SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · LOUISIANA
Ace Hardware franchise in Louisiana: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Ace Hardware in Louisiana have taken 10 SBA loans since 1991 (average $1,002,880)— too few resolved loans in-state to publish a local failure rate (we require a resolved cohort, never extrapolate), so the brand's national rate of 12.2% is the better guide.
Loans in LA
10
Resolved
4
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
12.2%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = LA. Charge-off rate = charged-off ÷ (charged-off + paid-in-full); open loans excluded. A local rate is published only when the resolved cohort clears our floor of 30 loans.
Businesses in this industry
963
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
20.9
national 39.6
Versus the country
-47%
thinner
Every business in Ace Hardware's industry operating in Louisiana — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across 198 brand-state cells in our loan data, the densest quartile charges off at 5.6% versus 18.1% in the thinnest. A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
| System | Loans in LA | Local charge-off | Units in LA |
|---|---|---|---|
| True Value Hardware | 5 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Ace Hardware compares to the systems a buyer in Louisiana would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Ace Hardware's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →