FranchiseVerdict
The Great Frame Up logo
FV-02642·MODERATEExcellent86

The Great Frame Up

Formerly known as Floor Coverings International

RetailFranchising since 2007Website
Investment
$114K – $209K
23rd pct Retail
Avg revenue
53rd pct Retail
Royalty
6.0%
41st pct Retail
Units
55
48th pct Retail
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $114K – $209K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 57/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 43 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -8.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Franchise Concepts, Inc.
Parent company
CFran Holdings, LLC
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
5700 Mexico Road, Suite 6, St. Peters, Missouri 63376
Auditor
Conner Ash P.C.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.4M
vs $1.4M 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 Great Frame Up unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: retail
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $114K–$209K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$25K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

29%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$53K
EBITDA margin
7.0%
Total invested
$179K
Payback
41 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.

Overview

About

The Great Frame Up franchisees operate custom framing retail shops, offering design consultation, material selection, and framing services to customers seeking to preserve artwork, photographs, and memorabilia. Day-to-day operations include customer consultations, frame assembly, matting, glass cutting, and inventory management of frames, mats, and backing materials.

CEO
Joseph A. Lynch
Founded
1998
FDD year
2024
States available
19

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$114K – $209K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $25K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
6.0%
Percentage of Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
55
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
2
Turnover rate
3.6%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-1.8%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-8.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
55-1
Franchised units
2023
56
Franchised units
2024
60
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 17 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 · 17 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
43
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

57
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE57 / 100

The Great Frame Up presents elevated risk due to shrinking unit count, missing financial disclosures, franchisor litigation against franchisees, and unclear profitability, warranting extensive validation before investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 57 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-1.8% YoY) indicates a contracting franchise system with negative momentum
  2. 02MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (Avg Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) prevents validation of ROI claims and profitability expectations
  3. 03HIGHActive litigation by franchisor against franchisees for unpaid royalties suggests cash flow problems among existing franchisees and potential collection issues
  4. 04MEDHigh initial investment ($113.7K–$209.5K) combined with undisclosed earnings creates significant financial risk with unclear return potential
  5. 05MINOR6% royalty on gross sales (not net income) means franchisees pay regardless of profitability, straining operators during downturns

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

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

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
78 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
Lifesaver
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

53 numbers

Locked
(847) 398-••••
CA
(630) 629-••••
CA
(510) 601-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

The Great Frame Up · FDD (2024) PDF

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