Wag N Wash franchise unit economics
Wag N Wash franchisees run pet stores that sell self-service dog washing, grooming, pet bakery goods, and pet food and supplies.
Wag N Wash franchise at a glance
Item 19 of Wag N Wash's 2026 FDD reports 2025 gross sales, gross margin, rent and labor for 11 stores, split between higher-selling and lower-selling stores, with a median and range for each measure.
Wag N Wash franchisees averaged $1,208,177 of sales in 2025, with a median of $1,058,521, according to Item 19 of Wag N Wash’s 2026 FDD, issued 20 April 2026. The 11 in that group are 79%* of Wag N Wash’s 14 locations. Fees paid to Wag N Wash come to about 5.17%* of sales.
- A Wag N Wash franchise costs $520,250 to $1,357,300 to open, according to the brand's 2026 FDD.
- Wag N Wash charges a royalty of 4% of sales and a 1.17% brand fund contribution.
- 45.5% of reporting Wag N Wash locations reached the average.
- At the average Wag N Wash location, rent and space costs took 10.1% and cost of goods took 33.4% of sales.
- Work out Wag N Wash's fees at your own sales with the minimum fee calculator.
- At the average Wag N Wash store, rent and labor take 51.1 points of the 66.6% left after the cost of stock, leaving 15.6 before the brand and 8.1 after it.
- A Wag N Wash store keeps 66.6 cents of every dollar after the cost of its stock, then rent takes 10.1 points and wages 41.0 points.
These figures come from Wag N Wash's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
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Talk to Averan → Move your books and accounting to Averan →- Labor alone takes 41.0% of sales. $495,060 against $804,796 of gross profit *, so 61 cents of every margin dollar is a wage before anything else is paid.
- The five lower-selling stores run a 68.4% profit share against 65.8% for the six higher-selling ones. 68.4% against 65.8%, and still earn $472,995 less of margin, because rate is a ratio and dollars are what pay the rent.
- The system-average rent is 7.9% of a top store’s sales and 15.2% of a lower-selling one’s. That is $121,769 against $1,549,098 and $799,072 *. The clearest reason volume matters more than rate here.
- Royalty climbs from 2% to 4% across the first two years. $24,164 in year one rising to $48,327 by year three at average sales *, so the brand cost doubles while the store is still finding its feet.
- Eight of 23 franchised stores were reacquired during 2025. Taking franchised stores from 23 to 14 while affiliate-owned went from 6 to 12, the single largest ownership shift in this library.
How much does a Wag N Wash franchise make?
The average Wag N Wash unit reported $1,208,177 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $1,058,521. Item 19 of the Wag N Wash FDD publishes gross sales, gross margin, rent and labor for 11 reporting stores, and what an owner keeps depends on the costs set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 5.2% 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 stores are below.
Top performers
What separates the top Wag N Wash performers
Wag N Wash splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The top group averaged $1,549,098 a year. The lowest averaged $799,072. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $1,058,521. The average was $1,208,177. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Site and trade area.The top band sells 1.9× the bottom band. Catchment, daytime population and neighboring businesses affect where a location falls.
- Capacity.Locations run 2,500 to 5,000 square feet. The build sets how much you can sell.
- Opening cost range.Opening costs $520,250 to $1,357,300, a 2.6× range inside one brand.
- Lease cost.Occupancy cost ran 10.1% of sales in this filing. Rent stays the same when sales fall, so it takes a larger share of sales at lower-selling locations.
- Cash needed in the first year.This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
Live operating levers
- Products and materials.Products and materials take 33.4% of sales. The levers are buying terms, price discipline and waste.
- Occupancy cost.Rent and building costs take 10.1% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Sales depend on pets served.The owner counts how many pets come through in a day and how many come back within the month.
- Memberships and rebooking.A recurring plan turns appointments into a monthly subscription and keeps the schedule fuller. Rebooking before the customer leaves keeps it full.
- Service and retail mix.Retail sales and the share of customers on higher service tiers raise revenue per hour without adding hours or rooms.
- Fees.Wag N Wash’s fees run about 5.2% of sales, and Wag N Wash sets no minimum royalty.
Context you underwrite around
- Locations included.These figures cover 11 of 14 locations. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, as are locations under the brand’s current size standard.
- What the filing does not include.Item 19 of the Wag N Wash FDD publishes gross sales, gross margin, rent and labor for 11 reporting stores. Ask the franchisor or current owners for any cost line the filing leaves out.
Discounts available
- Wag N Wash waives the initial fee for owners of an approved retail pet store converting to a Wag N Wash, if they order all required signage at signing.
- Wag N Wash charges existing franchisees $35,000 for the second and later stores, including under a multi-unit agreement.
- Wag N Wash takes 20% off the first franchise's fee for honorably discharged U.S. veterans (VetFran).
- Wag N Wash takes 10% off the first franchise's fee for current and former firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement officers with at least five consecutive years of service.
- Wag N Wash charges its own employees a $10,000 initial fee on their first store.
From Item 5 of the Wag N Wash 2026 FDD. The costs on this page use the full initial franchise fee for one unit, before any discount.
Where the dollar goes
Average store profit and loss
| Line | Amount | Share of sales |
|---|---|---|
| Annual sales | $1,208,177 | 100% |
| Cost of goods | $403,381 | 33.4% |
| gross profit | $804,796 | 66.6% |
| Labor | $495,060 | 41.0% |
| Rent | $121,769 | 10.1% |
| Left before the brand | $187,967 | 15.6% |
| Royalty at 4% | $48,327 | 4.0% |
| Advertising at 3.5% | $42,286 | 3.5% |
| Left after the brand | $97,354 | 8.1% |
The brand reported sales, gross margin, rent and wages. We worked out the cost of stock, the brand's charges and the last two lines from those.
Utilities, insurance, supplies, interest and owner pay all come out of the last $97,354, or 8.1% of sales *. Three lines decide it: stock, rent and wages.
Wages take 61.5% of gross margin. $495,060 of $804,796 *, and a single point of labor saved is worth $12,082 a year, roughly an eighth of what is left after the brand.
The middle store keeps 81.4% of what the average store keeps after stock, $654,998 against $804,796. On sales the middle store runs at 87.6% of the average, so the gap is wider on gross margin.
Rent runs $121,769 on average and $119,664 at the median. They are within $2,105 of each other.
The two groups recombine exactly to the filed averages. Six stores at $1,549,098 and five at $799,072 give $1,208,177 *, and the same weighting returns $804,796 of margin, so the table is internally sound.
The week as the unit
Sales and margin by store, 2025
| Measure | Top six | Bottom five | All 11 average | Median | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly sales | $29,790 | $15,367 | $23,234 | $20,356 | $14,326 | $45,330 |
| Annual sales | $1,549,098 | $799,072 | $1,208,177 | $1,058,521 | $744,965 | $2,357,183 |
| gross profit | $1,019,794 | $546,799 | $804,796 | $654,998 | $501,482 | $1,637,742 |
| gross profit rate | 65.8% | 68.4% | 66.6% | 68.1% | n/a | n/a |
Every figure is as the brand reported it for the 11 stores that traded the whole of 2025 under the same owner.
The highest-selling store bills 3.16 times the lowest-selling stores. That is $45,330 a week against $14,326 *, and the top six average nearly double the bottom five at $29,790 against $15,367.
Five of 11 stores clear the average weekly sales. 45.5%. Only 4 of the 11 stores are above the average.
The share left after stock is higher at the lower-selling stores, 65.8% at the top six stores and 68.4% at the bottom five. The middle store is at 68.1% and the average is 66.6% *. Larger stores sell more food and less grooming.
One more thousand dollars a week is worth $52,000 of sales and $34,632 of margin. At the system rate *, which against $97,354 left after the brand is a third of the year’s remainder.
At 2,500 to 5,000 square feet, sales run $242 to $483 a foot *. That figure is useful when weighing a larger box, since rent scales with the space and the grooming capacity may stay put.
Fees and what it costs to open
Fees by year
| Charge | Year one | Year two | Year three onward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty rate | 2% | 3% | 4% |
| Royalty | $24,164 | $36,245 | $48,327 |
| Advertising | $52,200 fixed | $42,286 | $42,286 |
| Paid to the brand: royalty and national fund | $36,164 | $50,340 | $62,422 |
| Share of sales | 3.0% | 4.2% | 5.2% |
The rates and fixed amounts are as the brand reported it and the dollar figures apply them to the filed average annual sales, marked *. The paid-to-the-brand row counts the royalty and the national fund part of advertising: $1,000 a month in year one and one third of the 3.5% after that. The rest of advertising is local spending.
Advertising in year one is a flat $4,350 a month. $3,350 of local spending and $1,000 to the national fund, which is $52,200 a year *. A store past its first year pays 3.5%. This falls in the year sales are lowest.
The $8,333 monthly advertising cap starts helping above $2,857,143 of sales *. That is higher than the highest-selling stores in this system at $2,357,183, so every store currently pays the full 3.5%.
Inventory of $100,000 to $150,000 must be held, and 75% to 90% bought from an affiliate. $75,000 to $135,000, a purchase obligation that sits alongside the royalty.
A store costs $520,250 to $1,357,300 to open. That is 0.43 to 1.12 times a year of average sales *, with building work spanning $25,000 to $587,400 and equipment $187,200 to $265,000.
Converting a pet store you already own waives the fee entirely. The brand may also waive the royalty for a period. Its other discounts are 20% off for veterans, 10% for first responders and $35,000 for a second store.
Territory and the system
Outlets, 2023 to 2025
| Year | Franchised start | Franchised end | Affiliate-owned start | Affiliate-owned end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 14 | 18 | 0 | 6 |
| 2024 | 18 | 23 | 6 | 6 |
| 2025 | 23 | 14 | 6 | 12 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it, with eight franchised stores reacquired and one ceasing operations during 2025.
Franchised stores fell from 23 to 14 while affiliate-owned doubled from 6 to 12. Eight reacquisitions in one year, so the brand now operates 12 of its 26 stores, against zero three years ago.
A territory holds roughly 60,000 people, or 30,000 in thinner markets. So the average store bills $20.14 a head at the larger size and $40.27 at the smaller *.
An exclusive territory is expressly excluded. Every other Wag N Wash store stays outside the territory. A company connected to the brand franchises Pet Supplies Plus stores, and the brand can still use other names and sales channels inside it.
An e-commerce program operates within a radius of each store. It covers in-store pickup, curbside and delivery, including a subscription service. The brand may require a store to take part. Online orders shift sales toward food, which has a different margin from the 66.6% average.
There is no sales target to keep the territory. That is unusual, and it puts the whole performance question on the economics.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks
How much does a Wag N Wash franchise make?
Wag N Wash franchisees averaged $1,208,177 of sales in 2025, with a median of $1,058,521, according to Item 19 of Wag N Wash’s 2026 FDD, issued 20 April 2026. The 11 in that group are 79%* of Wag N Wash’s 14 locations. Fees paid to Wag N Wash come to about 5.17%* of sales.
What does a Wag N Wash store bill?
Across 11 reporting stores in 2025, weekly sales averaged $23,234 with a median of $20,356, giving annual sales of $1,208,177 and a median of $1,058,521. The highest-selling stores billed $45,330 a week and the lowest-selling $14,326. The top six averaged $29,790 a week and the bottom five $15,367.
What margin does it run at Wag N Wash?
66.6% on average and 68.1% at the middle store, which is $804,796 at the average store. Notably the bottom five stores run a higher rate at 68.4% than the top six at 65.8%, consistent with larger stores selling proportionally more food and less grooming.
What is left after costs at Wag N Wash?
Labor takes 41.0% of sales and rent 10.1%, leaving 15.6% before the brand. After a 4% royalty and 3.5% advertising, on our reading that is 8.1% of sales ($97,354) before utilities, insurance, supplies, interest and any owner draw.
What fees does Wag N Wash charge?
Royalty runs 2% of gross sales in the first 12 months, 3% in months 13 to 24 and 4% thereafter. Advertising is a fixed $4,350 a month in year one, then the lesser of 3.5% of sales or $8,333 a month, capped at $100,000 a year. The cap only helps above $2,857,143 of sales, which sits above the highest-selling stores in this system at $2,357,183.
What does a Wag N Wash store cost to open?
A Wag N Wash store costs $520,250 to $1,357,300 for 2,500 to 5,000 square feet. Equipment runs $187,200 to $265,000. Building work runs $25,000 to $587,400. Opening stock is $100,000 to $150,000, and six months of spare cash is $100,000 to $200,000. A $15,000 set-up fee and $20,000 of grand opening advertising are also due before opening.
What does the inventory obligation mean at Wag N Wash?
You must hold $100,000 to $150,000 of inventory and buy 75% to 90% of it ($75,000 to $135,000) from an affiliated distributor. That is charged on top of the royalty, and it comes out of the 66.6% left after stock.
What territory do you get at Wag N Wash?
An area of about 60,000 people, or nearer 30,000 where fewer people live. It is a radius around the store, and the brand decides the size. The protection is that every other Wag N Wash store stays outside it. An affiliate franchises Pet Supplies Plus stores, and other marks and channels stay open there.
Which two numbers should run monthly at Wag N Wash?
Track weekly sales against $23,234, because rent and much of labor hold steady whatever you bill. Then track wages as a share of sales. Wages take 41.0% of sales and 61.5% of gross margin, and one point of them is worth $12,082 a year.
- Item 19 of the Wag N Wash FDD gives no profit after every cost. It publishes gross sales, gross margin, rent and labor for 11 reporting stores, so what an owner keeps after all costs is not disclosed.
Questions worth putting to Wag N Wash
These are questions the Wag N Wash filing leaves open. An owner or a buyer can put them to Wag N Wash directly.
- How would wages and rent at a new Wag N Wash location compare with the figures in the filing? Item 19 of the Wag N Wash FDD publishes gross sales, gross margin, rent and labor for 11 reporting stores.
- Which factors does Wag N Wash 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 Wag N Wash 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. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →What is your week actually holding?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around $23,234 a week, labor at 61.5% of gross profit. The third is the 8.1% of sales left after rent, wages and the brand.
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
Wag N Wash reads against the rest of the grooming and pet retail group: Aussie Pet Mobile · EarthWise Pet · Pet Supplies Plus · Scenthound · Woof Gang Bakery · Zoomin Groomin. The grooming and pet retail 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.
- How much of Item 19 can I rely on?It explains what an Item 19 financial performance representation tells you and what it leaves out.
- What should I be looking at every week?It lists the handful of numbers that move before the P&L does.
Where these figures come from.
Every figure here comes from WNW Franchise Operations SPV, LLC’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. Wag N Wash® 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: WNW Franchise Operations SPV, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, issued 20 April 2026.