SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · WISCONSIN
True Value Hardware franchise in Wisconsin: what the public record shows
Franchisees of True Value Hardware in Wisconsin have taken 8 SBA loans since 1991 (average $371,375)— too few resolved loans in-state to publish a local failure rate (we require a resolved cohort, never extrapolate), so the brand's national rate of 14.7% is the better guide.
Loans in WI
8
Resolved
7
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
14.7%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = WI. 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 of 30 loans.
Businesses in this industry
2,130
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
35.7
national 39.6
Versus the country
-10%
thinner
Every business in True Value Hardware's industry operating in Wisconsin — 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
$1,217
Wisconsin, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$1,252
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-3%
cheaper to staff
What True Value Hardware's industry actually pays workers in Wisconsin, 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 WI | Local charge-off | Units in WI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Hardware | 46 | 9.1% | — |
| Hardware Hank | 27 | 0.0% | — |
| Budget Blinds | 23 | thin | — |
| Snap-On | 14 | 10.0% | — |
| Woodcraft | 8 | thin | — |
| WINDOW WORLD, WORLD OF WINDOWS, COMFORTWORLD | 5 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how True Value Hardware compares to the systems a buyer in Wisconsin 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 True Value Hardware's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.