Wine and Design Franchise

The vendor opportunity at Wine and Design

Wine and Design operates 49 total units—48 franchised, 1 company-owned—with a footprint concentrated in North Carolina (19), Virginia (6), New Jersey (4), South Carolina (3), and California (3). All 47 mapped franchisees are single-unit operators, meaning no multi-unit owners control purchasing across multiple locations. The system contracted by -2.04% year-over-year, so net new unit openings are not a growth vector. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is the 48 franchised studios plus the single corporate location. Average unit volume (AUV) is not disclosed in the 2025 FDD. The royalty rate is 6.0% of gross revenue, and the initial franchise term runs 10 years.

Who controls software purchasing

Purchasing authority sits with the franchisor. The 2025 FDD lists Harriet E. Mills as President and Chief Executive Officer and Claudia Wooten Outlaw as Director of Franchise Operations. These are the executives most likely to evaluate, select, and mandate software systems across the network. Because all franchisees are single-unit operators, there is no multi-unit buyer layer to navigate—HQ decisions flow directly to individual studio owners. Vendors should direct outreach to the corporate office in North Carolina.

Mandated and current tech stack

The FDD mandates three technology areas: a website/reservation system, bookkeeping and accounting services, and Wine & Design University, the franchisor’s proprietary training platform. Specific vendor names for the website/reservation system and bookkeeping services are not disclosed in the FDD. The training platform is internally branded, suggesting it is a custom or white-label solution. No POS, CRM, payroll, or inventory management systems are mentioned as mandated or recommended, which may indicate those categories are open for vendor pitches—or simply not addressed in the disclosure document.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 procurement signals are absent from the FDD extract, so the formal procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not disclosed. Renewal terms, covered in Item 17, require franchisees to sign a new agreement every 5 years after the initial 10-year term, pay a $2,500 renewal fee, and complete required upgrades or renovations. The renewal agreement may contain materially different terms, including a different royalty rate and protected territory, though the royalty will not exceed what is imposed on similarly situated renewing franchisees. These renewal events create periodic windows where franchisees must comply with updated system standards, potentially including new technology mandates. However, with only 48 franchised units and negative recent growth, the volume of renewal-driven tech evaluations will be low.

How to read the Wine and Design FDD

The 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document is the definitive source for understanding Wine and Design’s technology mandates, fee structure, and executive leadership. Key sections for software vendors include Item 11 (franchisor’s obligations) for mandated tech, Item 8 (restrictions on sources of products and services) for procurement rules—though not present in this extract—and Item 17 (renewal, termination, transfer) for contract cycle timing. The embedded PDF viewer below provides the full filing. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help.