FranchiseVerdict
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FV-01879·MODERATEStandard67

Pandora

RetailFranchising since 2010Website
Investment
$961K – $1.8M
96th pct Retail
Avg revenue
53rd pct Retail
Royalty
Units
447
91st pct Retail
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $961K – $1.8M including a $0 franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 67/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 13 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -49.0% 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
Pandora Franchising, LLC
Parent company
Pandora Jewelry, LLC
Incorporated in
Maryland
HQ
250 West Pratt Street, 17th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21201
Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$282.8M
vs $218.6M 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 PANDORA 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: retail
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $961K–$1.8M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $25K–$50K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

3%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$45K
EBITDA margin
6.0%
Total invested
$1.4M
Payback
372 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

PANDORA franchisees operate jewelry retail locations selling the brand's charm bracelets, beads, and accessories. Day-to-day operations include customer service, inventory management, point-of-sale transactions, visual merchandising, and local marketing. Franchisees must maintain brand standards while generating foot traffic in leased retail spaces.

CEO
Luciano Rodembusch
Founded
2009
FDD year
2024
States available
22

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$961K – $1.8M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$25K – $50K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$0
Royalty
n/d
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
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
447
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
4
Turnover rate
0.9%
Company-owned
345
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
23%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-32.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-49.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
102+27
Franchised units
2023
150
Franchised units
2024
200
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 10 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 · 10 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
13
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

67
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE67 / 100

PANDORA's 32% annual unit decline, undisclosed financials, going concern status, unresolved litigation pattern, and lack of territorial protection indicate a deteriorating franchise system with high probability of franchisee failure.

Score breakdown · what drove the 67 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDSystem collapse: 32% unit decline YoY indicates severe franchisee distress and potential systemic failure
  2. 02MEDNo financial transparency: Average revenue and net income not disclosed prevents accurate ROI assessment
  3. 03HIGHGoing concern status false: Franchisor may lack financial stability to support franchisees
  4. 04HIGHPattern of litigation: Three disclosed lawsuits including $1.85M settlement suggests operational/contractual issues
  5. 05MINORNo territory protection: Franchisees face direct competition from other franchisees and franchisor-owned locations
  6. 06MINORUnknown royalty structure: Hidden or variable fees could erode already-unclear profit margins
  7. 07MINORZero franchise fee masks exploitation: May indicate franchisor profits primarily from royalties rather than franchisee success

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Mall
Protected territory
No
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
3 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
3
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
1 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Maryland

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
Pandora POS (Kliger Weiss, Inc.)
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

28 numbers

Locked
(305) 206-••••
FL
(847) 757-••••
IL
(201) 927-••••
IN

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

PANDORA · FDD (2024) PDF

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