Planet Fitness is bringing its “Judgement Free Zone” to Australia, expanding its international footprint into a new market.
Planet Fitness has entered into an area development agreement with Bravo Fit Holdings Pty Ltd., which plans to bring a minimum of 35 Planet Fitness locations to Australia over the next several years.
Bravo Fit Holdings consists of three partners — Bravo Fit, LLC; PF Growth Partners, LLC; and Galactic Fitness Pty, which is owned and operated by Dallas Rosekelly, a leading fitness operator based in Australia.
According to Victor Brick, the co-owner of U.S.-based PF Growth Partners, the franchisees are excited to bring the Judgement Free concept to a new country, and a new continent.
“The Australian fitness market is a very sophisticated market,” said Victor. “However, there is no Judgement Free model in Australia — meaning, there really is no model that caters to the other 85 percent of the population who historically has not felt welcome, comfortable or catered to in a traditional health club. We see it as an opportunity to change people’s lives across an entire country by bringing them a Judgement Free concept — something for everybody.”
Victor and Lynne Brick became involved with Planet Fitness in 2007 as one of the brand’s first franchisees.
“People talk about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — we view this as a twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Victor. “When we came onboard with Planet Fitness there were 100 clubs, and we’re now pushing 2,000. That gives you an idea of when we came on and the excitement we felt being at the forefront of a movement. We have the exact same opportunity in Australia. We’re at the forefront of a movement for an entire country and continent, and that is exciting.”
In terms of comparisons between the Australian and U.S. fitness markets, the biggest differences come down to how people do business. According to Victor, Australians are more cautious than Americans when it comes to signing up for monthly payment plans and are more protective of their data.
However, according to Victor, Americans and Australians are similar in terms of how they view fitness.
“Bravo Fit and Dallas did market research to find out how people think about the fitness industry in Australia, and they found out everything was the same in regards to how consumers think in the U.S. — that it is overpriced and hardcore,” explained Victor. “We’re going to be able to go to this country and get all these people moving and involved in fitness and taking care of themselves, who prior to us coming, didn’t think they could afford it, know how to do it, or had an environment in which they could do it.”
Ultimately, this opportunity to change people’s lives on a larger scale is the most exciting aspect of the expansion to Australia by its franchise partners.
“What excites us is the why, and the why is to change people’s lives,” said Victor.
