Retail
Batteries Plus Franchise
A specialty retail franchise selling batteries, light bulbs, and phone/device-repair services out of standalone stores, including hard-to-find batteries for older appliances and antique cars alongside device repair. Founded in 1988 and operating in 48 states plus Puerto Rico as of 2025; franchised unit count dipped slightly in 2023 and 2024 after a stronger 2022, while company-owned stores grew steadily across the same window.
Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from Batteries Plus's own filing.
What it costs to open
From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.
Franchise fee
$49,500
Total to open
$262,646–$496,996
Ongoing royalty
5% of gross sales
What you'd actually spend, over time
The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.
Defaulted to a rough retail industry average, not a figure from Batteries Plus's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.
Total cost of ownership over 5 years
$387,646 – $621,996
Startup investment
$262,646–$496,996
Royalty per year (5%)
$25,000
Total royalty, 5yr
$125,000
When would you break even?
Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. Batteries Plus's FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical retail profit margin (~6%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.
Defaulted to a general retail industry benchmark, not a figure from Batteries Plus's own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.
At that profit, you'd break even in about
8.8–16.6 years
Weigh that payback period against what you already know: Batteries Plus is currently losing locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.
Is Batteries Plus actually growing?
Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:
Locations opened vs. closed, by year
ShrinkingFrom Item 20 of Batteries Plus's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.
| Year | Franchised units, start | Franchised units, end | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 590 | 609 | +19 |
| 2023 | 609 | 606 | -3 |
| 2024 | 606 | 604 | -2 |
Most recent year (2024): lost 2 franchised units, ending the year at 604 total.
How Batteries Plus compares to other Retail franchises
Across the 11 retail franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $293,525–$655,615, with royalties averaging around 5% of gross sales (based on the 9 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).
$364,015–$682,215 · 5% royalty
Play It Again Sports$346,300–$459,700 · 5% royalty
Wild Birds Unlimited$231,635–$376,392 · 4% royalty
The UPS Store$222,368–$606,081 · 5% royalty
Signarama$245,432–$344,768 · 6% royalty
PostNet$240,200–$306,800 · 5% royalty
7-Eleven$162,900–$1,656,800 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
Wireless Zone$441,875–$1,328,210 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
Plato's Closet$355,700–$467,900 · 5% royalty
Once Upon A Child$355,700–$485,900 · 5% royalty
Batteries Plus Franchise FAQ
How much does it cost to franchise a Batteries Plus?
Based on Batteries Plus's own FDD, total initial investment to open one location runs $262,646–$496,996, including the $49,500 franchise fee. A direct DFPI or state-registry filing PDF for this entity wasn't located via search, so this entry is drawn from the company's 2025 FDD as reproduced in Franchise Chatter's "Batteries Plus Franchise Review 2026" (published 2/28/2026). Item 5: $49,500 initial franchise fee. Item 6: 5% royalty on total Net Revenues. Item 7: $262,646-$496,996. Item 20 franchised-unit counts for 2022-2024 (590 to 604) are reproduced from the same review; company-owned units grew from 112 to 133 over the same window, and the review separately notes 508 franchised and 133 corporate stores operating as of 8/31/2025 with 63 new units added during 2025. Exact legal entity suffix and FDD issuance date were not independently confirmed -- verify directly against the DFPI's public franchise search before relying on this entry.
What is the Batteries Plus franchise fee and royalty rate?
The initial franchise fee is $49,500, and the ongoing royalty is 5% of gross sales, per the filing on record.
Is the Batteries Plus franchise growing or shrinking?
Shrinking. Across 2022–2024, Batteries Plus lost a net 14 franchised locations, per its own annual FDD filings.
Keep going
- Batteries Plus and Signarama are both retail franchises; Signarama's total investment starts about $17,214 lower than Batteries Plus's. Signarama Franchise
- Batteries Plus and PostNet are both retail franchises; PostNet's total investment starts about $22,446 lower than Batteries Plus's. PostNet Franchise
Where this came from: A direct DFPI or state-registry filing PDF for this entity wasn't located via search, so this entry is drawn from the company's 2025 FDD as reproduced in Franchise Chatter's "Batteries Plus Franchise Review 2026" (published 2/28/2026). Item 5: $49,500 initial franchise fee. Item 6: 5% royalty on total Net Revenues. Item 7: $262,646-$496,996. Item 20 franchised-unit counts for 2022-2024 (590 to 604) are reproduced from the same review; company-owned units grew from 112 to 133 over the same window, and the review separately notes 508 franchised and 133 corporate stores operating as of 8/31/2025 with 63 new units added during 2025. Exact legal entity suffix and FDD issuance date were not independently confirmed -- verify directly against the DFPI's public franchise search before relying on this entry. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2025. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.
If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.