With over 45 locations in the Midwest, Charter Fitness is not only one of the area’s largest health club businesses, it is also one of the fastest growing. Now, plans for growth extend outside of the Midwest. The company plans to build fitness centers across Texas, starting with facilities in Austin, Dallas/Ft.Worth Metroplex and Houston.
“Why not target Texas?” asked Dan Collins, the chief operating officer of Charter Fitness. “The economy has been great in Texas and [has] stayed strong even through the recession. They were the last in and first out of the recession. That is a major component obviously when looking at a market. The other thing we look at is the people and the people in Texas are smart. They understand what a healthy lifestyle means and how important it is and they are committed to that just like we are.”
Charter Fitness’ plans for expansion don’t stop with the Lone Star state. The company is also expanding corporately in the Chicagoland area. “We just opened a new facility last Thursday, and we’ve got several more projects going on right now, so we will have a number of facilities open by the end of the year and then into 2015,” said Collins. “We are also looking at markets around Illinois, like Kansas City, St. Louis and Indianapolis — all places that support the Charter Fitness brand.”
Charter Fitness believes it should have no trouble finding franchise groups to own and operate its up to 20,000-square-foot facilities due to the club’s unique business model. “We offer a great brand, we offer great programs and most importantly to the franchisee, we have very strong economics,” said Collins. “If any potential franchisee is interested in talking to us they can get our franchise disclosure documents, see what our financials look like.”
From low-cost memberships — starting as low as $10 a month — to beautiful facilities, Charter Fitness is not only appealing to franchise owners, but also to the consumer. “We offer personal training services, small group training and we just incorporated Hydro Massage. There are a lot of benefits to the members,” Collins adds.
Charter Fitness is actively seeking franchise groups to own and operate its new facilities. For more franchising information, visit http://www.charterfitness.com.
By Emily Harbourne
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
