Deka Lash Franchise: Revenue, Costs & Profits (2023)

A recent franchise in the beauty sector, Deka Lash has expanded aggressively since it started franchising in 2016 and now has more than 120 franchised studios in the US and Canada.

So if you’re looking to get into the beauty franchise industry, Deka Lash may sound like a great option. Yet with an estimated initial investment of $381,000, you may want to know if that’s a profitable business.

In other words: how much profits can you really make with a Deka Lash franchise?

In this article we are looking at Deka Lash and its Franchise Disclosure Document to find out how much it really costs, how much profits you can make as a franchisee and whether it’s a good investment. Let’s dive in!

Key stats

Franchise fee	$59,900
Royalty fee	6.0%
Marketing fee	5.0%
Investment (mid-point)	$391,000
Revenue per unit	$369,000
Revenue per sq. ft.	$295
Sales to investment ratio	0.9x
Payback period*	7 years
Minimum net worth	$250,000
Minimum liquid capital	$75,000

What is Deka Lash?

Deka Lash is a leading beauty company offering customized lash extensions, brow lamination services and high-end beauty products.

Michale and Jennifer Blair founded the beauty brand in 2012 to make lash extensions easily accessible to consumers across the US and Canada. 

Headquartered in Pennsylvania, the company offers online and in-studio proprietary lash care products and has been franchising since 2016. 

Today, Deka Lash has over 120 franchised studios in the US and Canada. 

Deka Lash: pros and cons

Pros

• Recurring revenue model: the monthly membership model is a convenient way to earn predictable income from repeat clients. 
• Financial support: Deka Lash has financing options to get franchises up and running by covering the cost of equipment, franchise fee, inventory, startup costs and accounts receivable.
• Exclusive territories: franchisees operate in fixed locations without competition from other Deka Lash studios. 
• Multiple income sources: franchisees earn from the tested and proven monthly membership model and product sales. 
• Innovative technology: the brand uses future-focused innovations to support clients, franchisees and business owners. The concept is built around optimization with a reception-less business model thanks to the AI program, dekaAI and the inbound/outbound Customer Service Center to reduce operating costs. 
• Future-oriented: the franchisor’s Research and Development Department is always looking to the future to identify new services and help franchisees stay ahead of the competition. 
• Lead generation programs and in-house marketing tools: the franchisor provides valuable marketing, advertising and lead generation tools to help franchisees attract traffic. The franchisor tailors the marketing tools by territory, studio location, competition and population. 
• Semi-passive ownership: the franchisor allows semi-absentee ownership, with business owners relying on optimization tools and the corporate team to handle the daily operations. 
• Intensive, in-house training: the franchisor provides comprehensive initial on-site and ongoing training to help new franchises thrive.
• No mandatory lash experience required: franchisees don’t need a lash extension experience or beauty background to own a Deka Lash franchise. The dedicated corporate team trains, guides and hires a brilliant workforce. 
• Scalable business: the multi-unit model allows franchisees to scale their businesses and achieve financial goals.  

Cons

• Minimum employee requirement: 6-8 employees are required to operate a Deka Lash franchise. 
• Can’t be run from home or as a mobile unit: Deka Lash franchisees must operate from physical locations such as office spaces, retail facilities, or warehouses. 
• Not a part-time opportunity: the franchisor doesn’t allow part-time ownership. 
• Competition from similar lash extension studios like The Lash Lounge & Amazing Lash Studio to name a few

How much does Deka Lash franchise cost?

You have to invest around $391,000 to open a Deka Lash franchised studio.

This is an average; indeed, it varies based on many factors, such as the location of your franchised studio, its size, and other factors.

Startup costs

In addition to the initial franchise fee of $59,900, which you must pay to the franchisor, you would also pay for the leasehold improvements, furniture and fixtures, signage, professional fees, insurance, etc.

Here’s the full breakdown of costs:

Type of Expenditure	Low	High
Initial franchise fee	$59,900	$59,900
Leasehold improvements	$0	$211,200
Insurance and permits	$3,250	$7,500
Signage	$5,200	$12,400
Professional fees	$1,250	$3,750
Additional Funds- 3 months	$5,166	$8,376
Other	$137,446	$267,399
Total	$212,212	$570,525

How much sales does a Deka Lash franchise make? 

On average, a Deka Lash franchise makes $369,000 in sales per year (or $295 in revenue per square foot).

That’s the average revenue per franchised studio for 82 studios that were open for all of 2022. This is a significant increase vs. 2021 (+13%, $325,722) as the franchise recovered from COVID-19.

It’s also interesting to note that 56% of the revenue comes from memberships (vs. one-off sales) as disclosed in the Franchise Disclosure Document below:

How profitable is a Deka Lash franchise?

A Deka Lash franchised salon makes $51,000 in profits per year on average. This corresponds to a 16% EBITDA margin.

Deka Lash is a profitable franchise. Yet, whilst the 16% EBITDA margin isn’t necessarily bad, it’s not the best profit margin across the industry. Indeed, we found that salon franchises have an EBITDA margin of around 25% on average.

Note that we estimated EBITDA using the information available in the Franchise Disclosure Document for 2022. Unfortunately, Deka Lash has not provided detailed information on the cost of goods sold (COGS) and labour costs. Therefore, we used 3% and 40% of sales, respectively, as per our own benchmarks for salon franchises.

Profit and loss	Amount	% revenue	Source
Revenue	$325,722	100%	as per FDD
COGS	$(9,772)	3%	industry average
Labor	$(130,289)	40%	industry average
Royalties	$(19,543)	6%	as per FDD
Rent	$(66,596)	20%	as per FDD
Marketing fees	$(16,286)	5%	as per FDD
Other operating costs	$(32,572)	10%	industry average
EBITDA	$50,664	16%

Is Deka Lash a good franchise investment?

So should you invest in a Deka Lash franchised studio? Are future profits worth the initial investment of $381,000?

In order to answer this question, we must compare profits to the initial investment cost. As per our estimates Deka Lash has a 15 years payback: it would take you on average 15 years to reimburse the initial investment to open a new studio.

Whilst not necessarily bad, it’s not the best payback period among beauty and salons franchises (8 years on average). This is mostly due to the fact that Deka Lash studios have slightly lower margins than other salon franchises on average.

Note though that these numbers are based on estimates as well as the average performance of the studios disclosed in the Franchise Disclosure Document. As such, there is no guarantee your Deka Lash studio will perform as well.

How does it compare vs. other franchises?

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