Petland Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Petland is a pet-retail franchise selling pets, puppies, small animals, and fish, plus pet food and supplies. Franchisees run stores managing animal care, retail sales, and inventory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Petland franchise requires a total initial investment of $316K – $1.1M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.9M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 41.6% charge-off rate across 220 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $316K – $1.1M
- 62nd pct Pet Services
- Avg gross sales
- $2.9M
- 59th pct Pet Services
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- 7th pct Pet Services
- Units
- 91
- 71st pct Pet Services
- SBA charge-off
- 41.6%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Pet Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Pet Services avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
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).
- Verdict D (Below average), verdict score 31/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 41.6% across 220 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- System contracting at -6.7% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Petland, Inc.
- Parent company
- None
- CEO title
- President, Chief Executive Officer and Board Director
- Joe Watson
- Incorporated in
- OH
- HQ
- 250 Riverside Street, P.O. Box 1606, Chillicothe, Ohio 45601-5606
- Auditor
- Brixey & Meyer, Inc.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $55.6M
- vs $67.0M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Joe Watson
- Headquarters
- OH
- Founded
- 1967
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 23
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 46% above the typical pet services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Area Development Feenot refundable | — | — | |
| Real Property | — | — | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment and P.O.S. System | $60K | $350K | |
| Remodeling, Leasehold Improvements and Decorating Costs | $15K | $250K | |
| Inventory Required to Begin Operation | $75K | $200K | |
| Utility Security Deposits | $0 | $6K | |
| Lease Deposit | $0 | $20K | |
| Advertising Associated with Store Opening | $5K | $20K | |
| General Liability, Casualty and Other Insurance | $8K | $18K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $45K | $100K | |
| Travel, Room and Board to Attend Initial Training Program | $2K | $5K | |
| Construction Plans and Specifications | $15K | $15K | |
| Site Work, Fixture Coordination, and Construction Services Fee | $13K | $13K | |
| Store Merchandising and Set Up Assistance Fee | $13K | $13K | |
| On-Site Training Team and Grand Opening Assistance | $13K | $13K | |
| Licenses and Fees | $500 | $2K | |
| Uniforms | $1K | $2K | |
| Professional Fees | $2K | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $316K | $1.1M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $316K – $1.1M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $45K – $100K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- tiered · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $129 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $75K – $200K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 216% above the pet services norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$516K
18.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
67%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
18 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.7M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales_ranges_with_averages
- Sample size
- 65 units
- vs category median 12 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $545K→$8.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 77 Pet Services brands
Revenue is 4.1x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $2.9M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.1x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.0% — below the Pet Services average of 9.3%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -6.7% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Pet Services averages
How Petland Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 91
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Turnover rate
- 4.3%
- Company-owned
- 21
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 77%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +4.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -6.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 6
- Closed (3yr)
- 3
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 6
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 6.5%
- Units that stopped operating
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).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 220
- Loan volume
- $134.5M
- Median loan
- $414K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 41.6%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 58.4%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 60
- Defaults
- 72
- Typical loan rate
- 6.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 24.6%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 1,959
- 2.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 14%
- top lender's share
Franchise vs independent — in pet and pet supplies stores, franchised businesses charge off at 24.6% vs 23.3% for independents — franchising is associated with 6% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Petland charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Petland franchisees
Showing 3 of 60 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Petland's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 26-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
A 41.6% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 2 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 41.6% — 160% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
Six concluded cases, all involving customer complaints about pets purchased from Petland corporate or franchised stores (sick/behavioral issues). All settled confidentially. No pending claims or material civil actions.
Largest disclosed settlement: $4,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Brixey & Meyer, Inc.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 31 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo average net income disclosed in FDD Item 19 — cannot validate actual profitability against $315K-$1.08M investment
- 02HIGHChronic litigation involving fraud, consumer protection violations, and breach of contract claims — reputational and operational risk
- 03MINORSlow unit growth at 4.5% YoY with only 91 units suggests market saturation, franchisee struggles, or brand deterioration
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($315K minimum) coupled with undisclosed net income creates poor ROI transparency
- 05MINORTiered royalty structure (4.5% then 2.25%) incentivizes rapid expansion over franchisee profitability
- 06MINORPet retail sector faces headwinds from online retailers (Chewy, Amazon) and big-box competitors (PetSmart, Petco)
- 07HIGHLitigation settlements indicate ongoing customer dissatisfaction and potential compliance issues with animal welfare standards
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 20 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 25,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 6 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Columbus or Chillicothe, Ohio |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | OH |
| Litigation count | 6 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Six concluded cases, all involving customer complaints about pets purchased from Petland corporate or franchised stores (sick/behavioral issues). All settled confidentially. No pending claims or material civil actions.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 55 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 100 hrs
- Training location
- Chillicothe, OH and franchisee's store
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 18 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
89 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Petland · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Petland franchise?
The total investment to open a Petland franchise ranges from $316K – $1.1M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Petland franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Petland FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.9M. The median is $2.7M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Petland's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Petland has a charge-off rate of 41.6% across 220 loans, meaning 41.6% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Petland franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Petland has 91 total units in the United States, including 70 franchised units and 21 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Petland a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Petland as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 31 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.