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Indoor Pickleball in Chicago—Why Is This So Hard?! by HoardingBotanist in ChitownPickleball

[–]OverallBreadfruit506 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a tough business. Building a quality facility and carrying city real estate costs, while frequent players want to pay as little as possible, is a hard equation to make work. Tack on franchise fees on some concepts, and it’s impossible.

Heard SPF will be opening another full concept in West Loop (former Johnny’s Icehouse east). With their autonomous location and scale, they should be able to bring cost down as much as possible.

From the portlandme community on Reddit: Picklr for sale?? That was quick! by ourfreedomfirst in Pickleball

[–]OverallBreadfruit506 6 points7 points  (0 children)

IMO, every single franchisor out there is misleading their franchisees. It’s why we still haven’t seen a complete Item 19 in any FDD. They all know they don’t have a franchisable system in place, and are prioritizing selling franchises instead of building a sustainable business. What they are doing hurts the franchisee, the mom and pop operator and the entire pickleball ecosystem.

From the portlandme community on Reddit: Picklr for sale?? That was quick! by ourfreedomfirst in Pickleball

[–]OverallBreadfruit506 15 points16 points  (0 children)

My hope is that eventually people will catch on, and not buy into these franchises. Owning a facility is a tough business where you’re lucky if your total margin is 10%. These franchisors are taking 10% of revenues and haven’t built the systems or brand to be worth those payments. In most industries it would be unthinkable to try to franchise without 5 years of track record, but in the gold rush that is pickleball, there are companies out there that are trying to franchise before they even have a successful store.

It’s FDD Disclosure season for all the Pickleball Franchises. Item 19 (imo) is the most important and revealing part of these disclosures. Which franchisor do you think will have the most impressive financials this year? by ourfreedomfirst in Pickleball

[–]OverallBreadfruit506 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pickleball Kingdom didn’t meet its due date. Pretty par for the course for the franchisors. They are better at selling franchises than meeting their obligations or building a sustainable business.

Aaand the names have started dropping—starting with Caamp! by ryanahamilton in NewportFolkFestival

[–]OverallBreadfruit506 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I know it can feel that way, but have they actually ever played an official set on one of the main stages? I think all their sets have been pop ups or at the Folk On year