Waxing the City Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Waxing the City franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Waxing the City discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it D.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses gross revenues only (avg $478K, median $457K for 138 studios). Explicitly omits all costs, expenses, and net income. No profitability data. Cherry-picks open full-year studios; excludes 15 permanently closed.
What a Waxing the City franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $42,500 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 8% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $339,945 – $646,195 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Mandatory supply purchases $50K-$77K/year; tech fee $799/month with 10% annual escalator; $25K grand opening spend required.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Waxing the City system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 167 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 15 |
| Transferred to new owners | 9 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
15 terminations in 2025 alone; 35 total terminations over 3 years across 133-167 unit system.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Waxing the City worth it? — how it compares to 47 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $339,945 | about average (median $347,050) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade D | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 0.0%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 2 | more litigious than 75% of peers |
Benchmarked against every hair, beauty & personal care franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Waxing the City
The franchisor's framing: Discloses gross revenues only (avg $478K, median $457K for 138 studios). Explicitly omits … We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Waxing the City franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Waxing the City franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $339,945–$646,195, including a $42,500 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Waxing the City franchise owners make?
- Discloses gross revenues only (avg $478K, median $457K for 138 studios). Explicitly omits all costs, expenses, and net income. No profitability data. Cherry-picks open full-year studios; excludes 15 permanently closed. We grade this disclosure D for honesty.
- What are the Waxing the City franchise fees?
- Waxing the City's FDD discloses a $42,500 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Mandatory supply purchases $50K-$77K/year; tech fee $799/month with 10% annual escalator; $25K grand opening spend required.
- What is the Waxing the City franchise profit margin?
- Waxing the City does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses gross revenues only (avg $478K, median $457K for 138 studios). Explicitly omits all costs, expenses, and net income. No profitability data. Cherry-picks open full-year studios; excludes 15 permanently closed. Recurring fees alone take about 8% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Waxing the City franchise failure rate?
- 15 terminations in 2025 alone; 35 total terminations over 3 years across 133-167 unit system.
- How many Waxing the City locations are there?
- Waxing the City's FDD reports 167 total outlets, with 0 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 9 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Waxing the City have complaints or lawsuits?
- Waxing the City discloses 2 legal matters in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Waxing the City franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Waxing the City scores D on disclosure honesty, carries about 8% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 2 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Waxing the City to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 35749-202603-14 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Waxing the City or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.