Relax The Back franchise
2024 filing · March 29, 2024Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Relax The Back at a glance
A store selling seating, home office and massage chair products for back pain relief and wellness. At the end of 2023 there were 79 Relax The Back locations in the US, 77 franchised and 2 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Relax The Back Corporation
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2001
- 23 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Long Beach, California
- Typical size
- 2,250–3,000 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $195K–$420K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $29,500
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5%
- No royalty for the first 12 months, 5% of adjusted gross sales in months 13 to 24, then the greater of 5% or $1,875 a month
- Brand fund
- 2%
- 2% of gross sales
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2023
- 79
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 77
- Company-owned
- 2
- Change in 2 years
- −5
- Franchised locations, 2021–2023
- States
- 26
- Most in California, Texas and Florida
Support and records
From Relax The Back Corporation’s 2024 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 118; 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
Relax The Back among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Relax The Back | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $307,300 | Costs less than 56% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $29,500 | Lower than 81% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 79 | More than 72% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $950,548 | Higher than 60% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 3.1× | Higher than 80% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Relax The Back franchise costs
Opening one Relax The Back costs an estimated $194,750 to $419,850. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are other inventory ($74,900 to $109,000) and real property improvements ($0 to $75,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $5,000 | $29,500 | |
| Real Property Improvements | $0 | $75,000 | |
| Rent/Security Deposit | $5,000 | $20,000 | |
| Equipment, Fixtures, & Supplies | $33,230 | $55,000 | |
| Initial Inventory | $22,000 | ||
| Other Inventory | $74,900 | $109,000 | |
| Training Related Expenses | $2,000 | $7,500 | |
| Grand Opening Expenses | $10,000 | ||
| Insurance | $3,000 | $5,000 | |
| Exterior Signs | $6,600 | $19,800 | |
| Computer Hardware & Software | $3,020 | $3,050 | |
| Visual Merchandising Fee | $0 | $4,000 | |
| 6 Months' Additional Funds | $30,000 | $60,000 | |
| Total | $194,750 | $419,850 | |
Source: Relax The Back Corporation, 2024 filing, page 14
Relax The Back franchise fee
The franchise fee is $29,500. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Relax The Back Corporation, 2024 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | No royalty for the first 12 months, 5% of adjusted gross sales in months 13 to 24, then the greater of 5% or $1,875 a month. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of gross sales. |
| Digital Marketing Co-Op | 2% of Adjusted Gross Sales |
| Transfer Fee | $7,500 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Relax The Back Corporation, 2024 filing, page 12
Other fees as filed, from page 12. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Relax The Back publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $950,548
- Median sales
- $842,678
Yearly figures for 2023, covering franchised stores open all of 2023 that delivered annual financial reports (54 locations). The average is about 3.1 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: Relax The Back Corporation, 2024 filing, pages 35–40
SBA loans to Relax The Back franchisees
Lenders approved 51 SBA-backed loans for Relax The Back franchisees from 1994 to 2022, $10.9M in all: 50 7(a) loans and 1 504 loan. Of the 47 that have ended, 37 were paid in full and 10 were charged off (21.3%). The other 4 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
How Relax The Back compares
Of the 199 health and wellness franchises on this site, Relax The Back is the 83rd cheapest to open and the 40th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Relax The Back | Typical health and wellness brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $195K | $224K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $420K | $498K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $30K | $45K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $951K | $711K | $794K |
| US locations | 79 | 10 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 3.1% | 5.3% | – |
| Change in franchised locations, 2 yrs | −6.1% | +23.8% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 125 of 199 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 199 brands in health and wellness franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 81 (−1) | 2 | +1 | −2 |
| 2022 | 79 (−2) | 2 | +1 | −3 |
| 2023 | 77 (−2) | 2 | – | – |
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.
Source: Relax The Back Corporation, 2024 filing, page 42
Where Relax The Back locations are
At the end of 2023, Relax The Back had locations in 26 states. The most are in California, Texas and Florida.
- California15
- Texas15
- Florida9
- Arizona5
- Colorado3
- Georgia3
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Texas | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Florida | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Arizona | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Colorado | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Georgia | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Illinois | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Michigan | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Missouri | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 1 | 2 |
All 26 states
| Oklahoma | 2 |
|---|---|
| Oregon | 2 |
| South Carolina | 2 |
| Tennessee | 2 |
| Alabama | 1 |
| Connecticut | 1 |
| Delaware | 1 |
| Kansas | 1 |
| Kentucky | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 1 |
| Nevada | 1 |
| New Jersey | 1 |
| Ohio | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 |
| Utah | 1 |
| Washington | 1 |
Source: Relax The Back Corporation, 2024 filing, page 43
Who owns Relax The Back?
Relax The Back franchises are sold by Relax The Back Corporation.
From Relax The Back Corporation’s 2024 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| 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: Relax The Back Corporation, 2024 filing, litigation on page 10, bankruptcy on page 10
Relax The Back filings
The figures on this page come from Relax The Back Corporation’s 2024 filing, issued March 29, 2024, on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | March 29, 2024 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2021–2023 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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