The desire to be fit has greatly increased over the last two decades, resulting in a race to reinvent the fitness industry. Gyms and fitness clubs are on the upswing these days, and many of them have created a solid brand presence. One such organisation is Plus Fitness.
Laying the bricks of the franchise
Plus Fitness is a customer-focused organisation that strives to provide the best service and results to its members. It works with the motto ‘you + fitness,’ in which the club supports its members’ fitness to the end, hence the name ‘Plus Fitness.’ Plus Fitness was founded 25 years ago by brilliant minds and fitness fanatics. From there, it went on to open four more branches before deciding on franchising as the next commercial step. After initially franchising the ‘Plus Fitness Health Club’ model in 2009, it soon recognized that a change in the fitness industry was looming and set about remodelling its franchise from traditional ‘big box gyms’ to smaller, lower-priced, more convenient 24-hour gyms. After researching the 24-hour gym market, the founders developed a franchise model with some unique and appealing selling points to assist in gaining market share in what was becoming one of the fastest-growing segments within the franchising sector. These included developing a true turn-key franchise offering that presented exceptional value, inclusive of everything from gym equipment to fit-out, franchise training to marketing. Furthermore, this was a low-staff strategy with an exclusive territory for each franchisee, shielding them from the risk of future market saturation. Moreover, it provides easy 24/7 access to forward-thinking fitness facilities around Australia, New Zealand, India, and East Timor, making it simple for anyone to begin their journey toward better health, fitness, and wellness. Currently, it has 201 locations worldwide.
The Plus Fitness 24/7 franchise chain has experienced consistent and steady growth over the past decade. In 2020 ASX listed Viva Leisure Limited acquired Plus Fitness. With Viva Leisure Limited already operating brands such as Club Lime and Hiit Republic, this launched them into becoming the third largest fitness operator in Australia.
From a member’s perspective, the franchise is a service-based product with the purpose of transforming as many lives as possible; that allows people to come to a safe and friendly gym environment. From a franchisee perspective, the Plus Fitness 24/7 franchise model offers its franchisees extensive support from a dedicated team of support personnel at its head office located in Sydney. The model is turnkey by design and provides its franchisee with a consistent and regular income in a low-staff, fast-paced environment. “We have a network-wide turnover of in excess of $100m and are in an industry that boasts over 2.2 billion in revenue per annum,” says John Miller, National Marketing Manager at Plus Fitness.
John feels that the fitness sector is a highly competitive market, but that it is critical to respect and understand the many divisions of the industry, as well as where Plus Fitness fits into it. The market is quite segmented with functional training, Crossfit, big-box gyms. “But we sit in the 24-hour gym franchise space,” John mentions. “What sets us apart from our competitors is our no lock in contract option, our price point and our Australian owned badge, which we wear with pride!“
The franchise nurtures new members throughout their fitness journey. To begin with, it starts with a fitness assessment to understand their level of fitness and their expectations from a gym membership. John states that it has a large range of class options available across its network that suit beginners to experienced gym members. In addition, it also has ‘classes on demand’ system that allows members to do classes on their own without an instructor, at any time of the day or night. Furthermore, John adds, “PTs are also another important element of our business model. PTs help members to stick to training programs and ultimately achieve their fitness goals.”