SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · WISCONSIN
Hardware Hank franchise in Wisconsin: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Hardware Hank in Wisconsin have taken 27 SBA loans since 1991 (average $395,336), and of the 21 loans whose story has ended, 0.0% were charged off — versus 5.4% for Hardware Hank nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands.
Loans in WI
27
Resolved
21
Local charge-off
0.0%
National charge-off
5.4%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = WI. Charge-off rate = charged-off ÷ (charged-off + paid-in-full); open loans excluded. A local rate is published only when the resolved cohort clears our floor.
Businesses in this industry
2,130
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
35.7
national 39.6
Versus the country
-10%
thinner
Every business in Hardware Hank's industry operating in Wisconsin — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across 198 brand-state cells in our loan data, the densest quartile charges off at 5.6% versus 18.1% in the thinnest. A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
| System | Loans in WI | Local charge-off | Units in WI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Hardware | 46 | 9.1% | — |
| Snap-On Tools | 14 | 10.0% | — |
| True Value Hardware | 8 | thin | — |
| Woodcraft | 8 | thin | — |
| PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION INC FRANCHISE AGREEMENT | 6 | thin | — |
| WINDOW WORLD, WORLD OF WINDOWS, COMFORTWORLD | 5 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Hardware Hank compares to the systems a buyer in Wisconsin would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
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