Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S0357 since 2017
CRDN
Other · independent · est. —
CRDN (Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network) is a restoration franchise that cleans and restores textiles, garments, and electronics damaged by fire, smoke, or water. Franchisees run a facility- and van-based operation, working primarily with insurance companies and restoration contractors on claims.
CRDN net unit count grew +0.7% from 2013–2015 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Proven & steady
Distress
A real track record with an unremarkable region of the ledger: neither the growth nor the exits stand out, for better or worse. The main concern in the record: too many owners are failing outright rather than selling.
Exit rate · latest year
0.7%
fiscal 2015, per Item 20
Cost to open
$46K–$236K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
Too few resolved
30 loans exist; too few resolved to rate
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2013–2015
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2015, 1 of 136 franchised outlets left the system — a 0.7% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 132 | 134 | 136 |
| Opened | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| Transfers | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Terminations | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Outlets at end | 134 | 136 | 135 |
| Net change | +2 | +2 | -1 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 30 SBA-backed loans to CRDN franchisees since 2016. Most are still open, so there is not yet a resolved cohort large enough to rate.
—
6 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$1,132,709
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
10 vs 6
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO CRDN BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
Highland Bank
15.0% of this brand's loans
Who buys it
57.7%
first-time franchise owners
The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators charge off at roughly 10% versus 17% for brands sold mostly to newcomers.
Does experience help here?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 30 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to CRDN franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a total investment of $46K–$236K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$46K–$236K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
—
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
—
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$0
0% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$0
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for CRDN with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
The public record puts this brand toward the middle of the systems we score — but the evidence is thin, so treat it as a range, not a number.
Risk percentile (range)
40–64 / 100
Directional
Modeled SBA charge-off
12.9%
Observed SBA charge-off
0.0%
Top drivers: Share financed by high-loss lenders (lowers) · Investment ceiling (log) (raises) · Item 20 exit rate (lowers) · Single-lender dependence (raises). Thin loan history — treat this as a range, not a number. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for CRDN. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing CRDN's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →CRDN franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of CRDN franchises closed last year?
In CRDN's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2015), 1 of 136 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 0.7%. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a CRDN franchise cost?
Per CRDN's 2016 FDD, buying in requires a total initial investment of $46K–$236K (Item 7).
Does CRDN disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — CRDN makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2016 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.