Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S2489 since 2018
Hammer & Nails
Other · independent · est. —
Hammer & Nails is a grooming franchise for men offering haircuts, hand and foot care, and related grooming services in a club-like setting. A franchisee operates a membership-driven grooming shop staffed by barbers and technicians serving a primarily male clientele.
Hammer & Nails net unit count grew +266.7% from 2017–2019 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
Too new to judge
Distress
11 franchised units over 3 disclosed years is not a track record — systems this early have realized only a fraction of their eventual failures. Judge the disclosures, not a verdict.
Exit rate · latest year
22.2%
fiscal 2019, per Item 20
Cost to open
$248K–$527K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
Too few resolved
57 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
2017–2019
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2019, 2 of 9 franchised outlets left the system — a 22.2% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Opened | 2 | 8 | 3 |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Outlets at end | 3 | 9 | 11 |
| Net change | +2 | +6 | +2 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 57 SBA-backed loans to Hammer & Nails franchisees since 2017. Most are still open, so there is not yet a resolved cohort large enough to rate.
—
9 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$481,180
what recent franchisees borrowed
19 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
17 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 HAMMER & NAILS BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
A typical Hammer & Nails buyer since 2020 borrowed $481K through SBA — about $70K a year in debt service. Against the brand's own disclosed median unit revenue of $314K, that is 22.1% of every dollar the store takes in — before rent, payroll, food, or royalty.
Who finances it
the Huntington National Bank
50.9% 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
45.6%
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 57 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to Hammer & Nails 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 $50K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $248K–$527K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$248K–$527K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$50K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
6.5%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$65K
6.5% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$650K
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 Hammer & Nails with an independent CPADistress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for Hammer & Nails. 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 Hammer & Nails's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →Hammer & Nails franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of Hammer & Nails franchises closed last year?
In Hammer & Nails's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2019), 2 of 9 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 22.2%. 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 Hammer & Nails franchise cost?
Per Hammer & Nails's 2020 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $50K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $248K–$527K (Item 7).
What royalty does Hammer & Nails charge?
Hammer & Nails charges an ongoing royalty of 6.5% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2020 FDD.
Does Hammer & Nails disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — Hammer & Nails makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2020 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $314K. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.