FranchiseVerdict
The Decor Group / Christmas Decor logo
FV-02621·STRONGExcellent95

The Decor Group / Christmas Decor

Home Services - Lawn & LandscapingFranchising since 1996Website
Investment
$22K – $131K
0th pct Lawn & Landsc…
Avg revenue
$419K
4th pct Lawn & Landsc…
Royalty
5.0%
0th pct Lawn & Landsc…
Units
240
96th pct Lawn & Landsc…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $22K – $131K including a $16K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $419K/year (median $226K).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 13 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
The Decor Group, Inc.
Incorporated in
Texas
HQ
2301 Crown Court, Irving, Texas 75038
Auditor
TJ Advisors LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$23.2M
vs $19.4M 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 The Decor Group / Christmas Decor unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $418,607
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restoration
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $22K–$131K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $1K–$6K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

68%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$54K
EBITDA margin
13.0%
Total invested
$80K
Payback
18 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 The Decor Group / Christmas Decor units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$502K

on $2.5M purchase

Total debt

$2.0M

SBA $1.3M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees operate seasonal outdoor Christmas decoration and lighting installation services, managing customer acquisition, design consultation, installation crews, and holiday removal. Revenue concentrates in Q4, requiring careful cash management and off-season planning. Territory-protected model allows franchisees to be primary service provider for residential and commercial holiday decorating in defined geographic areas.

CEO
Kevin B. (“Blake”) Smith
Founded
1984
FDD year
2024
States available
48

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$22K – $131K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$1K – $6K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$16K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
6.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$419K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$226K
Item 19 type
Average and Median Gross Sales
Sample size
192 units
vs category median 12 · large
Range (low → high)
$13K$7.3M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 6 / 5 · below
Revenue rank4th
vs Home Services - Lawn & Landscaping peers
Investment cost rank0th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank0th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank96th
vs Home Services - Lawn & Landscaping peers
Risk score rank33th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
240
Opened
10
Last reporting year
Closed
10
Turnover rate
4.2%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+2.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
240±0
Franchised units
2023
240
Franchised units
2024
235
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 21 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 · 21 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

51
Risk · 0-100
STRONG51 / 100

Declining franchisor financial health (going concern issue), active litigation over franchise breaches, and lack of income disclosure create elevated risk despite decent unit count and protected territories.

Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial viability issues at corporate level
  2. 02HIGHActive litigation (2023) involving breach of franchise agreement, misappropriation of confidential information, and interference with business — suggests enforcement challenges and IP protection concerns
  3. 03MEDNet Income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — inability to verify profitability claims despite $418,607 average revenue figure
  4. 04MINORUnit count stagnant at 240 with unknown growth trajectory — no clarity on system expansion or contraction momentum
  5. 05MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio (up to 31% of first-year revenue) with 5% royalty plus unknown marketing fund — potential cash flow compression
  6. 06MINORSeasonal business model (Christmas Decor) creates inherent revenue concentration risk and working capital challenges

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

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

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
72 hrs
On-the-job training
11 hrs
POS system
Light Right Cloud
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

93 numbers

Locked
(309) 347-••••
IL
(850) 226-••••
FL
(727) 612-••••
CT

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

The Decor Group / Christmas Decor · FDD (2024) PDF

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