Waxing the CityFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Waxing the City franchise requires a total initial investment of $340K – $646K, including a $43K franchise fee. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $478K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 7.0% charge-off rate across 114 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $340K – $646K
- 33rd pct Personal Care…
- Avg gross sales
- $478K
- 12th pct Personal Care…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 167
- 40th pct Personal Care…
- SBA default
- 7.0%
- 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
Bottom line
- Total investment $340K – $646K including a $43K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $478K/year (median $457K).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 69/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 7.0% across 114 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
- Waxing the City Franchisor LLC
- Parent company
- Purpose Brands Holdings, LLC
- Predecessor
- is Waxing the City Worldwide
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 111 Weir Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $13.8M
- Most recent fiscal year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
- Independent Franchisee Association
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Basecamp Fitness Franchisor
- Anytime Fitness Iberia
- Anytime Fitness Franchisor
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate standalone or co-branded waxing studios offering hair removal services (body waxing, facial waxing, Brazilian treatments). Daily operations include managing estheticians, scheduling client appointments, inventory management, and maintaining service quality in a high-touch beauty services environment.
- CEO
- Thomas Leverton
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 34
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $43K | $43K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Trainingnot refundable | $1K | $3K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $114K | $278K | |
| 3 Months' Rent and Security Depositnot refundable | $18K | $30K | |
| Construction Management Feesnot refundable | $0 | $13K | |
| Architect/Design Feesnot refundable | $11K | $22K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipmentnot refundable | $39K | $60K | |
| Office Suppliesnot refundable | $4K | $5K | |
| Technology Package and Licensesnot refundable | $13K | $26K | |
| Interior & Exterior Signagenot refundable | $17K | $35K | |
| Initial Retail Inventorynot refundable | $6K | $6K | |
| Initial Waxing Supply Inventorynot refundable | $8K | $8K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $3K | $3K | |
| Miscellaneous Expensesnot refundable | $4K | $7K | |
| Additional Funds and Working Capital for First 3 Monthsnot refundable | $35K | $85K | |
| Total initial investment | $340K | $646K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
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
$105K
22.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
19%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $340K – $646K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $35K – $85K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $28K – $43K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of (a) the Minimum Royalty Fee ($100/week), or (b…
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $799 |
| Transfer fee | $12K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $478K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $457K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 138 units
- vs category median 35 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $60K→$1.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $205K→$789K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 186 Personal Care & Beauty brands
Revenue is only 1.0x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Personal Care & Beauty averages
How Waxing the City Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 167
- Opened
- 31
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 15
- Turnover rate
- 9.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +10.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +11.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 16
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 4
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 9
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 62.5%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 27 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 114
- Loan volume
- $36.9M
- Median loan
- $313K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 7.0%
- 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)
- 81.4%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 25.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 42
- Defaults
- 8
Vintage analysis
Waxing the City charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Waxing the City's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 14-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Moderate-to-high risk profile driven by missing financial transparency (no Item 19), affiliate litigation history, undisclosed profitability, and unclear path to break-even on a $340k–$646k investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
1 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $5,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Code, Case No. 20-33163, United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston). On December 15, 2020 the Court confirmed CEC and its debtor affiliates Plan of Reorganization. On December 30, 2020 the Court provided for the discharge of the debtors.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 69 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — cannot verify $478k average revenue claim or actual profitability
- 02HIGHAffiliate litigation (The Bar Method) involving unregistered franchise sales in multiple states raises compliance concerns about franchisor's legal practices
- 03MINORNet income completely withheld — inability to calculate actual ROI on $339k–$646k investment with only 6% royalty floor
- 04MINORModest unit growth (10.6% YoY) combined with 167-unit base suggests potential market saturation or slower expansion than claimed
- 05MINOR6-year term is shorter than industry standard (10 years), creating renewal risk and uncertainty for long-term ROI
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 | 6 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Minnesota |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
1 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 39 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 43 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
66 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Waxing the City · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Waxing the City franchise?
The total investment to open a Waxing the City franchise ranges from $340K – $646K, with an initial franchise fee of $43K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Waxing the City franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Waxing the City FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $478K. The median is $457K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Waxing the City's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Waxing the City has a charge-off rate of 7.0% across 114 loans, meaning 7.0% 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 Waxing the City franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Waxing the City has 167 total units in the United States, including 150 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 31 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Waxing the City a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Waxing the City as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 69 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.