Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S0659 since 2017
FCI
Other · independent · est. —
Floor Coverings International (FCI) is a mobile flooring retailer that brings flooring samples to customers' homes and handles installation of carpet, hardwood, tile, and other floors. A franchisee runs a "showroom on wheels," doing in-home consultations, sales, and managing installation crews.
FCI net unit count grew +43.7% from 2022–2025 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 & strong
Distress
Enough units and history to judge, and the record is good: growing or stable units with clean exits by the standards of its disclosed record. The main concern in the record: too many owners are failing outright rather than selling.
Exit rate · latest year
13.9%
fiscal 2025, per Item 20
Cost to open
$202K–$283K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
23.6%
vs 14.8% avg across rated brands
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
2022–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 40 of 288 franchised outlets left the system — a 13.9% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 197 | 215 | 252 | 288 |
| Opened | 38 | 57 | 65 | 61 |
| Transfers | 4 | 11 | 20 | 17 |
| Terminations | 11 | 18 | 11 | 15 |
| Non-renewals | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 6 | 1 | 15 | 25 |
| Outlets at end | 215 | 252 | 288 | 309 |
| Net change | +18 | +37 | +36 | +21 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 189 SBA-backed loans to FCI franchisees since 2014. Of the 72 that have resolved, 23.6% were charged off (defaulted) rather than paid in full, versus 14.8% across 576 rated brands.
23.6%
17 of 72 resolved defaulted
83.3%
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
19.7%
default rate × loss severity
$187,073
what recent franchisees borrowed
36 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
29 vs 17
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO FCI BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
the Huntington National Bank
31.2% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 10.1% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
61.4%
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 189 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to FCI 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 $55K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $202K–$283K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$202K–$283K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$55K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
5%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$50K
5% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$500K
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 FCI with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
Modeled from the public record, this brand sits mid-pack: riskier than 69% of systems we score.
Risk percentile
69 / 100
Loan-corroborated
Modeled SBA charge-off
15.3%
Observed SBA charge-off
23.6%
Top drivers: Share financed by high-loss lenders (raises) · Investment ceiling (log) (raises) · System size (log units) (lowers) · Item 20 exit rate (raises). 15+ resolved loans stand behind this estimate. 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 FCI. 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 FCI's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →FCI franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of FCI franchises closed last year?
In FCI's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 40 of 288 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 13.9%. 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 FCI franchise cost?
Per FCI's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $55K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $202K–$283K (Item 7).
What royalty does FCI charge?
FCI charges an ongoing royalty of 5.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does FCI disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — FCI makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $1.0M. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.
How often do SBA loans for FCI franchises default?
Across 189 SBA-backed loans to FCI franchisees since 2014, 17 of the 72 that have resolved were charged off — a 23.6% default rate, versus about 14.8% across all rated franchise brands. This is the lender's-eye view of franchisee failure, drawn from public SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA data and independent of the franchisor's own disclosures.