What are the main pros and cons of The Great Frame Up?
Consecutive program in St. Peters, Missouri.
Applies while the franchisee is not in default.
Mandatory and suggested operating standards.
Renewal requires specified conditions.
No disclosed sales, profit, or income benchmark.
Which verified features work both ways?
The material features are dual-edged. The Great Frame Up provides defined systems, local outlet spacing, and development options, but Franchise Concepts, Inc. also retains meaningful control over standards, channels, technology, marketing, and contract transitions.
Training and manager-led supervision
Verified fact: Initial training covers the franchisee and one other person; an on-premises manager must complete training, while Franchise Agreement Article XV includes a full-time management covenant.
Three-mile outlet protection with reserved channels
Verified fact: The Franchise Agreement bars another dedicated The Great Frame Up outlet within three miles while the franchisee is not in material default, but reserves acquisitions and alternative distribution channels.
Approved purchasing and point-of-sale dependence
Verified fact: Inventory and equipment require approved sources; LifeSaver point-of-sale software is mandatory, while a Wizard mat cutter is recommended rather than required, and system-data access has no contractual limit.
Marketing Fund resources without local proportionality
Verified fact: The Franchise Agreement permits a Marketing Fund contribution up to 2% of gross sales; current policy allows 1.5% when the store documents 0.5% approved local advertising.
Market Unit Addendum development path
Verified fact: The Market Unit Addendum requires one original store within 12 months and two showroom stores within 30 months after the original opens; showroom payments are upfront and nonrefundable.
System evidence without unit economics
Verified fact: Item 19 makes no financial performance representation; Item 20 reports 52 franchised outlets at December 31, 2025, no company-owned outlets, and two 2025 departures classified as other reasons.
Defined term with constrained renewal and exit
Verified fact: Renewal can require the then-current agreement, remodeling, education, and a release; transfer requires approval, a fee, buyer conditions, and a Franchise Concepts, Inc. right of first refusal.
Item 3 discloses one action filed by Franchise Concepts, Inc. in August 2025 to recover royalties and enforce a Franchise Agreement; a settlement was pending, no counterclaim had been filed, and no other litigation was required to be disclosed. Item 4 reports no bankruptcy disclosure. These facts do not establish a broader system pattern.
What does the outlet record show about system direction?
The franchised network ended 2023 at 55 outlets, 2024 at 54, and 2025 at 52; company-owned outlets remained zero. Across the period, three outlets opened and seven ceased operations for “other reasons,” with no reported terminations, non-renewals, or franchisor reacquisitions. This is contraction context, not a unit-performance conclusion.
Franchised and company-owned outlets reported in Item 20.
Interpretation: The count declined, but Item 20’s “other reasons” category does not establish why each outlet ceased operations or whether remaining stores were economically successful.
How different are the original-store and showroom capital ranges?
Item 7 discloses a substantially lower range for a showroom store, but the format is not a stand-alone substitute for a first location. The showroom assumes framing occurs off-premises in the operator’s main store, so its lower equipment and inventory estimates depend on an existing operating base.
Range bars use one dollar scale and exclude real estate, royalties, and Marketing Fund contributions.
Interpretation: The showroom range is lower because the format uses the main store for off-premises framing; the Market Unit Addendum therefore links the apparent capital advantage to multi-location execution.
What does the territory protect, permit, and reserve?
The territory is a limited outlet-placement protection, not an exclusive customer or channel monopoly. A buyer who values nearby same-brand spacing may see a benefit; a buyer whose plan depends on unrestricted e-commerce, protected national accounts, or exclusive customer access may face material friction.
The Franchise Agreement separates physical outlet protection from customer reach and reserved distribution rights.
Dedicated outlet placement
No new dedicated The Great Frame Up store inside the three-mile radius while the franchisee is not in material default, subject to the acquisition exception.
Customer solicitation
The franchisee may solicit and accept customers outside the radius, but internet and alternative-channel activity must follow the Policy & Procedures Manual.
Alternative channels
Franchise Concepts, Inc. and affiliates reserve internet, catalog, telemarketing, direct marketing, different trademarks, and acquired locations without required territorial compensation.
Because Item 19 provides no financial performance representation, the investment ranges, outlet counts, training structure, and official marketing descriptions cannot be converted into a sales, profit, margin, payback, or owner-income conclusion. The FTC Franchise Rule treats the FDD as disclosure for evaluation, not a government verification of the offering.
What should a buyer verify before signing?
The highest-value checks are store-level economics, the practical owner-role interpretation, territory-channel boundaries, and exit terms. Written answers should be reconciled with the current FDD, the final Franchise Agreement, the Market Unit Addendum when applicable, and state-specific addenda.
- Contact a representative set of current The Great Frame Up franchisees and the 2025 former-franchisee population; request actual sales, labor, occupancy, material, and owner-compensation records rather than averages.
- Ask Franchise Concepts, Inc. to identify exactly which owner, spouse, and manager must sign the Ownership Management undertaking and Guarantee, and obtain a written explanation of the full-time covenant.
- Obtain the proposed three-mile territory map and a written list of reserved internet, catalog, direct-marketing, national-account, acquisition, and different-trademark rights.
- Request the current approved-vendor list, negotiated terms, freight experience, substitute-product process, and recent examples of the 30-day vendor-approval procedure.
- Confirm current LifeSaver licensing, support, hardware, cybersecurity, backup, migration, maintenance, and upgrade costs, plus the exact data Franchise Concepts, Inc. can retrieve.
- Model weekly 6% royalties, the 1.5% or 2% Marketing Fund contribution, required local advertising proof, and rent because Item 7 excludes real estate, royalties, and fund contributions.
- For a Market Unit Addendum, validate each site deadline, showroom demand, main-store production capacity, lease contingency, staffing plan, and the consequences of missing a scheduled opening.
- Have franchise counsel review renewal changes, transfer approval, the 25% transfer fee, the $10,000 transferee Marketing Fund deposit, right of first refusal, post-term covenant, forum, and applicable state modifications.
The FTC’s franchise buyer guide emphasizes speaking with multiple current and former franchisees, testing earnings claims against records, and reviewing the agreement with qualified legal and accounting advisers before signing.
Which buyer profile is most aligned with these trade-offs?
The strongest verified structural advantage is the combination of defined training, a detailed Policy & Procedures Manual, site standards, approved purchasing, and a trained on-premises manager. The most material uncertainty is the absence of Item 19 economics while royalties, marketing contributions, rent, staffing, technology, and supplier obligations continue.
The model is more aligned with a hands-on retail-service operator—or a manager-led buyer prepared to satisfy the full-time and training provisions—who accepts system controls and has liquidity for an uncertain ramp. Friction is more likely for a passive investor, an e-commerce-led operator, a buyer seeking broad product discretion, or an owner needing a simple exit. The highest-priority fact to verify is actual recent unit economics from comparable current and former franchisees before signing.