Verified — real FDD extraction
Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory under this name — though SBA loans to its franchisees exist; verify eligibility with your lender
Bella Bridesmaids
Retail & Products · independent · est. —
Bella Bridesmaids is a boutique retailer specializing in bridesmaid dresses, helping wedding parties coordinate and order gowns by appointment. Showrooms carry designer styles for try-ons. A franchisee runs a local showroom, booking bridal-party appointments and managing dress orders.
Bella Bridesmaids net unit count declined -22.4% from 2021–2023 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Showing strain
Distress
The disclosed record shows weakness — shrinking units, elevated exits, or churn — worth reading closely before going further.
Exit rate · latest year
21.8%
vs 1.9% across 15 retail & products systems
Cost to open
$103K–$262K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
18.2%
11 loans resolved — directional only
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2021–2023
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2023, 12 of 55 franchised outlets left the system — a 21.8% annualized exit rate, vs 1.9% across 15 retail & products systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 58 | 58 | 57 |
| Opened | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Transfers | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Terminations | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Outlets at end | 58 | 57 | 45 |
| Net change | 0 | -1 | -12 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 20 SBA-backed loans to Bella Bridesmaids franchisees since 2014. Only 11 have resolved so far — too thin for a reliable default rate, but 2 of them charged off.
—
11 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$174,600
what recent franchisees borrowed
57 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
4 vs 5
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO BELLA BRIDESMAIDS BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $50K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $103K–$262K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$103K–$262K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$50K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
4%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$40K
4% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$400K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for Bella Bridesmaids with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
The public record puts this brand toward the riskier end of the systems we score — but the evidence is thin, so treat it as a range, not a number.
Risk percentile (range)
80–100 / 100
Directional
Modeled SBA charge-off
21.8%
Observed SBA charge-off
18.2%
Top drivers: System size (log units) (raises) · Net unit growth (raises) · Item 20 exit rate (raises) · Investment ceiling (log) (raises). Thin loan history — treat this as a range, not a number. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
CourtListener/RECAP · 36mo ago
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Bella Bridesmaids's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →Bella Bridesmaids franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of Bella Bridesmaids franchises closed last year?
In Bella Bridesmaids's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2023), 12 of 55 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 21.8% — compared with 1.9% across 15 retail & products systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a Bella Bridesmaids franchise cost?
Per Bella Bridesmaids's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $50K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $103K–$262K (Item 7).
What royalty does Bella Bridesmaids charge?
Bella Bridesmaids charges an ongoing royalty of 4.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2024 FDD.
Does Bella Bridesmaids disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — Bella Bridesmaids makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2024 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.