FDD Talk: Soccer Shots Franchise Review (Financial Performance Analysis, Costs, Fees, and More)

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

• Section I – Background information on the Soccer Shots franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates

• Section II – Estimated initial investment for a Soccer Shots franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2018 FDD

• Section III – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees for a Soccer Shots franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2018 FDD

• Section IV – Number of franchised and company-owned Soccer Shots outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2015, 2016, and 2017, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2018 FDD

• Section V – Presentation and analysis of Soccer Shots’ financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2018 FDD, including information on the:

• 2017 average, median, high, and low revenue for the 46 single territory franchise owners, 23 franchise owners with two territories, 17 franchise owners with three territories, and 15 franchise owners with four or more territories operating for the full 2017 reporting period

• 2017 average, median, high, and low revenue per franchise owner for the 101 franchise owners operating for the full 2017 reporting period, regardless of the number of territories that the franchise owner holds

• 2017 average, median, high, and low revenue for each of the 221 territories operated by 101 franchise owners operating for the full 2017 reporting period

• 2017 average gross sales, cost of goods sold, gross profit/margin, operating expenses, net operating income/margin, add backs, and owner’s discretionary profit/EBITDA for the 101 franchise owners operating for the full 2017 reporting period and submitted expense figures to the franchisor

Section I – Background Information

14 Things You Need to Know About the Soccer Shots Franchise

Opens National Support Center

1.  At the beginning of April 2018, Soccer Shots unveiled its new 16,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This joint venture between Soccer Shots Franchising and Soccer Shots Harrisburg/York is three times larger than its previous headquarters and is able to accommodate current and future staffing needs as the business continues to grow at a rapid pace.

2.  At the time of the announcement, Soccer Shots Franchising had three open positions and said that it was looking to grow its staff of 26 to more than 35 over the next couple of years.

3.  The new professional space will be shared with Soccer Shots Harrisburg/York, the locally-owned Soccer Shots franchise, who will provide its children’s soccer programming onsite. This will allow corporate staff first-hand access to observe programs and gather feedback from their office. Operator training sessions, on-field coach training, photo shoots, and more will also now be hosted at Soccer Shots’ new national support center.

4.  Justin Bredeman, CEO of Soccer Shots Franchising, said, “Our team is thrilled to unveil our new support center. We’re grateful to have reached a level that allows us to invest in our team, our franchise system and the local community through this facility. Soccer Shots has been, and always will be, about growth and positive impact. Our new space will further facilitate such growth, support and learning among our team, our franchise partners, and the children we serve.”

5.  Main features of the new headquarters include:

• Youth-size indoor futsal (soccer played on a hard court) court with a second-floor observation deck for families;
• Outdoor natural grass soccer field where Soccer Shots can host spring, summer, and fall programming;
• Open, collaborative workspaces with a modern feel and natural light, inspired by employee feedback.

Named Official Two to Five-Year-Old Soccer Program of US Youth Soccer

6.  In early December 2017, Soccer Shots announced that it had been named the official two to five-year-old soccer program of US Youth Soccer – the largest youth sports organization in the country with over 6,000 local clubs in 55 state associations.

7.  Justin Bredeman, CEO of Soccer Shots, said, “Soccer Shots is thrilled to partner with US Youth Soccer and be endorsed as the official provider of soccer programming for children ages two to five-years-old, an age group we’ve served since our founding in 1998. This mutually beneficial partnership will offer our operators an opportunity to build their existing programs or launch new ones, and help build USYS club membership. Most importantly, this partnership lays the foundation to increase participation in the sport among young children across the country.”

8.  This new partnership enables local Soccer Shots operators and local member clubs to form alliances and share resources to create a participant pipeline that begins with Soccer Shots’ curriculum-based program. Once participants age out of Soccer Shots – which currently has more than 110 franchise operators across nearly 40 states and Canada – they can move on to the club level for more competitive play.

9.  US Youth Soccer selected Soccer Shots to be the official provider of programming for this age group due to its curriculum-driven program that focuses on both skill building and character development. Soccer Shots’ program aims to impact children’s lives on-and-off the field through best-in-class coaching, communication, and age-appropriate curriculum designed by childhood education experts. Ninety percent of Soccer Shots participants are within the two to five-year-old age group.

10.  According to US Youth Soccer CEO Chris Moore, “Soccer Shots is one of the fastest growing franchisors in the nation and a recognized leader in child development soccer for boys and girls ages 2-5. Both of our organizations share a common mission, which is to impact and foster the development of youth through soccer. Therefore, there is a great opportunity and potential within this partnership to continue to spread the impact of soccer to an even larger group of people.”

Company History

11.  Soccer Shots was founded in 1998 by Jeremy Sorzano and Jason Webb in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sorzano and Webb had played soccer together in college and professionally and felt that there wasn’t a quality soccer program for kids under 8.

12.  Following the success of the first Soccer Shots location, Sorzano and Webb opened a second location in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Not long after, their friends, families, and former teammates were interested in getting involved with Soccer Shots. In 2005, Sorzano and Webb started franchising the Soccer Shots concept and opened the first four franchises in Ohio, Delaware, Florida, and Pennsylvania.

13.  A few years later, Jason Bredeman, another former college soccer teammate, became the third Soccer Shots partner. Bredeman brought with him eight years of experience from Auntie Anne’s, Inc., a pretzel franchising company, where he led a team that supported nearly 800 franchise units. Since then, Soccer Shots has grown across the United States and Canada.

Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500

14.  Soccer Shots ranked No. 245 on Entrepreneur’s 2019 Franchise 500 list.

Section II – Estimated Costs

• Please click here for detailed estimates of Soccer Shots franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2018 FDD.

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

• Please click here for detailed information on Soccer Shots’ initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2018 FDD.

Section IV – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Outlets

Franchised

2015

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  154
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  164
• Net Change:  +10

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  164
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  175
• Net Change:  +11

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  175
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  189
• Net Change:  +14

Company-Owned

2015

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  8
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  9
• Net Change:  +1

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  9
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  8
• Net Change:  -1

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  8
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  8
• Net Change:  0

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2018 FDD) and Analysis

• As used in this Item 19, a “Territory Unit” is a franchised territory consisting of a population size of approximately 500,000 and a “Franchise Owner” is a Soccer Shots franchisee that operated during the entirety of 2017.

• This Item 19 includes revenue information for those franchisees with single territories and franchisees with multiple territories who were open for the entire 2017 reporting period (January 1 to December 31, 2017).

• The information presented in this Item 19 is unaudited and is based on revenue information reported by franchisees.

• Franchisees with multiple territories operate at least two territories, with their revenue combined for the territories for Item 19 reporting purposes.

• For the full 2017 reporting period, there were 101 active franchise owners that operated a total of 221 territory units.

• Schedules 1-7 provide 2017 revenue information broken down by the number of territories a franchise owner holds. Franchisees with multiple territories still operate their franchised business out of one principal place of business and do not have multiple offices.

• Schedule 1 includes single territory franchise owners. Schedule 2 includes franchise owners with two territories. Schedule 3 includes franchise owners with three territories. Schedule 4 includes franchise owners with four or more territories. Schedule 5 includes revenue information per franchise owner regardless of the number of territories that the franchise owner holds. Schedule 6 includes revenue information for each of the 221 territories. Schedule 7 includes revenue for the 4 franchise owners who were first year franchise owners in 2017 and were open the entire 2017 reporting period.

Schedule 1 – Franchise Owners Operating One Territory Unit

• In 2017, there were 46 franchise owners operating 46 single territory units. Of the 46 franchisees, 21 (46%) exceeded the average.

Franchise Owner Single Unit Revenue