The Closet Factory

Founded: 1983 Franchising since: 1985
John LaBarbera founded The Closet Factory in a small industrial space in Los Angeles in 1983. The company started out with six employees customizing closets, offices, garages and pantries, and now has more than 100 employees at its Los Angeles headquarters. There are also 11 other factories around the world.

The Closet Factory works with homeowners, contractors and interior decorators, installing closets, entertainment centers, pantries and shelves for offices and garages.

12800 S. Broadway Los Angeles, California 90061

Phone: (800)318-8800

Franchisor is a privately-held company with 180 employee(s); 20 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2006	70	0	4	17
2005	71	0	4	17

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North carolina, North dakota, New hampshire, New jersey, New mexico, Nevada, New york, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode island, South carolina, South dakota, Tennessee, Texas, United states, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West virginia, Wyoming

Exclusive territories available.

Special Programs
The Closet Factory donates building materials to Habitat for Humanity.

Total investment: $174.3K-320K Franchise fee: $46.5K

Ongoing royalty fee: 6.8% Term of agreement: 5 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	Yes
Startup Costs	No	Yes
Equipment	No	Yes
Inventory	No	Yes
Accounts Receivable	No	Yes
Payroll	No	Yes

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $500K
Cash liquidity requirement: $75K+
Business Experience:

• General business experience
• Marketing skills
• People skills

Operations

• 30% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 6
• Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (90% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 2 weeks
• At franchisee's location: 1 month

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Grand opening
• Internet
• Security/safety procedures
• Field operations/evaluations
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks
• National media
• Regional advertising

Other marketing support

• Vendor discounts, promotional products, signage

Franchise 500® rank:
#453 (2007); #480 (2006);