Kumon Franchise

Kumon, a Kumon North America franchise, has been franchising since 1958 - 4 years after the concept was founded in 1954 , currently with 26,000 total locations in the education sector, headquartered in NJ. According to the 2024 FDD, the total initial investment ranges from $74K to $154K - a 108% spread between the low and high end that reflects how site size, market, and buildout scope change the capital requirement. Included in that number: the franchise fee of $1K, equipment, leasehold improvements, and initial working capital to carry the business through ramp-up.

The brand charges 5.1% of gross sales in ongoing royalties. Critically, Kumon does disclose financial performance data in Item 19, a voluntary disclosure that only about a third of U.S. franchisors make. The reported average gross revenue per location is $140K, meaning the typical unit pays roughly $7K per year in royalty alone. Remember that revenue is not profit -- what a franchisee actually takes home hinges on rent, labor, cost of goods, and local demand.

Kumon's network is expanding: unit count grew at a 0.8% net rate over the past year (500 openings, 300 closures). Consistent expansion usually means the unit model pencils out for new owners, but a late-cycle growth spike can also come from an aggressive sales push rather than genuinely strong store-level economics.