Crunch fitness centers have earned an enviable position as a top tier gym located in trendy neighborhoods. That distinction has been rewarded with a membership well able to pay up to one hundred dollars a month for dues, classes and amenities. But the high end of the market has limits, so Crunch management is taking a different approach to grow in the consumer market and appeal to corporate wellness program directors. The strategy is to keep the top tier gyms owned and operated by company management and expand the brand with smaller, more affordable gyms operated by franchisees.
The franchise gyms are about 20,000 square feet, compared to over 50,000 square feet at flagship company owned locations. The scaled down version of a Crunch gym gets new members in the door with a modest monthly fee of $9.95 a month -- and several options to upgrade to a still affordable $19.95 monthly premium membership. This “small is beautiful” approach also keeps the initial investment affordable for franchise operators. In many locations, they can equip the gym, train staff, and complete a marketing launch for one of these smaller gyms for about $150,000. They will need to budget up to $20,000 a month for rent and salaries, but they can also finance much of the initial outlay. So most entrepreneurs who have $100,000 to invest and the drive to succeed in the fitness industry can own and operate a Crunch gym franchise.
The Crunch franchise team is building enthusiasm for this model by demonstrating how its expertise operating the sophisticated large gyms owned by Crunch directly can enable superior design and maintenance of the smaller franchise gyms. The program includes extensive marketing and information technology resources that can give a small scale, single location gym the competitive advantages more typical of a Fortune 500 company. This year, many corporations are evaluating ways to reduce health care costs as they prepare for implementation of the “Affordable Health Care Act.” So success in building corporate accounts can get a new gym franchise off to a good start.
Is this an easy way to make a large return on investment? No, hard work and sophisticated salesmanship are essential. Not surprisingly, Crunch Franchise President Ben Midgley is also the co-author of a bestselling guide to sales success. “Golden Circle Secrets” was the #1 Sales Management and #1 Customer Service book on Amazon.com.
Read more about business opportunities in the fitness industry at this link.
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