investment level
  2. 02MINORSlow unit growth (2.5% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee struggles in a mature 85-unit system
  3. 03HIGHActive litigation (D.N.J. 2022) alleging non-disclosure of supplier-competitor conflict indicates potential franchisor transparency issues and reputational risk
  4. 04MINORTiered royalty structure (6% → 5% → 3%) creates variable cost burden; low-revenue locations ($140K–$207K sales range) pay highest percentage
  5. 05MEDHigh initial investment ($340K–$592K) with no disclosed net income makes break-even analysis impossible for prospective franchisees

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

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

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
40 hrs
On-the-job training
105 hrs
POS system
MetalTech
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

97 numbers

Locked
(574) 359-••••
IN
(619) 816-••••
CA
(941) 313-••••
FL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Metal Supermarkets · FDD (2024) PDF

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