Franchise Facts Report → compare → Great Clips vs Buff City Soap
Great Clips vs Buff City Soap
Two beauty & personal care franchises, compared on the numbers their own Franchise Disclosure Documents put on record — investment, fees, Item 19 earnings, outlet churn, and litigation. Not marketing copy.
| Great Clips | Buff City Soap | |
|---|---|---|
| Total initial investment FDD Item 7 | $187,800 – $419,900 | $395,427 – $1,278,424 |
| Initial franchise fee FDD Item 5 | $35,000 | — |
| Royalty FDD Item 6 | 6% | 6% |
| Item 19 earnings disclosed FDD Item 19 | Yes | Not disclosed |
| Avg unit revenue (headline) FDD Item 19 | in report | — |
| Franchised outlets FDD Item 20 | 4,439 | 262 |
| Net outlet change (latest yr) FDD Item 20 | +12 | +10 |
| Closure rate FDD Item 20 | 2.4% | — |
| Franchisee lawsuits FDD Item 3 | disclosed | 0 |
| Risk level our read | Low | Medium |
| FDD year registration | 2025 | 2024 |
Are Great Clips and Buff City Soap the same company?
No — Great Clips and Buff City Soap are franchised by separate companies. Great Clips's franchisor is GREAT CLIPS INC; Buff City Soap's is Buff City Soap Franchising, LLC. Each registers and files its own Franchise Disclosure Document, and you would be signing with a different entity depending on which you chose. Note that a registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent — two brands owned by the same parent company can still have separate franchisors.
Cost to open
Great Clips is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $187,800 – $419,900, against $395,427 – $1,278,424 for Buff City Soap.
How much does each make? (Item 19)
Only Great Clips disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, while Buff City Soap's most recent FDD makes none. That asymmetry is itself a data point: one franchisor puts its unit economics on paper, the other doesn't.
Closures & failure rate
Great Clips reports 4,439 franchised outlets, net change +12 in the latest reported year, a 2.4% closure rate (FDD Item 20). Buff City Soap reports 262 franchised outlets, net change +10 in the latest reported year (FDD Item 20). Outlet churn — closures, terminations, non-renewals — is the closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate; the full report puts both brands' churn against beauty & personal care medians.
Litigation
Great Clips discloses litigation in FDD Item 3 (case detail in the full report). Buff City Soap discloses no franchisee-initiated proceedings in FDD Item 3.
This page is the headline numbers. The Deep report compares up to three brands on the complete FDD record — every fee line, the actual Item 19 figures and what they represent, each lawsuit, and churn benchmarked against beauty & personal care peers.
Only looking at one of them?
Great Clips vs Buff City Soap — frequently asked
Are Great Clips and Buff City Soap the same company?
No — Great Clips and Buff City Soap are franchised by separate companies. Great Clips's franchisor is GREAT CLIPS INC; Buff City Soap's is Buff City Soap Franchising, LLC. Each registers and files its own Franchise Disclosure Document, and you would be signing with a different entity depending on which you chose. Note that a registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent — two brands owned by the same parent company can still have separate franchisors.
What is the difference between Great Clips and Buff City Soap?
Great Clips and Buff City Soap are beauty & personal care franchises from different franchisors (GREAT CLIPS INC and Buff City Soap Franchising, LLC). Great Clips is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $187,800 – $419,900, against $395,427 – $1,278,424 for Buff City Soap. Only Great Clips disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, while Buff City Soap's most recent FDD makes none. That asymmetry is itself a data point: one franchisor puts its unit economics on paper, the other doesn't.
Is Great Clips more profitable than Buff City Soap?
Only Great Clips disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, while Buff City Soap's most recent FDD makes none. That asymmetry is itself a data point: one franchisor puts its unit economics on paper, the other doesn't.
Which is cheaper to open — Great Clips or Buff City Soap?
Great Clips is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $187,800 – $419,900, against $395,427 – $1,278,424 for Buff City Soap.
Is Great Clips or Buff City Soap growing faster?
Great Clips reports 4,439 franchised outlets, net change +12 in the latest reported year, a 2.4% closure rate (FDD Item 20). Buff City Soap reports 262 franchised outlets, net change +10 in the latest reported year (FDD Item 20).
Go deeper on each brand
Beauty & personal care rankings
Figures are as disclosed in each brand's most recent registered FDD (Great Clips 2025, Buff City Soap 2024). “—” means the FDD does not disclose it or the table did not parse cleanly — never an estimate.