FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · FLORIDA

Pearle Vision Center franchise in Florida: what the public record shows

Franchisees of Pearle Vision Center in Florida have taken 25 SBA loans since 1991 (average $374,688), and of the 17 loans whose story has ended, 23.5% were charged off — versus 6.6% for Pearle Vision Center nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands.

SBA loan outcomes · Floridavs national

Loans in FL

25

Resolved

17

Local charge-off

23.5%

National charge-off

6.6%

Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = FL. 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.

Market density · Florida vs nationalDense market

Businesses in this industry

3,461

statewide, all operators

Per 100k residents

14.8

national 11.6

Versus the country

+28%

denser

Every business in Pearle Vision Center's industry operating in Florida — 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.

Same-sector systems with SBA loan history in Florida12 systems

Same sector, same state, same public records — how Pearle Vision Center compares to the systems a buyer in Florida would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.

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