Franchise Facts Report → compare → Smartstyle vs Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio
Smartstyle vs Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio
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.
| Smartstyle | Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Total initial investment FDD Item 7 | $184,440 – $336,340 | $808,143 – $2,134,517 |
| Initial franchise fee FDD Item 5 | $39,500 | — |
| Royalty FDD Item 6 | — | 5.5% |
| Item 19 earnings disclosed FDD Item 19 | Not disclosed | Yes |
| Avg unit revenue (headline) FDD Item 19 | — | in report |
| Franchised outlets FDD Item 20 | 911 | 555 |
| Net outlet change (latest yr) FDD Item 20 | -166 | +43 |
| Closure rate FDD Item 20 | 4.3% | — |
| Franchisee lawsuits FDD Item 3 | disclosed | 0 |
| Risk level our read | High | Low |
| FDD year registration | 2025 | 2023 |
Are Smartstyle and Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio the same company?
No — Smartstyle and Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio are franchised by separate companies. Smartstyle's franchisor is THE BARBERS, HAIRSTYLING FOR MEN & WOMEN, INC.; Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio's is Sola Franchise, 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
Smartstyle is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $184,440 – $336,340, against $808,143 – $2,134,517 for Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio.
How much does each make? (Item 19)
Only Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, while Smartstyle'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
Smartstyle reports 911 franchised outlets, net change -166 in the latest reported year, a 4.3% closure rate (FDD Item 20). Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio reports 555 franchised outlets, net change +43 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
Smartstyle discloses litigation in FDD Item 3 (case detail in the full report). Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio 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?
Smartstyle vs Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio — frequently asked
Are Smartstyle and Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio the same company?
No — Smartstyle and Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio are franchised by separate companies. Smartstyle's franchisor is THE BARBERS, HAIRSTYLING FOR MEN & WOMEN, INC.; Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio's is Sola Franchise, 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 Smartstyle and Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio?
Smartstyle and Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio are beauty & personal care franchises from different franchisors (THE BARBERS, HAIRSTYLING FOR MEN & WOMEN, INC. and Sola Franchise, LLC). Smartstyle is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $184,440 – $336,340, against $808,143 – $2,134,517 for Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio. Only Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, while Smartstyle'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 Smartstyle more profitable than Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio?
Only Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, while Smartstyle'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 — Smartstyle or Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio?
Smartstyle is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $184,440 – $336,340, against $808,143 – $2,134,517 for Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio.
Is Smartstyle or Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio growing faster?
Smartstyle reports 911 franchised outlets, net change -166 in the latest reported year, a 4.3% closure rate (FDD Item 20). Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio reports 555 franchised outlets, net change +43 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 (Smartstyle 2025, Sola | Sola Franchise Corporation | Sola Salon Studio 2023). “—” means the FDD does not disclose it or the table did not parse cleanly — never an estimate.