Start a Primrose Schools Franchise in 2025

2025 Franchise 500 Rank: #197 Ranked #141 last year

Initial investment: $743K - $8.6M

Units as of 2024: 513 13.0% over 3 years

Primrose Schools is a network of accredited providers of early childhood education. This private school franchise was started in 1982 by Paul and Marcy Erwin in Marietta, Georgia. Primrose Schools began franchising in 1988. The company generally focuses on providing the best education by fostering great relationships and utilizing a broad curriculum.

In the 30 years of its existence, this franchise has risen to become one of the leaders in educational child care. Primrose Schools strives to provide a balanced learning approach, which they believe will build a strong academic foundation for children. Currently, there are over 425 franchise Primrose Schools locations.

Why You May Want to Start a Primrose Schools Franchise

Suppose you are a potential franchisee with prior experience in teaching or administration and have a passion for early childhood education. In that case, this might be the right opportunity for you. By starting this franchise, you may reap rewards from educational child care in your community. The franchise educates more than 60,000 children all over the country.

Over time, the company's balanced learning curriculum has proven to be effective in raising the bar towards quality education. This is typically why many parents continue to entrust their children's education with Primrose Schools education systems. The franchisor usually provides the franchisees with a support system through ongoing training programs and field consultants.

What Might Make a Primrose Schools Franchise a Good Choice?

Primrose Schools has been ranked in BIZ Experiences's Franchise 500 many times in the past two decades. This ranking is based on an evaluation of more than 150 data points, including costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability.

The market for premier education providers may be great in your community. Parents are typically looking for proven ways to provide a better foundation for their children's success. For many parents, high-quality early childhood education and care may prove to be worth the investment.

To be part of the Primrose Schools team, you should make sure you're financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. Additionally, you should be prepared for ongoing fees, including royalty fees, advertising fees, and renewal fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

How to Start a Primrose Schools Franchise?

To begin your quest to open a franchise, you may chat with the franchise development team and fill out a franchise inquiry request. Primrose Schools may then schedule a franchise disclosure meeting. After meeting the development team, you might review and discuss the Franchise Disclosure Document. The team may link you up with existing franchisees and third party financial sources if needed. The third party financial sources may include the startup cost, equipment, inventory, and payroll.

If you pass the assessments, you may review and sign a franchise agreement. After this, you generally begin site selection with the franchisor's real estate team. From here, Primrose Schools may take you through classroom, online, and onsite school training. After training, you will usually receive multiple months of pre-opening support from the franchisor. Soon you may be helping to shape young minds with your Primrose Schools franchise.

Company Overview

About Primrose Schools

Industry	Children's Businesses
Related Categories	Childcare, Miscellaneous Children's Businesses, Children's Education/Enrichment
Founded	1982
Parent Company	Roark Capital Group
Leadership	Jo Kirchner, CEO
Corporate Address	3200 Windy Hill Rd., #1200E Atlanta, GA 30339
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1988 (37 years)
# of employees at HQ	163
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises throughout the US.
# of Units	513 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Primrose Schools franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$80,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$742,900 - $8,595,000
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$1,500,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$650,000
Veteran Incentives Definition: A discount or other incentive offered to military veterans who buy a franchise with this company.	$30,000 off franchise fee
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	7%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	3%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Primrose Schools has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	24 hours
Classroom Training	119 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes