January-February 2018/ENTREPRENEUR.COM / 211
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85
GNC Franchising
Vitamins and nutrition products
Pittsburgh
1935/1988 ALL C,I** 3,210/
3,524
3,238/
3,506
3,084/
3,506
$180.5K-$347.3K/
$40K
6% YES NO NO
NR
Max Muscle Sports Nutrition
Sports nutrition products, weight-loss consulting,
athletic apparel
Orange, Calif.
1991/2001 ALL NO 136/0 136/0 127/0 $114.6K-$281.3K/
$18.5K-$35K
6% YES NO NO
19
Ace Hardware
Hardware and home-improvement stores
Oak Brook, Ill.
1924/1976 ALL C,I** 4,749/91 4,835/96 4,932/
101
$272.5K-$1.6M/$5K 0 YES NO NO
118
Batteries Plus Bulbs
Batteries, light bulbs, related products
Hartland, Wis.
1988/1992 ALL NO 614/46 638/48 660/52 $152.2K-$369.5K/
$37.5K
5% YES NO NO
190
Buddy’s Home Furnishings
Home-furnishing, electronics,
and appliance leasing
Ta m p a , F l a.
1965/2007 ALL* NO 139/54 178/33 257/31 $385.2K-$912.6K/
$25K
6% YES NO NO
200
Slumberland Franchising
Home furnishings
Little Canada, Minn.
1967/1974 MW NO 80/43 75/50 74/53 $545.5K-$1.99M/
$30K-$50K
3% YES NO NO
266
Rent-A-Center
Rent-to-own furniture, electronics,
computers, appliances
Plano, Texas
1980/2013 ALL* NO 150/
2,928
154/
2,755
150/
2,564
$355.4K-$582.4K/
$35K
4-6% YES NO NO
307
Metal Supermarkets
Metal stores
Mississauga, Ontario
1985/1987 ALL C,I** 69/5 80/5 83/5 $216.5K-$378K/
$39.5K
6% YES NO NO
324
Crown Trophy
Award and recognition items
Hawthorne, N.Y.
1978/1987 ALL NO 142/0 141/0 142/0 $168.2K-$227.7K/
$35K
5% YES NO NO
38
Wireless Zone
Wireless devices, services, and accessories
Rocky Hill, Conn.
1988/1989 ALL NO 353/29 323/0 340/0 $142.5K-$328.5K/
$1K-$25K
22-9% YES NO NO
419
HobbyTown
General hobbies and supplies, toys
Lincoln, Neb.
1969/1986 ALL NO 160/0 158/0 150/0 $153.3K-$326.1K /
$20K
3% NO NO NO
421
Merle Norman Cosmetics
Cosmetics and skin-care products
Los Angeles
1931/1973 ALL C,I 1,289/2 1,236/2 1,182/2 $34.8K-$186.5K/$0 0 YES NO YES
451
Gateway Newstands
Newsstand and sundry stores
Woodbridge, Ontario
1983/1983 ALL C 382/0 377/0 365/0 $55.9K-$501.8K/
$15K-$150K
3.5% YES NO YES
RANK
KEY
KThousands ($), M Millions ($), $ U.S. dollars,
*Selling multiple units/master licenses only,
** Selling int’l. master licenses only
REGIONS
MW Midwest, NE Northeast, S South, SE Southeast,
SW Southwest, W West, C Canada, I Other International
Year Began/
Franchising
Since
Available
U.S.
Regions
Seeking
Int’l?
2015
Number of
Franchises/
Company-
Owned
2016
Number of
Franchises/
Company-
Owned
2017
Number of
Franchises/
Company-
Owned
Royalty
Fee
Home-
Based/
Mobile
Opportunity
Kiosk/
Express
Unit
Available?
Financing
Available?
Startup Costs/
Franchise Fee