When the clock struck midnight on January 1, it signaled the close of Gold’s Gym’s strongest year of international growth in the brand’s storied history. The record-setting year included 22 U.S. franchise agreements and 35 grand openings worldwide.
“We have a very reputable brand, a brand that really relates to consumers, so we’re continuing to see growth,” shared Adam Zeitsiff, the president and CEO of Gold’s Gym. “We’ve always been known for getting results and making people stronger.”
Gold’s Gym significantly expanded its international footprint, opening nine clubs in Japan, eight in India, five in Saudi Arabia, four in Egypt, two in Russia, and a new gym in both Turkey and Armenia. On a domestic level, the brand opened new locations in New York, Florida, South Carolina and Michigan, with several new franchise agreements across the country also signed.
But Gold’s Gym isn’t finished growing. After a strong year of international expansion, Zeitsiff and the brand are shifting their focus to more aggressive domestic growth. And he believes success in 2019 has set the brand up for an even bigger year in 2020.
“We’re using our international success as a catalyst for domestic growth,” said Zeitsiff. “We’ve tripled the size of our domestic franchise development team and upped our marketing budgets. Now that we’ve got good momentum with our brand, that’s going to pay off for us.”
This shift in focus and reinvestment in domestic growth can best be encapsulated by the brand’s campaign in 2020: “Change is Strong.”
“’Change is Strong’ focuses on our members — they make small changes in our clubs and they can become strong for life,” explained Zeitsiff. “But ‘Change is Strong’ also applies to our partners and franchisees. It’s about giving them new changes, new operating models, and improving our playbooks as a franchisor.”
As more franchisees jump aboard with Gold’s Gym, marketing the continued success from 2019 and the “Change is Strong” campaign is a key initiative for the brand in 2020.
“As we continue to add new franchisees, put press releases out about them and do things to improve the overall knowledge of our brand, it builds our share of voice,” said Zeitsiff. “We’re getting some more wins in publicizing the brand and showing people this brand has a ton of relevance.”
Guided by its commitment to delivering results and a revamped domestic expansion initiative, Gold’s Gym is going to keep winning. “We have always been based on a legacy of giving people results — that’s been the catalyst for our overall success,” said Zeitsiff. “As we continue that legacy, I hope this time next year, you’re asking me about 2020 being our best year ever.”
