FranchiseVerdict
Petland logo
FV-01934·STRONGExcellent95

Petland

Personal Services - Pet CareFranchising since 1972Website
Investment
$316K – $1.1M
73rd pct Pet Care
Avg revenue
$2.9M
58th pct Pet Care
Royalty
4.5%
10th pct Pet Care
Units
91
82nd pct Pet Care
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $316K – $1.1M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.5% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $2.9M/year (median $2.7M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 175 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Petland, Inc.
Incorporated in
Ohio
HQ
250 Riverside Street, Chillicothe, Ohio 45601-5606
Auditor
Brixey & Meyer, Inc.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$67.0M
vs $55.6M 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 Petland unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $2,868,840
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: automotive
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $316K–$1.1M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $45K–$100K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

74%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$574K
EBITDA margin
20.0%
Total invested
$771K
Payback
16 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 Petland units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

24.6%

3.00× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

3.46×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$21.1M

on $37.3M purchase

Total debt

$16.2M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($18.6M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Petland franchisees operate retail stores selling puppies, kittens, small animals, and pet supplies to consumers. Daily operations include animal care/husbandry, customer sales, health/welfare documentation compliance, and inventory management. The business model relies on sourcing animals from breeders and wholesalers, managing live animal logistics, and navigating state/local animal welfare regulations.

CEO
Joe Watson
Founded
1967
FDD year
2025
States available
23

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$316K – $1.1M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$45K – $100K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
4.5%
Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
0.5%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
5.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$2.9M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$2.7M
Item 19 type
Gross Revenues
Sample size
65 units
vs category median 12 · large
Range (low → high)
$545K$8.3M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank58th
vs Personal Services - Pet Care peers
Investment cost rank73th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank10th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank82th
vs Personal Services - Pet Care peers
Risk score rank18th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
91
Opened
6
Last reporting year
Closed
3
Turnover rate
3.3%
Company-owned
21
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
77%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+4.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-2.8%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
70+3
Franchised units
2024
67
Franchised units
2025
72
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 25 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 · 25 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
175
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

51
Risk · 0-100
STRONG51 / 100

Petland presents elevated risk due to undisclosed profitability metrics, persistent litigation related to core business (pet sales), slow system growth, and structural headwinds in pet retail.

Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo average net income disclosed in FDD Item 19 — cannot validate actual profitability against $315K-$1.08M investment
  2. 02HIGHChronic litigation involving fraud, consumer protection violations, and breach of contract claims — reputational and operational risk
  3. 03MINORSlow unit growth at 4.5% YoY with only 91 units suggests market saturation, franchisee struggles, or brand deterioration
  4. 04MEDHigh initial investment ($315K minimum) coupled with undisclosed net income creates poor ROI transparency
  5. 05MINORTiered royalty structure (4.5% then 2.25%) incentivizes rapid expansion over franchisee profitability
  6. 06MINORPet retail sector faces headwinds from online retailers (Chewy, Amazon) and big-box competitors (PetSmart, Petco)
  7. 07HIGHLitigation settlements indicate ongoing customer dissatisfaction and potential compliance issues with animal welfare standards

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
population based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
20 years
Renewal term
20 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
6
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
3 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Ohio

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
56 hrs
On-the-job training
266 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

89 numbers

Locked
(412) 363-••••
PA
(812) 234-••••
IN
(203) 901-••••
CT

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Petland · FDD (2025) PDF

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