Clothes Mentor franchise
2025 filing · April 17, 2025Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Clothes Mentor at a glance
A resale store buying and selling gently used women's clothing, shoes and accessories. At the end of 2024 there were 113 Clothes Mentor locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Franchisor
- Clothes Mentor, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Current franchisor selling since
- 2006
- 19 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Plymouth, Minnesota
- Typical size
- 2,000–3,000 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $305K–$429K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $25,000
- $20,000 for each additional store an existing owner opens.
- Royalty
- 4%
- 4% of net sales, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- Yes
- $2,000 a year; it can rise to $3,000
- Renewal fee
- $10,000
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Protected
- Protected territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 113
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 113
- Company-owned
- 0
- Change in 3 years
- −12
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 30
- Most in Ohio, Texas and Florida
Support and records
- Initial training
- 2 programs
- Training session 1: 18 hours in class; Training session 2: 31 hours in class and 53 on the job
- Lawsuits disclosed
- Yes
- Bankruptcy disclosed
- None
- Franchisor revenue, 2024
- $3.8M
- The company, not one location
- Franchisor net income
- $1.28M
- Latest filing
- Apr 17, 2025
- 2025 filing
From Clothes Mentor, LLC’s 2025 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 56; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Clothes Mentor among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Clothes Mentor | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $366,750 | Costs more than 51% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $25,000 | Lower than 82% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 4% | Lower than 93% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 113 | More than 78% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $780,058 | Lower than 51% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 2.1× | Higher than 66% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Clothes Mentor franchise costs
Opening one Clothes Mentor costs an estimated $305,000 to $428,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are fixtures and supplies see note ($70,000 to $90,000) and inventory see note ($60,000 to $80,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Be Made Initial Franchise Fee See Note | $25,000 | ||
| Leasehold Improvements See Note | $25,000 | $60,000 | |
| Signs See Note | $5,000 | $9,000 | |
| Fixtures and Supplies See Note | $70,000 | $90,000 | |
| Proprietary Software and POS System See Note | $22,000 | ||
| Inventory See Note | $60,000 | $80,000 | |
| Deposits, Business Licenses and Permits See Note | $7,000 | $15,000 | |
| Legal and Accounting | $0 | $4,000 | |
| Security See Note | $7,000 | $10,000 | |
| Travel Expenses to Attend Training See Note | $4,000 | $8,500 | |
| Pre-Opening Labor Expenses | $10,000 | $15,000 | |
| Be Made Grand Opening Advertising | $16,000 | $20,000 | |
| Miscellaneous Pre-opening Expenses See Note | $14,000 | $20,000 | |
| Rent – 3 Months | $20,000 | $25,000 | |
| Additional Funds – 3 Months See Note | $20,000 | $25,000 | |
| Total | $305,000 | $428,500 | |
Source: Clothes Mentor, LLC, 2025 filing, page 16
Clothes Mentor franchise fee
The franchise fee is $25,000, $20,000 for each additional store an existing owner opens.. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Clothes Mentor, LLC, 2025 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 4% of net sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | $2,000 a year; it can rise to $3,000. |
| Technology Access Fee | Currently $1,000 per year |
| Renewal Fee | $10,000 |
| Transferee Training Fee | Currently $500 per transfer |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Clothes Mentor, LLC, 2025 filing, pages 12 and 13
Other fees as filed, from pages 13–14. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Clothes Mentor publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average net sales
- $780,058
- Median net sales
- $729,053
Yearly figures for 2024, covering franchised stores open all of 2024 (106 locations). The average is about 2.1 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: Clothes Mentor, LLC, 2025 filing, pages 36–37
SBA loans to Clothes Mentor franchisees
Lenders approved 57 SBA-backed loans for Clothes Mentor franchisees from 2010 to 2026, $11.4M in all: 56 7(a) loans and 1 504 loan. Of the 42 that have ended, 39 were paid in full and 3 were charged off (7.1%). The other 15 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2024 / 2022–2024. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Clothes Mentor | Typical resale brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −5.8% / −9.6% | −1.4% / −3.4% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 6.7% / 13% | 6.8% / 26% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical resale brand is the median of the 5 brands in resale franchises with three years of counts.
How Clothes Mentor compares
Of the 16 resale franchises on this site, Clothes Mentor is the 10th cheapest to open and the 9th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Clothes Mentor | Typical resale brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $305K | $300K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $429K | $436K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $25K | $25K | $40K |
| Royalty | 4% | 5% | 6% |
| Sales per location | $780K | $889K | $794K |
| US locations | 113 | 115 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 15 of 16 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 16 brands in resale franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 125 (−5) | 0 | – | – |
| 2022 | 122 (−3) | 0 | 0 | −3 |
| 2023 | 120 (−2) | 0 | +3 | −5 |
| 2024 | 113 (−7) | 0 | +1 | −8 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Over 4 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2024, franchised locations went from 130 to 113 (−17, −13%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: Clothes Mentor, LLC, 2025 filing, page 44
2021: Clothes Mentor, LLC, 2024 filing, page 44
Where Clothes Mentor locations are
At the end of 2024, Clothes Mentor had franchised locations in 30 states. The most are in Ohio, Texas and Florida.
- Ohio18
- Texas14
- Florida8
- Minnesota8
- Illinois7
- North Carolina7
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| Ohio | 18 |
| Texas | 14 |
| Florida | 8 |
| Minnesota | 8 |
| Illinois | 7 |
| North Carolina | 7 |
| Pennsylvania | 5 |
| Indiana | 4 |
| Kentucky | 4 |
| South Carolina | 4 |
All 30 states
| Colorado | 3 |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 3 |
| Michigan | 3 |
| Missouri | 3 |
| Tennessee | 3 |
| New York | 2 |
| North Dakota | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 2 |
| Virginia | 2 |
| Arizona | 1 |
| Arkansas | 1 |
| California | 1 |
| Connecticut | 1 |
| Kansas | 1 |
| Louisiana | 1 |
| Maryland | 1 |
| Nebraska | 1 |
| Nevada | 1 |
| South Dakota | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 1 |
Source: Clothes Mentor, LLC, 2025 filing, page 45
Who owns Clothes Mentor?
Clothes Mentor franchises are sold by Clothes Mentor, LLC.
From Clothes Mentor, LLC’s 2025 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 11–12. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Clothes Mentor, LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on pages 11–12, bankruptcy on page 12
Clothes Mentor filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Clothes Mentor, LLC’s 2025 filing, issued April 17, 2025; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | April 17, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other resale franchises
All resale franchises
Clothes Mentor is also on these lists: retail franchises.