Huntington Learning Center Offers Highest Average Franchise Unit Revenue in Category by 53 Percent

In 1977, Eileen Huntington was a tenured junior high and high school teacher who saw firsthand how many students lacked basic skills and were falling behind in their schoolwork. Her husband Ray was working for a Fortune 100 company as a senior business analyst, and the couple began dreaming of a way to make a real impact, eventually leading them to the idea of individualized tutoring that takes place outside of the home. They both left their secure careers to make this dream a reality, and Huntington Learning Center was born.

After realizing that the system they built was scalable, they began franchising in 1985, and now, 41 years later, the brand has grown to more than 300 units in 41 states, with plans to reach 600 units by 2023. Huntington Learning Center also now enjoys a 53 percent higher average franchise unit revenue than its closest competitor in the category.*

“In the past decade, major shifts have happened in the education industry, including the whole language approach, common core math and revisions to ACT and SAT testing. During these shifts, the educational system is using a one-size-fits-all approach to educate the masses. For more than 40 years, Huntington has evolved along with these shifts and filled a much-needed gap in the educational system by providing an individualized, student-based approach,” said Lisa Merry, Chief Operating Officer of Huntington Learning Center.

Personalized learning approach

Huntington stands out in the tutoring space because of its process of giving every student an academic evaluation to then creating a personalized program that focuses on the areas where the student needs the most support. Since every child learns and matures differently, Huntington focuses its program on improving a student’s skills in an individualized way across the curriculum, not focused on a specific subject.

“Huntington’s impressive growth over the last 40+ years is a product of the impactful, results-driven service that we provide to students and their families, but also a testament to the low-cost business opportunity that is not only financially rewarding, but also provides emotional rewards for our franchisees,” said Merry. “Our franchisees have the unique ability to make a good living while feeling good about their work. The majority of expenses, outside of rent, marketing and a few other things, are variable, so it is a business that can have strong profitability in an industry that continues to grow.”

Over the last five years, Huntington has developed adaptive technology that supports the brand’s approach to individualized tutoring. The teachers are given a day-by-day prescription that grows with the student and gets harder or easier depending on that specific student’s performance.

“We are the leader in the tutoring category, but believe it or not, our biggest competitor is actually the private tutor. But private tutors don’t have this level of sophisticated technology in their teaching arsenals,” said Merry. “Our state-certified teachers have access to 700 pieces of curricula to put together an individualized program for each student that features the best practice problems and workbooks for that specific student.”

Franchise partner attraction

In addition to the strong consumer value proposition, Huntington’s technology helps the brand attract a wide range of franchise partners, not just those with experience in teaching or education.

“We look for franchisees that value education, love kids, have a strong work ethic and are comfortable communicating with parents, students and the local community,” said Merry. “When we find the right people, our systems and technology make it very easy to train them on the Huntington way.”

Len Silverman, who has been a Huntington franchisee since 2004 and owns three centers in Columbus, Ohio; Montgomery, Alabama and Hendersonville, Tennessee, had a background in marketing before deciding to become a franchisee.

“We’re in the business of educating kids, so it’s very important to have an understanding of education. But you don’t need a background in education or a PhD to be successful as a Huntington franchisee. I provided the value of strategy and business and hired professionals for the education side,” said Silverman. “Being a Huntington franchisee allowed me to get to know everyone in the community. Franchising has allowed me to flex muscles I would have never been able to otherwise.”

Growth and development plans

In 2017, Huntington awarded 30 new franchise agreements and opened 25 centers. Huntington has its eyes on development in Nashville and Los Angeles and is actively seeking franchise partners in both markets, along with Boston, Lexington, Ky., Denver, Milwaukee, Phoenix, and Michigan, Connecticut and South Carolina among many other markets across the country.

In the next few years, as competition to get into the best colleges intensifies, Huntington will continue to implement technologies that don’t replace the interaction between teacher and student, but complement it. The brand is looking into online programs that would open up a line of business that extends beyond the brick and mortar centers.

“When it comes to kids’ education, there will always be a demand for what we do. Getting into college is more competitive than it used to be and we’re able to prepare kids for tests like the ACT and SAT to be able to stand out in this competitive landscape,” said Darlene Viering, Vice President of Sales at Huntington Learning Center. “One of our biggest strengths as a system is that we have strong support for franchisees in all areas, including technology, new lines of business, education, center management, reporting and more.

When franchisees come in with the right attitude and drive, and they follow the system, put the students first and fulfill the mission statement, the money and profitability will follow.”

**Data are based on each company’s Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDD) for all franchise centers open in 2017, except for Kumon, which are for centers open at least three years, and Tutor Doctor, which are for centers open at least one year. We estimate Club Z! revenue from its financial statement as total franchisor revenue, less purchase of trademarked material and software fees, divided by the average royalty rate, then divided by the number of centers.

We estimate Kumon revenue from* its *FDD and a 2015 survey of its centers as average center enrollment multiplied by an average monthly enrollment charge of $120, plus registration fee of $50 and materials fees of $30 for half of its enrollments. We estimate Tutor Doctor revenue as follows: Its FDD provides (a) average enrollment by quartile for centers open 12?24 months and for centers open 25+ months; and (b) average enrollment value for each group.

We compute each group’s total enrollment by quartile. For each group, we multiply each quartile’s total enrollment by that group’s average enrollment value to estimate total revenue for each group’s quartile. We estimate the average center’s revenue as the sum of these revenue estimates divided by the total number of centers.