Retail
PostNet Franchise
A retail shipping, printing, and business-services franchise offering packing/shipping, printing, mailbox rental, and signage services from small-format storefronts. Incorporated in Nevada in 1992 and franchising since July 1993; now an indirect subsidiary of Italian logistics group WorldFly S.p.A. (via MBE Worldwide/Fortidia) alongside sister franchisor AlphaGraphics under the same U.S. Business Holdings umbrella. PostNet operates no company-owned locations.
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 PostNet'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
$39,950
Total to open
$240,200–$306,800
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 PostNet's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.
Total cost of ownership over 5 years
$365,200 – $431,800
Startup investment
$240,200–$306,800
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. PostNet'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 PostNet'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
8.0–10.2 years
Weigh that payback period against what you already know: PostNet is opening more locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.
Is PostNet 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
GrowingFrom Item 20 of PostNet's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.
| Year | Franchised units, start | Franchised units, end | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 200 | 201 | +1 |
| 2024 | 201 | 198 | -3 |
| 2025 | 198 | 204 | +6 |
Most recent year (2025): gained 6 franchised units, ending the year at 204 total.
What you're actually signing up for
The cost and growth numbers above are only part of the picture. These three FDD items are the ones a prospective franchisee tends to weigh most heavily once they're past the sticker price.
Training & ongoing support (Item 11)
Item 11: onboarding is bundled into the Center Development Package fee; ongoing fees are the 5% Royalty plus the 2% Brand Fund Contribution and the Individual Advertising Expense (greater of 2% of prior-year gross sales or $6,000/year).
Territory protection (Item 12)
Item 12: no exclusive territory, but a Protected Territory sized by local demographics -- roughly a quarter-to-half mile radius in urban areas, one mile suburban, and 1.5 miles rural -- within which PostNet won't operate or franchise another Center. Franchisees don't get a right of first refusal to add locations within their own Protected Territory.
Renewal & termination terms (Item 17)
Item 17: 15-year initial term with one additional 15-year renewal option if in good standing; renewal costs 25% of the then-current Initial Franchise Fee.
How PostNet compares to other Retail franchises
Across the 6 retail franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $274,992–$462,659, with royalties averaging around 5% of gross sales (based on the 6 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).
Keep going
- PostNet and Signarama are both retail franchises; PostNet's total investment starts about $5,232 lower than Signarama's. Signarama Franchise
- PostNet and Wild Birds Unlimited are both retail franchises; Wild Birds Unlimited's total investment starts about $8,565 lower than PostNet's. Wild Birds Unlimited Franchise
Where this came from: California DFPI Registration Renewal, App ID APP00005186, filed 4/20/2026, effective 7/31/2026. FDD issued April 6, 2026. Item 5: $39,950 Initial Franchise Fee (new center). Item 6: 5% Royalty plus a 2% Brand Fund Contribution (franchisees can vote to raise it further, with no stated cap) and an Individual Advertising Expense of the greater of 2% of prior-year gross sales or $6,000/year. Item 7: three TOTAL rows for different pathways (new center $240,200-$306,800, conversion/acquire-and-convert $76,725-$294,300, and a third combined total); the New Center Pathway total is used here as the standard single-unit figure. Item 20 Table 1 franchised outlets (includes 1 outlet in Guam); no company-owned outlets; hqLocation is PostNet's real Lakewood, Colorado address (Item 1), not an FTC boilerplate address. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2026-04-20. 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.