SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · ARIZONA
Fantastic Sams franchise in Arizona: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Fantastic Sams in Arizona have taken 23 SBA loans since 1991 (average $109,526), and of the 18 loans whose story has ended, 27.8% were charged off — versus 22.1% for Fantastic Sams nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands.
Loans in AZ
23
Resolved
18
Local charge-off
27.8%
National charge-off
22.1%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = AZ. 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.
Businesses in this industry
1,907
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
25.2
national 26.6
Versus the country
-5%
thinner
Every business in Fantastic Sams's industry operating in Arizona — 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.
Avg weekly wage, this industry
$725
Arizona, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$698
same industry, all states
Versus the country
+4%
costlier to staff
What Fantastic Sams's industry actually pays workers in Arizona, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025), employment-weighted across counties. This is a real cost signal independent of the FDD — a market can look demand-rich above and still carry a margin headwind here if local wages run hot for the sector.
| System | Loans in AZ | Local charge-off | Units in AZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Wax Centers-Galleria | 29 | 0.0% | — |
| Planet Beach | 26 | 52.4% | — |
| Amazing Lash Studio | 15 | thin | 6 |
| Elements Therapeutic Massage | 11 | 0.0% | — |
| SUPERCUTS | 10 | thin | 55 |
| GREAT CLIPS | 6 | thin | — |
| Hand and Stone | 6 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Fantastic Sams compares to the systems a buyer in Arizona 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. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Fantastic Sams's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.