Verified — real FDD extraction
Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory under this name — though SBA loans to its franchisees exist; verify eligibility with your lender
FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE
Retail & Products · independent · est. —
This is the same Fleet Feet specialty running retailer, here covering its triathlete-focused offering with gear for running, cycling, and swimming alongside expert shoe fitting. A franchisee runs the retail store and serves the local endurance-sports community.
FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE net unit count grew +39.6% from 2021–2023 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 standout in the record: the system is growing.
Exit rate · latest year
0.6%
vs 1.9% across 15 retail & products systems
Cost to open
$229K–$545K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
9.7%
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
2021–2023
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2023, 1 of 167 franchised outlets left the system — a 0.6% annualized exit rate, vs 1.9% across 15 retail & products systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 183 | 192 | 253 |
| Opened | 9 | 15 | 17 |
| Transfers | 0 | 9 | 8 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Outlets at end | 192 | 253 | 268 |
| Net change | +9 | +61 | +15 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 36 SBA-backed loans to FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE franchisees since 1991. Of the 31 that have resolved, 9.7% were charged off (defaulted) rather than paid in full, versus 14.8% across 576 rated brands.
9.7%
3 of 31 resolved defaulted
41.0%
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
4.0%
default rate × loss severity
$147,505
what recent franchisees borrowed
67 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
—
distinct banks 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 FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
Trustmark Bank
9.4% of this brand's loans
Who buys it
Too few identified operators
Does experience help here?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 36 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE 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 $45K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $229K–$545K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$229K–$545K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$45K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
4%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$40K
4% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$400K
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 FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE 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 42% of systems we score.
Risk percentile
42 / 100
Loan-corroborated
Modeled SBA charge-off
11.5%
Observed SBA charge-off
9.7%
Top drivers: Share financed by high-loss lenders (lowers) · Single-lender dependence (raises) · Item 20 exit rate (lowers) · Net unit growth (lowers). 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 FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE. 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 FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE franchises closed last year?
In FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2023), 1 of 167 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 0.6% — compared with 1.9% across 15 retail & products systems tracked here. 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 FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE franchise cost?
Per FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $45K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $229K–$545K (Item 7).
What royalty does FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE charge?
FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE charges an ongoing royalty of 4.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2024 FDD.
Does FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2024 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.
How often do SBA loans for FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE franchises default?
Across 36 SBA-backed loans to FLEET FEET, FLEET FEET TRIATHLETE franchisees since 1991, 3 of the 31 that have resolved were charged off — a 9.7% 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.