Retail
The UPS Store Franchise
A retail shipping, packing, printing, and business-services franchise, franchised since June 1980 under the Mail Boxes Etc. name before UPS acquired the business in 2001 and rebranded U.S. Centers exclusively as The UPS Store starting in 2003. Franchised Center count grew every year shown, accelerating from +94 in 2023 to +137 in 2025.
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 The UPS Store'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
$222,368–$606,081
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 The UPS Store's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.
Total cost of ownership over 5 years
$347,368 – $731,081
Startup investment
$222,368–$606,081
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. The UPS Store'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 The UPS Store'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
7.4–20.2 years
Weigh that payback period against what you already know: The UPS Store 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 The UPS Store 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 The UPS Store's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.
| Year | Franchised units, start | Franchised units, end | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5,138 | 5,232 | +94 |
| 2024 | 5,232 | 5,350 | +118 |
| 2025 | 5,350 | 5,487 | +137 |
Most recent year (2025): gained 137 franchised units, ending the year at 5,487 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)
Franchisees pay an Annual Technology Development and Support Fee ($2,868 for a new Center or transfer; $2,748 for a Rural Center or renewal) and must join a regional "Collaborative" (dues vary, typically $100-$500/month) that pools local marketing decisions among nearby franchisees.
Territory protection (Item 12)
You are granted a defined geographic Territory around your Center, sized by market factors rather than a fixed minimum -- a real, if non-exclusive, territorial concept unlike several other chains in this dataset. You will not receive an exclusive territory, however: The UPS Store can still establish Non-Traditional sites inside your Territory, and there are no restrictions on soliciting customers outside it.
Renewal & termination terms (Item 17)
Franchise Agreement term is 10 years, and the franchisee's own premises lease must run at least 10 years (with or without renewal options) to match. The UPS Store may modify a franchisee's Territory boundaries at its sole discretion when the agreement transfers, renews, or the Center relocates.
How The UPS Store 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
- The UPS Store and Wild Birds Unlimited are both retail franchises; The UPS Store's total investment starts about $9,267 lower than Wild Birds Unlimited's. Wild Birds Unlimited Franchise
- The UPS Store and PostNet are both retail franchises; The UPS Store's total investment starts about $17,832 lower than PostNet's. PostNet Franchise
Where this came from: The UPS Store only files a Net Worth/Experience Exemption notice, not a full FDD, with California DFPI, so this entry is sourced from Minnesota's CARDS registry instead: Clean FDD issued December 31, 2025 (MN File No. 8230, filed 5/5/2026, effective in Minnesota 7/6/2026), Traditional/Unit Franchise FDD. Item 5: $39,950 initial franchise fee. Item 6: 5% Royalty on "Subject to Royalty" (Gross Sales plus Gross Commissions), plus a separate 1% Marketing Fee and a 2.5% National Advertising Fee (combined ~3.5% advertising load on top of the 5% royalty) -- an earlier automated pass captured only the 1% Marketing Fee line as "ad fund," missing the larger 2.5% NAF; both are included here. Item 7: $222,368-$606,081 TOTAL for a traditional Center (three lower, non-traditional-format ranges also appear in the FDD). Item 20 Table 1 franchised-outlet rows above. hqLocation is The UPS Store, Inc.'s own principal place of business (9350 Waxie Way, Suite 520, San Diego, CA) from the FDD's Item 1 text -- an earlier automated pass mis-picked parent UPS's Atlanta, GA corporate address instead; corrected here. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2026-07-06. 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.