This month’s FOM is one that will be of interest to anyone who was either in competitive sports or who’s children were. You probably would do (or did) anything to help your kid raise his level of ability. Now there is a unique business model focused on just that. For a variety of sports.
Sports-performance training franchise Athletic Republic, of Park City, Utah, is planning to expand its health club network by 100 locations in the next three years, with a strategy to target new franchisees especially in the South!
By joining the Athletic Republic network, owners gain un-paralleled access to the world’s best sports training system. AR is the pioneer and market leader in sports performance training, having trained over 1MM athletes, including 2,500 professional and Olympic athletes (500+ NHL, 500+ NFL, 150+ MLB, 7 Heisman Trophy finalists, MLS, WNBA and the NFL combine’s fastest man). In addition, $315MM in college scholarships have been awarded to AR athletes in the past 5 years. The industry is extremely large – in the US, there are roughly 36MM student athletes playing youth, teen and collegiate sports, 21MM adults attending boutique fitness classes, 17MM runners that compete annually in running events and 200K athletes recovering from ACL injuries each year.
CEO Charlie Graves was a top-5 world ranked athlete in two sports (swimming and triathlon) and is a seasoned business leader with Fortune 500 and Multi-Unit experience. To drive operating performance, his team has assembled the best operating practices from its most successful centers; developed new programs that have helped centers improve performance and expanded services into all dayparts; provided tools to manage and measure business performance; leveraged critical mass for aggregated purchasing; produced seasonal marketing campaigns that centers may localize; and created resources that help center operators build a winning team.
Athletic Republic is actively seeking new franchise partners in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Austin and Miami, as well as various markets throughout California, CEO Charlie Graves said in a July 25 media release.
The company, founded in 1990, has grown to 115 locations across North America and Internationally since launching its franchise program in 2006.
Total Investment: $200K – 540K
Semi Absentee Business Model: Yes
Owners Daily Role: Build relationships with the local leaders, schools and clubs to market for new clientele; hire staff; drive the overall marketing strategy; engage in community/promotional events; ensure consistent client experience; manage trainer relationships; enforce brand standards; track KPIs; oversee books and financials; and manage retail inventory.
Ideal Owner Profile: passionate believer in the power of fitness and training, ‘people person’ that loves building relationships and connecting with athletes (particularly kids) and their support network, a strong tactician to ensure trainers follow the prescribed training protocols for individualized client results, good business acumen that understands the need for continuously growing and maintaining the center’s client base, manager of the manager that can oversee the hiring, training and retention of trainers, and ideally, someone that has participated in competitive sports and understands the rigors and triumphs of high-level training.
“People will always want to win,” Graves said the release. “Our mission at Athletic Republic is to help those competitive athletes improve their skills to make winning possible. As the premier destination for intense, individualized, sport-specific training, we’re equally dedicated to performance improvement for the bottom line and success of our franchisees.”