FranchiseVerdict
Verlo Mattress logo
FV-02886·STRONGExcellent91

Verlo Mattress

RetailFranchising since 1989Website
Investment
$239K – $784K
56th pct Retail
Avg revenue
$1.6M
46th pct Retail
Royalty
5.0%
15th pct Retail
Units
33
31st pct Retail
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $239K – $784K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year (median $1.4M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 41/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 24 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
FWR, LLC
Parent company
FWR Holdings, LLC
Incorporated in
Wisconsin
HQ
301 N. Broadway Street, Suite 300, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Auditor
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$2.2M
vs $2.4M 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 Verlo Mattress unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,608,140
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: $239K–$784K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$78K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

21%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$121K
EBITDA margin
7.5%
Total invested
$566K
Payback
56 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 Verlo Mattress 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

$161K

on $804K purchase

Total debt

$643K

SBA $0.4M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Verlo franchisees operate retail mattress showrooms selling sleep products directly to consumers. Day-to-day operations include customer consultations, in-store demonstrations, sales transactions, and managing local marketing efforts to drive foot traffic and build brand awareness in their protected territory.

CEO
Dirk Stallmann
Founded
1958
FDD year
2024
States available
7

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$239K – $784K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $78K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
5.0%
Percentage of Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.5%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.5%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.6M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.4M
Item 19 type
Franchisee
Sample size
13 units
vs category median 52 · small
Range (low → high)
$578K$2.9M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
7 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank46th
vs Retail peers
Investment cost rank56th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank15th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank31th
vs Retail peers
Risk score rank5th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
33
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
5
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
85%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+7.4%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+7.4%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
29+2
Franchised units
2023
27
Franchised units
2024
27
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 6 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 · 6 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
24
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

41
Risk · 0-100
STRONG41 / 100

Verlo presents moderate-to-cautionary risk due to absent profit disclosure, anemic unit growth, and unclear franchisor financial health, making ROI validation impossible before investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents accurate ROI calculation and profit visibility
  2. 02MINORSlow unit growth of 7.4% YoY suggests market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction in mattress retail
  3. 03MINORWide investment range ($239K-$784K) indicates inconsistent buildout costs and unclear capital requirements
  4. 04HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, which may indicate franchisor financial instability or reporting issues
  5. 05MEDHigh royalty rate (5%) on monthly gross sales with undisclosed net income creates profitability uncertainty

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Driving distance 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
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Wisconsin

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
133 hrs
On-the-job training
12 hrs

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

28 numbers

Locked
(217) 787-••••
IL
(847) 836-••••
IL
(346) 552-••••
TX

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Verlo Mattress · FDD (2024) PDF

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