Beauty
Supercuts Franchise
A walk-in hair salon franchise under Regis Corporation, offering haircuts and related services without appointments. Operating in the U.S. since 1987 and franchising since 1988; franchised unit count fell every year in the FDD's three-year window, while company-owned locations jumped sharply in fiscal 2025 after Regis acquired the 108-salon Alline Salon Group.
Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from Supercuts's own filing.
What it costs to open
From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.
Franchise fee
$39,500
Total to open
$185,930–$323,460
Ongoing royalty
6% of gross sales
What you'd actually spend, over time
The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.
Defaulted to a rough beauty industry average, not a figure from Supercuts's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.
Total cost of ownership over 5 years
$335,930 – $473,460
Startup investment
$185,930–$323,460
Royalty per year (6%)
$30,000
Total royalty, 5yr
$150,000
When would you break even?
Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. Supercuts's FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical beauty profit margin (~10%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.
Defaulted to a general beauty industry benchmark, not a figure from Supercuts's own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.
At that profit, you'd break even in about
3.7–6.5 years
Weigh that payback period against what you already know: Supercuts is currently losing locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.
Is Supercuts actually growing?
Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:
Locations opened vs. closed, by year
ShrinkingFrom Item 20 of Supercuts's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.
| Year | Franchised units, start | Franchised units, end | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2,252 | 2,070 | -182 |
| 2024 | 2,070 | 1,935 | -135 |
| 2025 | 1,935 | 1,701 | -234 |
Most recent year (2025): lost 234 franchised units, ending the year at 1,701 total.
How Supercuts compares to other Beauty franchises
Across the 10 beauty franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $558,727–$886,877, with royalties averaging around 5.9% of gross sales (based on the 9 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).
$484,684–$770,754 · 6% royalty
Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa$601,695–$760,254 · 6% royalty
Great Clips$183,400–$394,400 · 6% royalty
Sport Clips$236,800–$580,500 · 6% royalty
European Wax Center$327,600–$836,950 · 6% royalty
Massage Envy$695,870–$1,046,506 · 6% royalty
Heights Wellness Retreat$472,199–$551,771 · 6% royalty
Phenix Salon Suites$1,217,136–$1,664,822 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
Sola Salon Studios$1,181,960–$1,939,349 · 5.5% royalty
Supercuts Franchise FAQ
How much does it cost to franchise a Supercuts?
Based on Supercuts's own FDD, total initial investment to open one location runs $185,930–$323,460, including the $39,500 franchise fee. California DFPI Registration Renewal, App ID APP00003665, filed 10/20/2025, effective 1/23/2026. FDD issued October 17, 2025. Item 5: $39,500 Development Fee for the Single Salon Program, which is full payment for development and franchise rights (no separate franchise fee) for anyone who signed after September 29, 2011. Item 6: royalty is 4% of combined net service and merchandise revenue during the first year, stepping up to 6% for the remaining life of the agreement (a flat 6% from day one if buying an existing company-owned salon for conversion); the advertising fee is 5% of net service revenue only (merchandise excluded). Item 7: $185,930-$323,460 total initial investment for a single salon (Single Salon Franchise Agreement table). Item 20 Table 1 franchised outlets; company-owned outlets jumped from 3 to 97 in fiscal 2025 after parent Regis Corporation acquired the 108-salon Alline Salon Group (d/b/a Super C) in December 2024.
What is the Supercuts franchise fee and royalty rate?
The initial franchise fee is $39,500, and the ongoing royalty is 6% of gross sales, per the filing on record.
Is the Supercuts franchise growing or shrinking?
Shrinking. Across 2023–2025, Supercuts lost a net 551 franchised locations, per its own annual FDD filings.
Keep going
- Supercuts and Great Clips are both beauty franchises; Great Clips's total investment starts about $2,530 lower than Supercuts's. Great Clips Franchise
- Supercuts and Sport Clips are both beauty franchises; Supercuts's total investment starts about $50,870 lower than Sport Clips's. Sport Clips Franchise
Where this came from: California DFPI Registration Renewal, App ID APP00003665, filed 10/20/2025, effective 1/23/2026. FDD issued October 17, 2025. Item 5: $39,500 Development Fee for the Single Salon Program, which is full payment for development and franchise rights (no separate franchise fee) for anyone who signed after September 29, 2011. Item 6: royalty is 4% of combined net service and merchandise revenue during the first year, stepping up to 6% for the remaining life of the agreement (a flat 6% from day one if buying an existing company-owned salon for conversion); the advertising fee is 5% of net service revenue only (merchandise excluded). Item 7: $185,930-$323,460 total initial investment for a single salon (Single Salon Franchise Agreement table). Item 20 Table 1 franchised outlets; company-owned outlets jumped from 3 to 97 in fiscal 2025 after parent Regis Corporation acquired the 108-salon Alline Salon Group (d/b/a Super C) in December 2024. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2025-10-20. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.
If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.