Closets by Design franchise unit economics
Closets by Design franchisees sell custom closets, garage cabinets, home offices, pantries and wall beds through in-home design appointments, and build and install them from their own manufacturing facility.
Closets by Design franchise at a glance
Across 60 businesses open a year or more the 2025 average was $10,175,625 of sales with a median of $7,666,809, at a 52.28% closing ratio and a $5,946 average sale.
Closets by Design franchisees averaged $10,175,625 of sales in fiscal 2025, with a median of $7,666,809, according to Item 19 of Closets by Design’s 2026 FDD, issued 30 April 2026. The 60 in that group are 71%* of Closets by Design’s 84 locations. Fees paid to Closets by Design come to about 9.5%* of sales.
- A Closets by Design franchise costs $154,000 to $511,000 to open, including a $20,000 initial franchise fee, according to the brand's 2026 FDD.
- Closets by Design charges a royalty of 7.25% of sales and a 2.25% brand fund contribution.
- Closets by Design reported 84 franchised locations in its 2026 FDD.
- 36.7% of reporting Closets by Design locations reached the average.
- Work out Closets by Design's fees at your own sales with the minimum fee calculator.
These figures come from Closets by Design's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
Own this franchise?
See what your numbers should look like every month.
Talk to Averan → Move your books and accounting to Averan →- An appointment is worth $3,109 of revenue.A $5,946 average sale at a 52.28% closing ratio *, which makes the average business about 3,273 appointments a year, or 63 a week.
- The top quartile runs 4.9 times the appointments of the bottom.That is about 6,073 appointments against 1,236 *, on an average sale only 5% higher and a closing ratio 5.19 points higher, so volume accounts for most of the 5.68 times difference in revenue.
- Advertising must reach 12%, 14% or 16% of last year’s revenue.The requirement is 16% below $2 million, 14% from $2 million to $7 million and 12% above it, with the brand fund counted inside. The 7.25% royalty and the 2.25% fund come to 9.5% of sales paid to the brand at every reporting business *, and the owner spends the rest of the requirement.
- A third test raises the requirement 8% a year.It is last year’s advertising multiplied by 108% and divided by 12, capped at 20% or 23% of prior-year revenue. So a heavy year sets a heavier minimum. Escaping it takes overspending the table minimum by 15% to 40% in every month of two consecutive years.
- Sixty mature businesses average $10,175,625 and the median bills $7,666,809.22 of the 60 reach the average, which is 36.7% *, against a highest at $36,440,056 and a lowest at $1,973,175.
How much does a Closets by Design franchise make?
The average Closets by Design unit reported $10,175,625 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $7,666,809. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 9.5% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Top performers
What separates the top Closets by Design performers
Closets by Design splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The top group averaged $20,740,033 a year. The lowest averaged $3,648,287. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $7,666,809. The average was $10,175,625. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Site and trade area.The top band sells 5.7× the bottom band. Catchment, daytime population and neighboring businesses affect where a location falls.
- Territory.This model sells from a territory quoted at 250,000 households, with no storefront. Population density sets how much driving sits between jobs.
- Opening cost range.Opening costs $154,000 to $511,000, a 3.3× range inside one brand.
- Fees and the minimum.Fees run about 9.5% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
Live operating levers
- Visits.Track how many visits happen, what each one is worth, and how many customers book the next one before they leave.
Context you underwrite around
- Locations included.These figures cover 60 of 84 locations. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded.
- What the filing does not include.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations. Ask the franchisor or current owners for cost and profit figures.
Top performers
How far apart the locations are
Closets by Design reports its locations in performance groups, from the highest-selling to the lowest. The group-by-group figures are in the tables on the Model and Finance tabs.
Discounts available
- Closets by Design takes 10% off the initial franchise fee for honorably discharged veterans under the IFA VetFran Program.
From Item 5 of the Closets by Design 2026 FDD. The costs on this page use the full initial franchise fee for one unit, before any discount.
Businesses and territories
Sales, closing ratio and average sale by quartile, 2025
| quartile | Businesses | Average sales | Median sales | Closing ratio | Average sale | Reaching the average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top quarter | 15 | $20,740,033 | $18,901,767 | 56.00% | $6,098 | 15, 100% |
| Second | 15 | $9,965,981 | $9,915,597 | 52.72% | $6,189 | 7, 46.7% |
| Third | 15 | $6,348,199 | $6,128,104 | 49.59% | $5,691 | 0 |
| Bottom quarter | 15 | $3,648,287 | $3,947,942 | 50.81% | $5,808 | 0 |
| All 60 businesses | 60 | $10,175,625 | $7,666,809 | 52.28% | $5,946 | 22, 36.7% |
| All 78 territories | 78 | $7,827,404 | $5,698,104 | 52.90% | $5,979 | 24, 30.8% |
Every figure is as the brand reported it. The business rows covering the 60 franchised businesses open twelve months or more and the territory row covering the 78 territories on the same test.
The quartiles weight back to $10,175,625 exactly. Four groups of 15 *, so the quarter table and the headline average describe the same 60 businesses, and both can be used together.
A business averages 1.3 territories. 90 territories across 69 businesses *, so the per-territory average of $7,827,404 sits 23% below the per-business one. A buyer of one territory should read the territory row.
The closing ratio changes little, ranked by sales. 56.00%, 52.72%, 49.59% and 50.81% (a range of 6.4 points, with the bottom quarter closing better than the third) so the close rate is close to a constant in this system.
The average sale runs $5,691 to $6,189 across the quartiles. That is $6,098, $6,189, $5,691 and $5,808. The second quartile has the highest ticket of all four, and the range top to bottom is 5% *.
Every Closets by Design business in the top quarter beats the $10,175,625 system average, and none in the bottom two do. That is 15 of 15 against 0 of 15 twice.
What one appointment is worth
Jobs and appointments by quartile
| quartile | Average sales | Average sale | Jobs a year * | Closing ratio | Appointments a year * | Value of an appointment * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top quarter | $20,740,033 | $6,098 | 3,401 | 56.00% | 6,073 | $3,415 |
| Second | $9,965,981 | $6,189 | 1,610 | 52.72% | 3,054 | $3,263 |
| Third | $6,348,199 | $5,691 | 1,115 | 49.59% | 2,249 | $2,822 |
| Bottom quarter | $3,648,287 | $5,808 | 628 | 50.81% | 1,236 | $2,951 |
| All 60 | $10,175,625 | $5,946 | 1,711 | 52.28% | 3,273 | $3,109 |
Sales, closing ratios and average sales are as the brand reported it and the job, appointment and appointment-value columns divide them out, marked * throughout.
An appointment is worth $3,109 across the system. $5,946 of average sale at a 52.28% close *, so a franchisee looking for another million dollars of revenue is looking for 322 more appointments, which is six a week.
The average business runs about 63 appointments a week. 3,273 a year *, against 117 a week in the top quartile and 24 in the bottom, which is the honest description of what separates them.
Closing four points better is worth $221 an appointment. Moving from the system’s 52.28% to the top quartile’s 56.00% at the same $5,946 ticket *, which on 3,273 appointments is $723,959 of revenue. So the close rate is worth real money even though it accounts for little of the quarter range.
Raising the ticket by $250 is worth $131 an appointment. At the system close rate *, less than half what the same effort on close rate delivers, so design pricing is the second lever here.
The bottom quartile closes better than the third and bills 43% less. 50.81% against 49.59%, on $3,648,287 against $6,348,199 *, final proof that the constraint in this model is lead flow.
Advertising costs that only rise
Franchise fees by revenue group
| Sales group | Royalty at 7.25% | Advertising rate | Advertising | Paid to the brand, royalty and 2.25% fund | Share paid to the brand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,973,175, the lowest-selling business | $143,055 | 16% | $315,708 | $187,451 | 9.50% |
| $3,648,287, the bottom quartile | $264,501 | 14% | $510,760 | $346,587 | 9.50% |
| $6,348,199, the third quartile | $460,244 | 14% | $888,748 | $603,078 | 9.50% |
| $7,666,809, the median | $555,844 | 12% | $920,017 | $728,347 | 9.50% |
| $10,175,625, the average | $737,733 | 12% | $1,221,075 | $966,685 | 9.50% |
| $20,740,033, the top quartile | $1,503,652 | 12% | $2,488,804 | $1,970,303 | 9.50% |
Both rates are as the brand reported it and every dollar figure is marked. Applying each group’s advertising rate to the same year’s revenue although the requirement is set on the prior year’s. Apart from the 2.25% brand fund, the advertising is spent by the owner.
Crossing $7 million of revenue cuts the advertising rate from 14% to 12%. Worth $126,964 a year at the third quartile’s revenue *, so the group threshold is an operating target.
The brand fund sits inside the requirement. 2.25% of revenue in 2026, rising to 2.50% in 2027 and 2.75% in 2028 and after, all counted toward the 12% to 16%. So the fund increases shift money from the franchisee’s own media buying to the brand’s.
Last year’s advertising sets a monthly minimum. Last year’s total advertising multiplied by 108% and divided by 12 becomes a monthly minimum, capped at 23% of prior-year revenue up to $3 million and 20% above it. So a good year spent heavily raises next year’s obligation by 8% whatever revenue does.
The 108% minimum ends only if spending exceeds the table every month. By 15% under 500,000 households, 25% to a million, 35% to 1.5 million and 40% above that, in every month of both the previous and the succeeding year, a narrow door, and missing one month closes it.
The royalty has a $36,000 yearly minimum. $3,000 a month, which 7.25% overtakes at $496,552 of revenue *, far below the lowest-selling reporting business at $1,973,175, so the minimum is a start-up protection.
Territory and the system
Franchised outlets, 2023 to 2025
| Year | At start | Opened | Terminations | Ceased, other | At end | Net * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 66 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 76 | +10 |
| 2024 | 76 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 79 | +3 |
| 2025 | 79 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 84 | +5 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it and the net column is marked. Across a system that grew from 66 to 84 territories in three years.
The system grew 27.3% in three years and lost four outlets in total. All four left in 2025 *, two terminations and two that stopped operating for other reasons, against 22 openings across the period.
A territory costs $18,000 or $1,000 for each 10,000 households, whichever is greater. On top of a $20,000 franchise fee, so a typical 200,000 to 250,000-household territory costs $20,000 to $25,000 of territory fee, and the ceiling is normally 350,000 households.
The territory is expressly non-exclusive. The brand will keep another franchise out of it while the agreement is in compliance and will keep any public-access location out of it. But it and its affiliate reserve the right to serve customers there, so the protection is about premises.
Nine of the 69 businesses and 12 of the 90 territories are too new to report. Open less than twelve months at year end, so 13% of businesses and 13% of territories sit outside the figures on this page *.
The affiliate runs six businesses of its own, excluded entirely. So every figure here describes franchised operations, and the brand’s own results stay out of the comparison.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks
How much does a Closets by Design franchise make?
Closets by Design franchisees averaged $10,175,625 of sales in fiscal 2025, with a median of $7,666,809, according to Item 19 of Closets by Design’s 2026 FDD, issued 30 April 2026. The 60 in that group are 71%* of Closets by Design’s 84 locations. Fees paid to Closets by Design come to about 9.5%* of sales.
What does a Closets by Design business bill?
Across 60 businesses open a year or more, the 2025 average was $10,175,625 and the median $7,666,809, at a 52.28% closing ratio and a $5,946 average sale. 22 of the 60 reached the average. The highest billed $36,440,056 and the lowest $1,973,175. Counted by territory instead, the 78 mature territories averaged $7,827,404 with a median of $5,698,104.
What fees does Closets by Design charge?
Closets by Design charges a royalty of 7.25% of gross revenues or $3,000 a month, whichever is greater. Advertising must reach the highest of a dollar table set by households and months, a percentage of the prior year’s revenue (16% below $2 million, 14% from $2 million to $7 million, 12% above) and last year’s advertising multiplied by 108%. The 2.25% brand fund counts inside that requirement. On our reading the royalty and brand fund paid to the brand come to 9.5% of sales, and the owner spends the rest of the advertising requirement, a further 9.75% to 13.75% of sales.
What is an appointment worth at Closets by Design?
On our reading, a Closets by Design appointment is worth $3,109, from a $5,946 average sale at a 52.28% closing ratio. That makes the average business about 3,273 appointments a year, or 63 a week. That is 117 a week in the top quartile and 24 in the bottom.
Why does the top quartile bill so much more at Closets by Design?
The Closets by Design top quartile runs more appointments. It bills 5.68 times the bottom quartile on an average sale 5% higher and a closing ratio 5.19 points higher, which implies about 4.9 times the appointments. The bottom quartile actually closes better than the third quartile while billing 43% less, so the constraint is lead flow.
How does the advertising ratchet work at Closets by Design?
The third test sets a monthly minimum equal to last year’s total advertising multiplied by 108% and divided by 12, capped at 23% of prior-year revenue up to $3 million and 20% above it. It is waived only if in every month of the previous year your local spend exceeded the table minimum by 15%, 25%, 35% or 40% depending on household count, and only while that spending continues in every month of the following year.
What does a Closets by Design territory cost?
A Closets by Design territory costs a $20,000 franchise fee plus a territory fee of $18,000 or $1,000 for each 10,000 households, whichever is greater. Territories typically hold 200,000 to 250,000 households and normally stop at 350,000. Each additional 10,000 households beyond the $18,000 minimum costs $1,000.
How many territories does a Closets by Design business run?
Closets by Design owners hold about 1.3 territories on average, 90 territories across 69 businesses. So the per-business average of $10,175,625 sits well above the per-territory average of $7,827,404. A buyer of a single territory should benchmark against the territory figures.
Which two numbers should run monthly at Closets by Design?
Track appointments run against 63 a week, since each one is worth $3,109. Then track advertising spend against the rate for your group, because the third test makes this year’s spend next year’s minimum whatever revenue does.
- The filing gives no profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- The filing breaks out no cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
Questions worth putting to Closets by Design
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- Which factors does Closets by Design see in its highest-selling locations, such as trade area, years open and size?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many Closets by Design locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Numbers Check runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. It checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →What is an appointment costing you?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around the $3,109 an appointment is worth, the advertising group you sit in. What the 108% ratchet does to next year’s budget.
Talk to Averanthe franchise library, all 447 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Closets by Design reads against the rest of the remodel, garage and closets group: Archadeck Outdoor Living · Bath Tune-Up · DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen · Kitchen Tune-Up · Precision Garage Door Service · The Tailored Closet. The remodel, garage and closets guide compares all of them on the same figures.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?It works out the sales level where a minimum fee stops applying.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?It builds a 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?It shows how to tell whether payroll is rising or revenue is falling.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?It explains what changes at around ten units and why lenders care.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?It shows each location's contribution to profit and the reporting it takes to see it.
Where these figures come from.
Every figure here comes from CBD Franchising, Inc.’s 2026 FDD and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brand. Calculations of our own are labeled where they appear, the figures describe past performance at other businesses and are not a projection of yours. This page is an educational summary. It is not an offer to sell a franchise, and it is not financial, legal or tax advice. Closets by Design® is a registered trademark of its owner. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.
These figures come from the brand's disclosure. They are not a forecast, an offer to sell a franchise or advice. Source: CBD Franchising, Inc., 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, issued 30 April 2026.