Verified — real FDD extraction
Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory — SBA financing may be unavailable; verify with your lender
Hissho
Other · independent · est. —
Hissho is a sushi franchise whose operators run fresh-sushi counters and kiosks, typically inside grocery stores, campuses, and other host venues. A franchisee staffs a small sushi bar where trained chefs roll sushi daily for grab-and-go sale to the host location's shoppers.
Hissho net unit count grew +39.8% from 2018–2020 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
Proven & steady
Distress
A real track record with an unremarkable region of the ledger: neither the growth nor the exits stand out, for better or worse. The main concern in the record: owners are leaving at a high rate.
Exit rate · latest year
20.4%
fiscal 2020, per Item 20
Cost to open
$24K–$89K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
No loan record
no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand
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
2018–2020
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2020, 299 of 1,468 franchised outlets left the system — a 20.4% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 1,117 | 1,306 | 1,716 |
| Opened | 461 | 486 | 548 |
| Transfers | 153 | 153 | 194 |
| Terminations | 131 | 150 | 251 |
| Non-renewals | 25 | 19 | 17 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 20 | 10 | 13 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 23 | 44 | 31 |
| Outlets at end | 1,306 | 1,716 | 1,826 |
| Net change | +189 | +410 | +110 |
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $4K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $24K–$89K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes no earnings claim (Item 19) — ask current and former franchisees for real numbers.
To open (Item 7)
$24K–$89K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$4K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
—
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — this brand discloses no Item 19 earnings; validate with current & former owners.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$0
0% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$0
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 Hissho with an independent CPALabor record
US Dept. of Labor enforcement · franchisee-level · FY2005–present
Federal investigators have concluded 1 wage case against operators of this system, recovering $9K in back wages for 6 workers. These cases name franchisee-owned locations, not the franchisor itself.
Concluded cases
1
Back wages owed
$9K
Employees affected
6
Since 2020
0
Read this carefully. The employers in these cases are individual Hissho franchisees — separately owned businesses operating under the brand name — not Hissho itself. The franchisor is not the respondent and in most cases is not a party. What the record shows is how this system's operators run their payrolls, which is worth knowing before you become one of them. Counts rise with system size and with age: a 20-year-old, 10,000-unit system will out-count a young one regardless of conduct. Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division concluded compliance actions, FY2005–present, most recent finding 2015.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for Hissho. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Hissho's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →Hissho franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of Hissho franchises closed last year?
In Hissho's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2020), 299 of 1,468 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 20.4%. 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 Hissho franchise cost?
Per Hissho's 2021 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $4K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $24K–$89K (Item 7).
Does Hissho disclose earnings (Item 19)?
No — Hissho's 2021 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim; ask current franchisees for real numbers.