FDD Talk 2017: What You Need to Know About the Eye Level Learning Center Franchise Opportunity (Financial Performance Analysis, Costs and Fees)

In this FDD Talk 2017 post, you’ll learn the following:

• Section I – Background information on the Eye Level Learning Center franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates

• Section II – Estimated initial investment for an Eye Level Learning Center franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2017 FDD

• Section III – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees for an Eye Level Learning Center franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2017 FDD

• Section IV – Presentation and analysis of Eye Level Learning Center’s financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2017 FDD, including information on the:

• 2016 average number of subject-students per month for the 206 franchised Eye Level Learning Centers operating during the 2016 calendar year

• 2016 average number of subject-students per month for the 28 franchised Eye Level Performance Society Centers operating during the 2016 calendar year

• 2015 average number of subject-students per month for the 224 franchised Eye Level Learning Centers operating during the 2015 calendar year

• 2015 average number of subject-students per month for the 28 franchised Eye Level Performance Society Centers operating during the 2015 calendar year

Section I – Background Information

11 Things You Need to Know About the Eye Level Learning Center Franchise

Raising Money for Schools Affected by Hurricane Harvey

1.  At the beginning of September, Eye Level launched a fundraising event on its Facebook page to help schools in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey. The company released a downloadable drawing template and asked kids to draw a picture and write a few sentences about one of two topics: a period in your life when you went through a difficult time and overcame; and a message of hope for children and families affected by the hurricane.

2.  For every drawing that was shared to Eye Level’s Facebook event page, the company donated $10 (up to $10,000) to Donors Choose, a non-profit that collects money to buy supplies requested by verified schools. Donors Choose said that 100% of the Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund will support classroom projects from schools impacted by the storm. Eye Level accepted drawings from September 1-3.

Launched Revised English Program at Centers in the U.S. and Canada

3.  In July 2016, Eye Level Learning Centers in the U.S. and Canada launched a revised English program for students in pre-kindergarten through third grade. The Eye Level English program helps students develop the basic building blocks needed to master English Language Arts skills at each level, from foundational skills to increasingly more complex skills that enable students to read, comprehend, analyze, and respond to both literary and informational text across disciplines.

4.  Eye Level revised the pre-kindergarten through third-grade program to provide more targeted learning materials that are closer to the current standards. The new program emphasizes phonics where each target skill is introduced in a systematic and explicit manner that follows best practices in reading and writing theory.

5.  The biggest change to the English program is a greater emphasis on teaching these young students the steps in the writing process through informational, narrative, opinion, and research writing genres as outlined in the Common Core State Standards.

6.  Eye Level consulted with Dr. Susan Masullo and Dr. Bessie Dernikos, academic consultants at Columbia University Teachers College, to better align the curriculum with the standards and trends of the U.S. education system.

New Centers

7.  Eye Level has over 200 franchised locations in the United States and the company continues to grow every year. Over the past 12 months, Eye Level has opened around eight new centers across the country.

8.  Its two newest centers were opened at the beginning of summer 2017 and are located in Greenwood Village, Colorado and High Point, North Carolina. The other six learning centers were opened in Charlotte, North Carolina; Herndon, Virginia; Centennial, Colorado; Plymouth, Minnesota; Zionsville, Indiana; and Harrisburg, North Carolina.

Company History

9.  Daekyo was founded in 1976 in South Korea by Dr. Young Joong Kang, who developed a new teaching methodology called Eye Level. The program consists of Eye Level Math, which includes Basic and Critical Thinking Math; Eye Level English, which includes four main concepts (reading, writing, speaking, and listening); and Eye Level Korean. The name Eye Level is used for the company’s international centers while the learning centers in South Korea are called Noonnoppi, which also means “eye level.”

10.  Daekyo America was established in 1991 and today there are over 1,400 Eye Level Learning Centers around the world – over 790 are company-owned and 204 are U.S. franchises.

Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500

11.  Eye Level has ranked on Entrepreneur’s annual Franchise 500 list every year in the past 10 years. The company’s highest rank was No. 68 in 2015, while its lowest rank was No. 229 in 2017.

Section II – Estimated Costs

• Please click here for detailed estimates of Eye Level Learning Center franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2017 FDD.

Section III – Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, Marketing Fee, and Other Fees

• Please click here for detailed information on Eye Level Learning Center’s initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2017 FDD.

Section IV – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2017 FDD) and Analysis

• During the 2016 calendar year, Eye Level had 206 franchised centers in operation. Of these centers, 28 qualified for the Eye Level Performance Society (“ELPS”).

• During the 2015 calendar year, Eye Level had 224 franchised centers in operation. Of these centers, 28 qualified for the ELPS.

• ELPS centers are top performing centers in the System and eligibility is measured every 6 months (January to June and July to December). ELPS members must meet an accumulated Subject-Student number between 1,800 (Platinum Status) and 900 (Silver Status) for the six-month period reviewed.

• Accumulated Subject-Student means adding the total Subject-Students of each month for the six months in question at a learning center and adding those totals together to give you the accumulated Subject-Students for the six-month period.

• A “Subject-Student” means one Tuition Paid student enrolled in one Authorized Curricula subject, such as math or English, for all or part of a given month. If a person is enrolled in two Authorized Curricula subjects, such as math and English, that person is counted as two Subject-Students.

• The information presented in Item 19 is unaudited. Your individual results may differ. Actual results will vary from franchisee to franchisee. Factors such as the length of time the center has been open, location, demographics, the franchisee’s prior business experience, the franchisee’s marketing efforts, and others will have an effect on your individual results.

Average Subject-Students Per Month (2016)