LINE-X Franchise Costs, Fees & FDD

Year Business Began: 1993

Franchising Since: 2000

Headquarters: Charlotte, North Carolina

Estimated Number of Units: 335

Franchise Description: The franchisor is LINE-X LLC. The franchisor offers for sale a franchise to operate a business specializing in vehicle upfit services. Vehicle upfit services are aftermarket vehicle accessories, enhancements, or improvements to existing vehicles, which includes the provision of a set of core services and products as specified in LINE-X’s Confidential Operations Manual and includes the sale and application of LINE-X brand spray-on coatings as well as the sale and installation of vehicle accessories, enhancements, and improvements, such as the LINE-X branded products.
Training Overview: Before the opening of the LINE-X store we will provide the franchisee, the owner, or anyone they may designate, with initial training at the franchisor’s Franchise Support Center, training facility, or other designated location. The Franchise Support Center is currently located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the franchisor’s training facility is in Lebanon, Tennessee, but that may change. The franchisor can require franchisees to attend and successfully complete, extended initial training if the franchisor feels more training is required, and can eliminate or shorten training for persons previously trained or with comparable experience. Franchisees and/or their manager must attend additional and/or refresher training programs, including national and regional conferences, conventions, and meetings, as the franchisor may require, to correct, improve and/or enhance operations.

Territory Granted: Franchisees will receive an exclusive territory within a designated area as defined in the Franchise Agreement for as long as they are in compliance with their obligations under the Franchise Agreement. The territory will be defined by a map and/or a related set of identifiers such as zip codes, coordinates, street addresses, or area codes. The territory will be independently determined by using the franchisor’s sole discretion and may be based on (but not necessarily limited to) the following considerations: number of households within the specified boundaries; number of potential customers residing within the specified boundaries, given current market demographics; drive times from the defined location; natural and manmade boundaries; and/or other reasonable criteria that the franchisor may apply.

Obligations and Restrictions: Franchisees, as owner, after successfully completing mandatory training and meeting the then-current standards, must personally supervise their LINE-X business on a full-time basis. The franchisor requires that franchisees personally manage their LINE-X store during the first 12 months of operation and strongly recommend full term on-site management by them. In the event a franchisee owns and operates multiple LINE-X stores and are unable to manage any of his/her LINE-X stores fulltime for the first 12 months, then, with the franchisor’s prior written approval, he/she may designate a fulltime manager to manage any such LINE-X store. The manager designated must successfully complete the required initial training program. During the term of the Franchise Agreement and for two years after the expiration of the term, franchisees and any successor franchise, any affiliate of theirs, any shareholder, member, or partner of theirs (if they are or become a business entity), and any immediate family member of any of the foregoing, will abide by the non- compete covenants contained in the Franchise Agreement. Franchisees must offer for sale, and sell only, all those products and services, and deal only with those suppliers, that the franchisor authorizes or requires, and has authorized.

Term of Agreement and Renewal: The length of the initial franchise term is 10 years. If franchisees are current in all their obligations to the franchisor and meet the conditions for renewal, franchisees can renew for up to one additional term of 10 years.

Financial Assistance: The franchisor does not offer franchisees any direct or indirect financing for any amount due under the Franchise Agreement. The franchisor does not guarantee a franchisee’s note, lease, or any other obligation, nor does it receive payment or other consideration for the placing of financing. To provide support to veterans of the U.S. military forces, the franchisor does offer to all qualifying veterans the opportunity to purchase an initial franchise at a discount of 25% off the initial franchise fee.

Estimated Initial Investment

Name of Fee	Low	High
Initial Franchise Fee	$40,000	$40,000
Initial Training Expenses	$1,000	$10,000
Real Estate	$16,000	$60,000
Leasehold Improvements	$22,000	$110,000
Insurance	$1,000	$11,000
Utilities	$500	$1,500
Vehicles	$1,000	$100,000
Graphics Package (Includes Interior and Exterior Signage)	$5,000	$40,000
Licenses and Permits	$500	$1,500
Office Equipment/ Supplies/ POS System	$3,531	$14,031
Initial Inventory of Coating Products	$8,970.77	$13,864.99
Opening Marketing	$5,000	$15,000
Uniform	$250	$500
Bedliner Spray Equipment Package	$46,968.08	$86,658.60
Equipment Package	$39,482.04	$104,086.67
Application Booth	$12,299.65	$89,250
Shop Tools and Supplies	$15,297.33	$28,638.68
Inventory of LINE-X Branded Products	$2,200	$7,150
Additional Funds – 3 months	$50,000	$75,000
Expansion Choice Equipment	$0	$205,014.12
ESTIMATED TOTAL	$270,999	$1,013,194

 
Other Fees

Type of Fee	Amount
Royalty Fees	Currently, 6% for bedliner services and 2% for vehicle upfit services, including the core services and choice services, except the bedliner services.
Compliance Royalty	12% of gross revenue, only as applicable (if franchisee uses and/or obtains equipment, products and/or services from any source other than the source the franchisor requires without written approval).
LINE-X Brand Coatings, Chemicals, and Equipment	Approximately $2,700 per set.
LINE-X Branded Products	Varies, depending upon the amount and type of accessories purchased.
Marketing Fund	Currently, 1.5% of gross revenues.
Local Marketing	1.5% of gross revenues.
Marketing Co-ops	Co-op assessments.
Grand Opening Marketing	A minimum of $5,000.
Late Fees	The greater of the highest applicable legal rate for open account business credit, or 1.5% per month.
Supplier/ Supplies Approval	Reasonable cost of inspection and actual cost of test not to exceed $5,000.
Insurance Policies	Amount of unpaid premium, and 10% in addition as an administrative fee if the franchisee fails to maintain required insurance coverage and the franchisor elects to obtain coverage for the franchisee.
Transfer Fee	$10,000
Renewal Fee	$2,500.
Additional Training and On-Site Technical Support	$1,000 per day plus expenses.
Continuing Education	Franchisees must pay their expenses as well as their employees’ expenses in attending these programs.
Cost of Enforcement or Defense	All costs including attorneys’ fees.
Indemnification	All costs including attorneys’ fees.
Upgrades and Maintenance	Cost of required changes or modifications to the system.
POS System	$600 per month.
Transit Administration Fee	Between $6.50 to $38 per shipment from the franchisor to the franchisee, depending on the method of shipment and direct shipment cost.

The above information has been compiled from the FDD of LINE-X. Year of FDD: 2024.

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