Ubreakifix is an electronics repair shop, offering repairing services for a wide range of products from mobile phones to gaming consoles. Founded in 2009 in Florida by Justin Wetherill after he broke his brand new iPhone 3G, Ubreakifix has over 600 stores as of 2021. In September of 2021, Ubreakifix stopped offering franchises under that name and new franchises are offered under the name Asurion.
How is Ubreakifix Franchise Positioned in the Information Technology Industry?
This segment of the industry is different from the information technology industry that offers mainly software and is one where human capital is the main offering. As this industry is very specialized, normal prices or sales multiples are not a thing. Sales multiples go from 0.5 to 8, depending on the scalability and profitability of the model. EBITDA multiples for multiple units typically tend to be above par. 5x to 8x is normal for good deals. This is a very cutthroat industry with standard profit margins in the single digits.
How Much is an Ubreakifix Franchise?
The initial Ubreakifix Franchise Fee is $25,000 to $40,000. You have to pay this upfront fee when opening a Ubreakifix franchise.
Ubreakifix Franchise Cost
The estimated total investment necessary to begin the operation of a Ubreakifix Franchise ranges from $118,350 to $369,555. The following costs are part of the upfront costs included in the initial investment for a Ubreakifix. Many of these are one-time fees that are needed to launch the franchise. Review the chart below to see how much it costs to buy a Ubreakifix franchise in 2022.
Prospective franchisees will need approximately $150,000. Financing can be secured through third-party lending sources via Ubreakifix.
Owning a Ubreakifix Franchise Requires Ongoing Fees
Royalty: 7% of Non-Recommerce Revenue; and 4% of Recommerce Revenue (Recommerce Revenue means Gross Sales during each Accounting Period from the sale of pre-owned mobile and other electronic devices)
Marketing Fee: Up to 2% of Gross Sale
How much do Ubreakifix franchise owners make?
Ubreakifix does not make any representations about how much franchise owners make or provide system-wide figures for their business, but the estimated profit margin in this industry is 5%. According to estimates and modeling, franchised locations might make around $577,000 a year.
Based on the median sales above, at an average of a 5% profit margin, it will take around 10 years to recoup your investment. This is longer than other franchise opportunities. You may not get a 5% profit margin which would elongate getting a return on your investment.
Many factors affect the sales, costs and expenses of your Franchised Store such as the Franchised Store’s size, geographic location, and competition in the marketplace. The presence of other phone repair stores and the quality of service at your store are also major factors.
Is the Ubreakifix Franchise Profit Worth the Franchise Cost?
To assign a valuation multiple for Ubreakifixfranchises, we leverage estimates from DealStats, a database of acquired private company transactions sourced from U.S. business brokers and SEC filings. We reviewed the larger franchise industry as well as selling price multiples for larger systems where more transaction data is available.
When you go to sell an Ubreakifixfranchise based on the median multiple of .79 and net sales of $577,000, it will sell for $455,830. This is significantly higher than the midpoint investment of $243,952.
The more franchises you own, the more earning potential you have as private equity firms become interested in your business instead of individual owner-operators.
Ubreakifix (Franchisor) Income Statement Key Insights
Erratic behavior is seen in the financials of this company. They ran a loss of $834 million in 2019, before going to a profit of $1.1 million in 2020, and dropping down to a loss of $11.5 million in 2021. It is probable that the company is going through financial turmoil and its financials remain to be proved.
How many Ubreakifix units have opened and closed?
Outlet Type
Year
Outlets at the Start of the Year
Oulets at the End of the Year
Net Change
Franchised
2019
420
478
+158
2020
478
434
-44
2021
434
337
-97
Company and Affiliate-Owned
2019
18
23
+5
2020
23
120
+97
2021
120
361
+241
Total Outlets
2019
438
501
+63
2020
501
554
+53
2021
554
698
+144
Over the last three years, the company has been in decline. Franchised units have been decreasing and a net of 17 units opened between 2019 and 2021 with 44 and 97 franchised locations closing in 2020 and 2021 respectively. This is an indicator that these stores may not be performing well. Or their franchise term is up and they are not renewing it. However, company-owned units have gone from 18 in 2019 to 361 in 2021, a 20x increase.
That said, the franchisor is acquiring franchised locations from franchisees at a very high rate. In 2021, Ubreakifix acquired 171 locations from the 554 existing locations at the start of the year. That translates to a 30.8% reacquisition rate which is much higher than the industry standard of <5%. This is potentially a warning sign and the franchisor might be reacquiring franchises after the owners have established the business in their area. We recommend you talk to current and previous owners of Ubreakifix franchises to learn more about the causes behind this.
Ubreakifix offers a piece of the concentrated technology repair industry but their financials remain to be proven, and a lot of franchised locations closing might not be a good sign. We recommend speaking to 3 to 5 current owners before deciding on this business.
While this may be the business for you, make sure to also check out other businesses offered on Vetted Biz and in Information Technology.