One of the fastest growing fitness brands in the United States is [solidcore], with over 150 studio locations and plans to expand to 250 more by 2028.
Known popularly as “Pilates on steroids,” [solidcore] studios offer intense, 50-minute workouts using its proprietary Sweatlana machine, inspired by the Pilates reformer. Maybe you’re curious about how this trending fitness chain could help strengthen your investment portfolio. Let’s review potential opportunities with [solidcore] and its competitors.
Is [solidcore] a franchise?
Anne Mahlum founded [solidcore] in 2013 with just $175,000 of her own savings. 10 years later, she sold the business for 9 figures. And, she scaled without franchising.
Now held by Kohlberg & Company, the brand owns and operates all of its locations and has limited opportunities for corporate partnerships. Mahlum said, “I never franchised [solidcore] for several reasons, and control and brand preservation were just two of them.” “The revenue and profit were just too good to give away,” she said, explaining that a corporation may need 4-5 times as many franchise locations to generate the same profit as corporate-owned locations.
Mahlum reports that even less profitable [solidcore] locations were netting $1 million in annual revenue. Had she accepted 4-5% in annual royalties from franchisees, she couldn’t have scaled so quickly or sold for quite so much.
Who can open a [solidcore] location?
Currently, [solidcore] does not have franchise opportunities and is only open to limited partnerships. Previously [solidcore] has partnered with energy drink CELSIUS, beauty brand Tower 28, and WHOOP, wearable tracking technology to help optimize health and fitness.
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[Solidcore] costs & fees
We can estimate how much investing in a [solidcore] franchise might cost should the company open up future franchise opportunities.
The founder claims that she opened [solidcore] locations for under $500k and paid back initial investments in an average of 12-15 months.
Franchising fees for fitness studios average $45-50,000, and investors can expect to pay typical 4-5% royalty and marketing fees annually.
Alternatives for entrepreneurs seeking a fitness franchise
Investing in fitness franchises is attractive because the initial capital required is lower than franchises in other sectors such as food service.
For example, opening a restaurant franchise may require $2.5 million in start-up costs. And investors may need a net value of $1.5-2.5 million with $500,000 in liquid assets. Fitness franchise owners can get started with a net worth of $300,000 with $150,000 in liquid assets.
Because [solidcore] is not available for franchise opportunities now, alternatives include Orangetheory Fitness (1500+ locations in 25 countries), Pure Barre (650+ studios), Burn Boot Camp (350+ locations), and D1 Training (100+ locations in the U.S.).
While [solidcore] does not offer franchising opportunities currently, fitness studios have potential for low investment and high returns.
