Pinch A Penny Is Moving Beyond Florida as National Growth Plans Take Shape
For decades, Pinch A Penny built much of its reputation in Florida, where swimming pools are part of everyday life and pool maintenance can be a year-round necessity.
Now the company is trying to prove that the same formula can travel much farther.
After passing 306 locations, Pinch A Penny is pursuing a goal of approximately 500 stores within five years. The expansion could add close to 200 locations and push the 50-year-old franchise deeper into some of the fastest-growing pool markets in the Sunbelt.
The more important story may be where those stores are expected to go.
Pinch A Penny Is Becoming Less Dependent on Florida
Florida remains Pinch A Penny’s strongest market by a wide margin.
But recent development shows the company wants a broader geographic base.
The franchise entered Arizona and North Carolina in 2025 and is now seeking additional growth across Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Georgia and the Carolinas.
These markets make sense for a pool business.
They include areas experiencing continued residential development, warm weather and large populations of homeowners who may use pools for much of the year.
Nevada represents one of Pinch A Penny’s newest opportunities.
The company is currently offering turnkey locations in Summerlin and Spring Valley, two Las Vegas-area markets.
Instead of asking every franchisee to begin with an empty retail space, turnkey development gives some owners the chance to acquire a location that is already built and prepared for operations.
That approach could also help Pinch A Penny move into newer territories more quickly.
A New President Will Oversee the Expansion
The growth strategy comes with a leadership change.
John Mansfield became president of Pinch A Penny in 2026.
He brings more than 20 years of experience involving retail, consumer brands, franchising, service businesses and multi-unit operations.
His responsibilities extend beyond signing new franchise agreements.
Pinch A Penny wants to strengthen franchisee support, modernize the business, improve store-level performance and create a better customer experience while continuing to expand.
That balance will be important.
A company can grow its location count quickly and still create problems if existing franchisees are not performing well.
Pinch A Penny’s leadership appears to be focusing on both sides of that equation: new development and improving the existing system.
Fifty Years Have Changed the Pool Business
The company Pinch A Penny is expanding today is very different from a traditional neighborhood pool supply store.
Customers can still walk in to purchase chemicals and have their water tested.
But modern pool ownership involves increasingly sophisticated equipment, from variable-speed pumps and automated cleaners to heating systems and other technology.
At the same time, many homeowners would rather pay someone else to maintain their pools.
That has created an opportunity for Pinch A Penny franchisees to operate two interconnected businesses.
One happens inside the store.
The other happens in customers’ backyards.
Pool Cleaning Is Becoming an Important Part of the Story
Retail provides one source of sales, but professional pool service gives franchisees something particularly valuable: repetition.
A pool cleaning customer may pay for service throughout the year.
That same household still needs chemicals, repairs and replacement equipment.
As a result, one customer relationship can potentially generate several forms of revenue.
For Pinch A Penny, recurring cleaning and maintenance have grown into a meaningful part of system sales.
The model also includes commercial customers, allowing franchisees to pursue service relationships beyond individual homeowners.
This service component may become even more important as the brand enters competitive new retail markets.
The Company Is Investing Behind the Scenes
One of the less visible parts of Pinch A Penny’s recent development has been its investment in systems for franchise operators.
Its Pinch CleanPro platform is designed around pool-service management.
Franchisees can use it for functions including scheduling routes, invoicing, tracking inventory, analyzing water and monitoring service operations.
For a small cleaning route, those tools may seem unnecessary.
For an owner managing multiple technicians and a large recurring customer base, they become much more important.
Pinch A Penny is also developing proprietary product opportunities through its SunBlazer equipment line.
Together, the initiatives show a company attempting to become more vertically integrated while giving franchisees more control over the customer relationship.
What Existing Stores Are Producing
Pinch A Penny’s recent franchise performance provides another reason the company is pushing development.
At the end of 2025, 305 locations were operating.
Among the 285 stores that had been open at least one year, average annual gross sales were about $1.95 million.
Thirty-eight percent of those stores generated annual gross sales above the average.
These numbers do not tell prospective investors how much money they will personally make.
Gross sales are not net income, and store performance can vary considerably depending on market size, competition, labor, rent, debt and how well the franchisee operates the business.
Still, they give Pinch A Penny a substantial performance benchmark as it recruits owners in new states.
Opening a Store Requires Significant Capital
Expanding to 500 locations will require franchisees with meaningful financial resources.
The latest estimated initial investment ranges from roughly $511,000 to $857,000.
That puts Pinch A Penny well above many home-based service franchise opportunities.
The difference is that owners are building a physical retail operation along with a service business.
Real estate, construction, initial inventory, vehicles, equipment and working capital all contribute to the cost.
To make development more accessible, Pinch A Penny offers qualified franchisees in-house financing that may cover up to 80% of launch costs.
This could become an important tool as the company tries to recruit enough owners to reach its five-year development goal.
Why 500 Locations May Be Possible
The biggest argument supporting Pinch A Penny’s growth plan already exists in American backyards.
There are millions of swimming pools across the country.
Those pools need attention regardless of whether new construction slows.
Every existing pool represents years of potential demand for water treatment, cleaning, pumps, filters, repairs and other services.
Pinch A Penny’s challenge is therefore not creating a new consumer need.
It is capturing a larger share of spending that is already happening.
The company has more than five decades of experience, more than 300 locations, a recognizable name in established markets and a model that blends retail with recurring service.
Now comes the harder part.
Pinch A Penny has to establish the same level of recognition in places where customers may have never seen one of its stores.
If its moves into Arizona, North Carolina and Nevada succeed, they could provide the blueprint for the next wave of development.
Reaching 500 locations would be an important milestone.
But successfully transforming Pinch A Penny from a franchise concentrated heavily in its traditional markets into a broader Sunbelt brand would be the bigger achievement.
Learn more about Pinch A Penny Pool Patio Spa Franchise opportunities.
