Verified — real FDD extraction
Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory — SBA financing may be unavailable; verify with your lender
Salon Professional Education Company
Beauty & Personal Care · independent · est. —
The Salon Professional Education Company franchises private cosmetology academies that train students in hair, skin, and nail services for careers in the beauty industry. A franchisee operates a licensed beauty school facility with instructors, classrooms, and a student-staffed service floor open to the public, with revenue from tuition and guest services.
Salon Professional Education Company net unit count grew +14.3% from 2015–2017 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
5.1%
vs 5.4% across 23 beauty & personal care systems
Cost to open
$645K–$1.5M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
No loan record
no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand
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
2015–2017
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2017, 2 of 39 franchised outlets left the system — a 5.1% annualized exit rate, vs 5.4% across 23 beauty & personal care systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 26 | 35 | 39 |
| Opened | 10 | 9 | 3 |
| Transfers | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Outlets at end | 35 | 39 | 40 |
| Net change | +9 | +4 | +1 |
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $40K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $645K–$1.5M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes no earnings claim (Item 19) — ask current and former franchisees for real numbers.
To open (Item 7)
$645K–$1.5M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$40K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
6%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — this brand discloses no Item 19 earnings; validate with current & former owners.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$60K
6% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$600K
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 Salon Professional Education Company with an independent CPADistress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for Salon Professional Education Company. 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 Salon Professional Education Company's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →Salon Professional Education Company franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of Salon Professional Education Company franchises closed last year?
In Salon Professional Education Company's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2017), 2 of 39 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 5.1% — compared with 5.4% across 23 beauty & personal care 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 Salon Professional Education Company franchise cost?
Per Salon Professional Education Company's 2018 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $40K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $645K–$1.5M (Item 7).
What royalty does Salon Professional Education Company charge?
Salon Professional Education Company charges an ongoing royalty of 6.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2018 FDD.
Does Salon Professional Education Company disclose earnings (Item 19)?
No — Salon Professional Education Company's 2018 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim; ask current franchisees for real numbers.