Sears Hometown Stores Franchise Failure Rate
SBA 7(a) loan default data, FY2010–FY2019 · Updated 2026
Sears Hometown Stores franchisees defaulted on 26.7% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 4 of 15 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Household Appliance Stores industry average of 10.2%.
- 26.7%SBA default rate, small sample4 of 15 loans
- 15loans resolvedapproved FY2010–FY2019
- 10.2%Household Appliance Stores averageall SBA loans in the industry
- 10.2%all-franchise average7.8% non-franchised
| SBA default rate | 26.7% (small sample) |
|---|---|
| Loans approved | 15 |
| Loans charged off | 4 |
| Date range | FY2010–FY2019 |
| Industry | Household Appliance Stores |
| Industry average | 10.2% |
| 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 15 Sears Hometown Stores SBA borrowers failed to repay — too few loans to call a rate; read it as a flag, not a verdict.
What is the Sears Hometown Stores franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Sears Hometown Stores is a Household Appliance 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 Sears Hometown Stores franchisees: 15 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–FY201915
- Charged off4
- Charge-off rate (small sample)26.7%
- Household Appliance Stores franchise benchmark10.2%
- Brand vs industry2.6x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$166,927
How does Sears Hometown Stores compare with other Household Appliance Stores franchises?
The table sets Sears Hometown Stores's charge-off rate beside its Household Appliance 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. A cell in red is more than twice the industry benchmark.
| Measure | Sears Hometown Stores | Household Appliance Stores | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 26.7% (small sample) | 10.2% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 15 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 4 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $166,927 | — | — | — |
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2013 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2014 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2015 | 5 | 2 | 40.0% |
| FY2016 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| FY2017 | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
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?
Sears Hometown Stores's figure rests on 15 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 15 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 6.7 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 Sears Hometown Stores figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Small sample (15 loans). A single default moves this figure substantially.
Is Sears Hometown Stores in financial trouble? What the SBA data shows
Sears Hometown Stores's SBA 7(a) default rate was 26.7% for loans approved FY2010–FY2019 (4 of 15 loans charged off) — the only Household Appliance Stores brand tracked here. A default rate this far above the Household Appliance Stores average of 10.2% is a signal worth investigating further before investing. With only 15 loans in the sample, one default moves the rate by about 6.7 percentage points, so read it as a flag rather than a verdict.
Frequently asked
- What is Sears Hometown Stores's franchise failure rate?
- Sears Hometown Stores franchisees defaulted on 26.7% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 4 of 15 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Household Appliance Stores industry average of 10.2%.
- How does Sears Hometown Stores compare to other Household Appliance Stores franchises?
- Sears Hometown Stores's 26.7% SBA default rate is higher than the Household Appliance Stores industry average of 10.2%. See every Household Appliance Stores franchise ranked on the Household Appliance Stores industry page. Household Appliance 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). Sears Hometown Stores franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 26.7% (4 of 15 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/sears-hometown-stores/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)