Ace Hardware vs Pet Supplies Plus: franchise research comparison

Investment by format

Format-specific estimates only. Do not combine one format's minimum with another format's maximum.

Franchise fees and ongoing costs

Franchise fee

$5,000 to $10,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review.

Royalty

No traditional royalty; Ace is a retailer-owned cooperative wholesaler. Members instead pay various recurring fees (see other_notable_recurring_fees).

Marketing contribution

Not captured

Technology fee

Computer hardware/software for POS: $35,000-$75,000 initial; ongoing maintenance estimated at $700/month, plus $7.50 per payment device/month if using Epicor POS for transactional security.

Other fees

Core Retail Services $315.25/mo (parent store) + $131.50/mo per branch store, +2.5%/yr; Annual Brand Assessment (2% of prior-year purchases after first year, $6,000 flat in first year); Ace Rewards Program $850 initial + $75/mo per store

Working capital (FDD Item 7)

$90,000 - $205,000 working capital for the first 90 days of operation (start-up table; covers inventory, payroll, and market expenses).

Working capital is drawn from Item 7. The Investment source below locates the investment section, not an independently verified working-capital scalar.

Financial performance: Item 19

Item 19 captured

Yes

Metric / basis

Average and median annual gross sales volume, by retail format, from the 2023 Retail Financial Report (RFR)

Reporting period

2023 (data as of December 31, 2023, prepared by Profit Planning Group)

Sample

689 Reporting Stores (14.3% of total domestic Ace-branded member stores as of 12/31/2023), voluntarily reporting single-store data; broken into 5 formats: Express (13 stores), Convenience (83), Core (343), Super (194), Home Center (56)

Reported average

Not captured

Reported median

Not captured

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Results depend on the disclosed metric, sample and period; consult the full filing.

Unit growth: Item 20

Reporting year

2024

Scope

franchised outlets

Starting outlets

4759

Year-end outlets

4885

Net change

+126

Derivation

ending minus starting outlets

Openings

210

Terminations

65

Non-renewals

0

Other closures

0

Reacquisitions

19

Transfers

112

Transfers are not closures. Net change is ending minus starting outlets for the stated scope and year, or complete openings less terminations, non-renewals, other closures and reacquisitions. Missing inputs stay unknown.

SBA loan history

Loan activity

273 approvals

Activity window

FY2021-FY2026 YTD; snapshot 2026-06-30

Median SBA loan

$685,000

Median loan window

FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30

Median loan sample

111 loans

Historical charge-off share

6.10%

Cohort

7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals

Numerator / denominator

18 / 295

Formula

CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100

This is a historical loan-level share, not a franchise failure probability or location survival rate. Loan size is not total investment. Other loan statuses are excluded from the seasoned denominator. Activity combines 7(a) and 504 approvals, excluding canceled and not-funded records; this is not a rolling five-year count. FY2024-25 franchise tags are sparse after directory suspension; fewer tagged loans do not establish brand decline. Recent charge-off cohorts are immature.

Median loan amounts are financing context, not startup cost. The median window is separate from the seasoned charge-off cohort.

Investment by format

Format-specific estimates only. Do not combine one format's minimum with another format's maximum.

Franchise fees and ongoing costs

Franchise fee

$49,900 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review.

Royalty

3% · 2% of monthly Gross Sales for first 12 months of operation, then 3% of monthly Gross Sales thereafter; payable via EFT on the 10th of each month for prior month

Marketing contribution

3.5% (basis not captured; see original filing)

Technology fee

Up to $1,500 per month depending on store build-out and services selected; payable monthly via EFT; may increase up to 10% annually

Other fees

POS leasing payments ~$295-$431/month; Grooming scheduling software $135/month (plus per-text fees); 3rd party courier delivery fees ~$150-$1,700/month (optional)

Working capital (FDD Item 7)

$40,000 to $300,000 in Additional Funds for the Initial Period, which PSP defines as 6 months (not 3 months) from opening, to cover payroll, rent, wages, replacement inventory, licenses, security, repairs/maintenance and misc. expenses.

Working capital is drawn from Item 7. The Investment source below locates the investment section, not an independently verified working-capital scalar.

Financial performance: Item 19

Item 19 captured

Yes

Metric / basis

Average/median weekly and annual gross sales, annual gross margin %, annual rent (and % of sales), and annual labor expense (and % of sales) for franchised stores, broken out by store age cohort (1-year, 2-years, 3-years, 4+ years) and all-store average

Reporting period

Measurement Period January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025

Sample

385 Reporting Franchised Stores (out of 502 franchised stores open at start of period; excludes 23 transferred, 6 reacquired, 8 ceased operations, 18 newly opened, 57 non/late-reporting, and 5 with materially divergent self-reported data)

Reported average

$2,622,279

Reported median

$2,487,454

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Results depend on the disclosed metric, sample and period; consult the full filing.

Unit growth: Item 20

Reporting year

2025

Scope

franchised outlets

Starting outlets

502

Year-end outlets

498

Net change

-4

Derivation

ending minus starting outlets

Openings

18

Terminations

7

Non-renewals

1

Other closures

8

Reacquisitions

6

Transfers

23

Transfers are not closures. Net change is ending minus starting outlets for the stated scope and year, or complete openings less terminations, non-renewals, other closures and reacquisitions. Missing inputs stay unknown.

SBA loan history

Loan activity

130 approvals

Activity window

FY2021-FY2026 YTD; snapshot 2026-06-30

Median SBA loan

$957,000

Median loan window

FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30

Median loan sample

66 loans

Historical charge-off share

8.20%

Cohort

7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals

Numerator / denominator

5 / 61

Formula

CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100

This is a historical loan-level share, not a franchise failure probability or location survival rate. Loan size is not total investment. Other loan statuses are excluded from the seasoned denominator. Activity combines 7(a) and 504 approvals, excluding canceled and not-funded records; this is not a rolling five-year count. FY2024-25 franchise tags are sparse after directory suspension; fewer tagged loans do not establish brand decline. Recent charge-off cohorts are immature.

Median loan amounts are financing context, not startup cost. The median window is separate from the seasoned charge-off cohort.