Bottom line
- Total investment $2.0M – $6.7M including a $0 franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $13.0M/year.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 55/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 83 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Piggly Wiggly unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
17%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees operate independent grocery stores under the Piggly Wiggly banner, managing day-to-day retail operations including inventory procurement, staffing, customer service, and store marketing. They compete directly against national supermarket chains, regional competitors, and other Piggly Wiggly locations without territorial exclusivity or differentiated market positioning.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Piggly Wiggly presents high risk due to systematic unit decline, negligible unit-level profitability, unprotected territories, and structural barriers to positive ROI despite moderate investment costs.
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count: 90 stores with -3.7% YoY contraction indicates system shrinkage and potential franchisee struggle
- 02MINORRazor-thin profitability: $34,867 average net income on $13M revenue (0.27% net margin) is unsustainably low for grocery retail
- 03MINORNo territorial protection: Franchisees face direct competition from other Piggly Wiggly locations and zero exclusivity guarantees
- 04MINORHigh investment-to-return ratio: $2-6.6M capital requirement against <$35K average annual profit creates multi-decade payback period
- 05HIGHUnprotected contract: 5-year term with no going concern safeguards; franchisor could discontinue support or rebrand
- 06MINORTiered royalty structure appears favorable on surface but royalties paid on declining sales base as unit count shrinks
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
1 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Piggly Wiggly · FDD (2025) PDF