Sharkey’s Cuts for KidsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids franchise requires a total initial investment of $189K – $299K, including a $40K franchise fee. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $273K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 6.3% charge-off rate across 66 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $189K – $299K
- 19th pct Personal Care…
- Avg gross sales
- $273K
- 2nd pct Personal Care…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 141
- 38th pct Personal Care…
- SBA default
- 6.3%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Personal Care & Beauty · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Personal Care & Beauty avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
The system grew 18% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
Bottom line
- Total investment $189K – $299K including a $40K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $273K/year.
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 6.3% across 66 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids International Co., LLC
- Predecessor
- is the current owner of all of our trademarks
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- CT
- HQ
- 37 Highland Road, Westport, Connecticut 06880
- Auditor
- REESE CPA LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $7.1M
- vs $5.4M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate children's haircut salons offering kid-friendly styling, entertainment, and retail products in a fun, themed environment. Day-to-day operations include managing stylists, scheduling appointments, marketing locally, inventory control, and customer service for families seeking haircuts for children ages newborn to young teens.
- CEO
- Scott Sharkey
- Headquarters
- CT
- Founded
- 2013
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 29
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $0 | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $149K | $229K |
| Total initial investment | $189K | $299K |
Source: Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids 2024 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$57K
21.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
22%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $189K – $299K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- $1,000 to $1,750 per month
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 3.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $165 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 3.0% of rev |
A 3.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $273K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 114 units
- vs category median 35 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $77K→$657K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $151K→$396K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 3 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Compared against 186 Personal Care & Beauty brands
vs Personal Care & Beauty averages
How Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 141
- Opened
- 26
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Turnover rate
- 2.8%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +17.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +53.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 12
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 31 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
- 66
- Loan volume
- $11.3M
- Median loan
- $170K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 6.3%
- 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)
- 93.8%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 20
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Moderate-to-caution risk profile: lack of profitability disclosure, litigation history over pre-opening support, and high fee structure outweigh modest growth, requiring deep due diligence on actual franchisee economics.
Litigation (Item 3)
2 case reference(s): 1 pending, 1 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $3,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Code; (b) obtained a discharge of its debts under the bankruptcy code; or (c) was a principal officer of a company or a general partner in a partnership that either filed as a debtor (or had filed against it) a petition to start an action under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or that obtained a
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · REESE CPA LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo average net income disclosed (Item 19 missing) — impossible to validate ROI claims or profitability benchmarks
- 02HIGHTwo litigation cases including 2022 settlement over breach of pre-opening obligations — suggests franchisor may not deliver promised support
- 03MINORHigh initial investment ($189K-$299K) paired with substantial monthly royalties ($1K-$1.75K) creates significant fixed cost burden with unproven return
- 04MINOR17.6% YoY unit growth appears healthy but modest in children's services sector; no multi-year trend data provided
- 05MINOR2014 Virginia Consent Order for unregistered franchise sales indicates historical compliance issues with franchise regulations
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Connecticut |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
2 case reference(s): 1 pending, 1 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at franchisee's restaurant and corporate training facility
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
191 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids franchise?
The total investment to open a Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids franchise ranges from $189K – $299K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $273K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids has a charge-off rate of 6.3% across 66 loans, meaning 6.3% 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 Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids has 141 total units in the United States, including 91 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 26 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 64 out of 100, 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.
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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.