Bottom line
- Total investment $340K – $646K including a $43K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $478K/year (median $457K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 49/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 198 loans (below the industry average).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Waxing the City unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
13%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Waxing the City units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$765K
on $3.8M purchase
Total debt
$3.1M
SBA $1.9M + senior + seller note
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.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 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 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.
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.
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 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
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
98 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Waxing the City · FDD (2026) PDF