Scout & Molly's Franchise Failure Rate
SBA 7(a) loan default data, FY2010–FY2019 · Updated 2026
Scout & Molly's franchisees defaulted on 23.5% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 4 of 17 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Women's Clothing Stores industry average of 13.2%.
- 23.5%SBA default rate, small sample4 of 17 loans
- 17loans resolvedapproved FY2010–FY2019
- 13.2%Women's Clothing Stores averageall SBA loans in the industry
- 2nd lowestindustry rankof 2 Women's Clothing Stores brands
| SBA default rate | 23.5% (small sample) |
|---|---|
| Loans approved | 17 |
| Loans charged off | 4 |
| Date range | FY2010–FY2019 |
| Industry | Women's Clothing Stores |
| Industry average | 13.2% |
| Data source | U.S. SBA 7(a) FOIA loan data |
Most SBA default figures published online use loans approved since 2020 — loans that have had six years or less to fail — so those rates are floors, not outcomes. Every rate on this site is computed from the matured FY2010–FY2019 cohort: loans that have been paid in full or charged off, so the result is settled. Loans approved since 2020 are shown as counts so early charge-offs are visible without being mistaken for a rate.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
4 of 17 Scout & Molly's SBA borrowers failed to repay — too few loans to call a rate; read it as a flag, not a verdict.
What is the Scout & Molly's franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Scout & Molly's is a Women's Clothing Stores franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Scout & Molly's franchisees: 17 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 4 were charged off. Loan statuses are as of June 30, 2026, and the cohort has matured, so these are settled outcomes rather than projections.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY201917
- Charged off4
- Charge-off rate (small sample)23.5%
- Women's Clothing Stores franchise benchmark13.2%
- Brand vs industry1.8x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$195,041
How does Scout & Molly's compare with other Women's Clothing Stores franchises?
The table sets Scout & Molly's's charge-off rate beside its Women's Clothing Stores peers and the two economy-wide benchmarks. All figures use the same cohort — SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019, statuses as of June 30, 2026 — and the same denominator of resolved loans, so they are directly comparable.
| Measure | Scout & Molly's | Women's Clothing Stores | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 23.5% (small sample) | 13.2% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 17 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 4 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $195,041 | — | — | — |
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2016 | 7 | 4 | 57.1% |
| FY2017 | 6 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2018 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2019 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
How to read this
A charge-off means a franchisee borrowed, operated, and failed severely enough that the SBA wrote off the government-guaranteed loan. Unlike franchisor marketing or Item 19 disclosures, this is an observed outcome recorded by a federal agency. One caveat cuts the other way: SBA borrowers are typically less capitalized than all-cash buyers, so these rates can overstate risk for well-funded operators.
How reliable is this number?
Scout & Molly's's figure rests on 17 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019. That cohort has matured, so the count is a settled outcome, not a projection. With 17 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 5.9 percentage points. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every Scout & Molly's figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Small sample (17 loans). A single default moves this figure substantially.
Is Scout & Molly's in financial trouble? What the SBA data shows
Scout & Molly's's SBA 7(a) default rate was 23.5% for loans approved FY2010–FY2019 (4 of 17 loans charged off) — the highest of 2 Women's Clothing Stores brands tracked here. A default rate this far above the Women's Clothing Stores average of 13.2% is a signal worth investigating further before investing. With only 17 loans in the sample, one default moves the rate by about 5.9 percentage points, so read it as a flag rather than a verdict.
Frequently asked
- What is Scout & Molly's's franchise failure rate?
- Scout & Molly's franchisees defaulted on 23.5% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 4 of 17 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Women's Clothing Stores industry average of 13.2%.
- How does Scout & Molly's compare to other Women's Clothing Stores franchises?
- Scout & Molly's's 23.5% SBA default rate is higher than the Women's Clothing Stores industry average of 13.2%. See every Women's Clothing Stores franchise ranked on the Women's Clothing Stores industry page. Women's Clothing Stores franchises →
- What does 'SBA default rate' mean?
- An SBA default rate is the share of SBA 7(a) loans, approved FY2010–FY2019 and since resolved (paid in full or charged off), that were charged off — written off after the borrower failed to repay. It is not a measure of unit closures.
Source
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loan program charge-off data, FY2010–FY2019. Franchise data is matched on the SBA's franchise code / brand name. "Failure rate" here means the share of approved loans (resolved: paid in full or charged off) that were charged off; it is not a measure of unit closures. Last updated September 30, 2026.
Every brand in one table, with percentiles and breakdowns by year, industry and loan size: franchise SBA default rates, all 415 brands.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Scout & Molly's franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 23.5% (4 of 17 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/scout-and-mollys/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)