SBA 7(a) loan outcomes · FY2010–FY2019 cohort · Statuses as of June 30, 2026 · Last updated August 17, 2026
Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears Franchise Failure Rate on SBA Loans: 4 of 15 Charged Off (Federal Data)
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
4 of 15 Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears SBA borrowers failed to repay — too few loans to call a rate; read it as a flag, not a verdict.
4 of 15 SBA 7(a) loans to Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears franchisees (2010–2019) ended in charge-off. The sample is small; treat this as a diligence flag, not a verdict. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
What is the Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears 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 Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears 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 Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears compare with other Household Appliance Stores franchises?
The table sets Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears'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 Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears | 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 Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears's figure rests on 15 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019 — a matured cohort, 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 Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Small sample (15 loans). A single default moves this figure substantially.
Frequently asked
- What is Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears's franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
- 4 of 15 SBA 7(a) loans to Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears franchisees (2010–2019) ended in charge-off. The sample is small; treat this as a diligence flag, not a verdict. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
- Is Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears a safe franchise investment?
- Between 2010–2019, 4 of 15 SBA loans to Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears franchisees were charged off. The sample is small. This data is one input for due diligence; it is not investment advice.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Sears Authorized Hometown Stores (f/k/a Sears franchise SBA 7(a) loan outcomes, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 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-authorized-hometown-stores-f-k-a-sears/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)