The 5 Best Fitness Franchises You Can Buy in 2017
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New Year's is approaching, which means millions of people will be making their resolutions and heading to the gym. If your resolution is to own a business in the new year, a fitness franchise may be for you.
Check out five investment options in this slideshow.
Related: 6 Recreation Franchises You Can Buy for Less Than $40,000
Anytime Fitness
Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 14
Initial investment: $89,350 to $677,800
Initial franchise fee: $20,000 to $39,500
New units in 2016: 384 units (+12.6 percent)
Anytime Fitness is a global business with 2,308 U.S. and 1,309 international franchises at the start of 2017, along with 38 company-owned locations. In 2007, that number was just 455.
The total cost of investment can vary widely based on your current real estate, the type of Anytime Fitness franchise -- Anytime Fitness Express can run you anywhere from $89,350 to $449,800 and an Anytime Fitness Standard will cost you $114,950 to $677,800 -- and where you'd like to build. You can see find a map of available locations on the company website.
Related: Our Top 5 Franchises You Can Run From Your Own Home
Orangetheory Fitness
Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 19
Initial investment: $488,405 to $994,360
Initial franchise fee: $49,500
New units in 2016: 126 units (37.3 percent)
Orangetheory Fitness focuses on fitness classes that can include treadmills, rowing machines and free weights. The company, which was founded in 2010, also requires class participants to wear heart rate monitors, so they can see their health information during the workout.
Orangetheory is looking to add franchises in every state but Illinois, Tennessee and Arizona, as well as internationally in Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Colombia, Australia and the Dominican Republic.
Planet Fitness
Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 32
Initial investment: $847,080 to $4,234,750
Initial franchise fee: $20,000
New units in 2016: 110 units (10.8 percent)
A Planet Fitness franchise can easily cost seven figures and significantly more than any other business on this list. However, according to the company website, franchisees can expect a greater than 25 percent return on investment in a franchise's second year, even after royalties and advertising. That comes from a median annual membership revenue of around $1.7 million and a median operating income of $567,000.
Related: Just How Much Does It Cost to Own a Fast-Food Franchise?
Crunch
Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 88
Initial investment: $304,500 to $2,129,500
Initial franchise fee: $25,000
New units in 2016: 15 units (13.6 percent)
Crunch Franchise was founded in 2010, but despite its relative youth as a business and relatively high investment price tag, Crunch had already grown to 184 units by the start of 2017. According to the business website, Crunch's growth results largely from its approximate $1.9 million median gross sales per unit and 6,440 median members.
Crunch has franchise opportunities in all 50 states, but the amount of availability in each state varies. You can see a map here.
Jazzercise
Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Rank: 81
Initial investment: $3,700 to $32,750
Initial franchise fee: $1,250
New units in 2016: 181 units (2.1 percent)
A Jazzercise franchise can cost as little as $3,700, which is 20 times less expensive than Anytime Fitness, the second most affordable franchise on this list. The reason for that is simple: You don't need to own a physical location to become a Jazzercise instructor.
That more accessible level of investment is also why there were more than 9,000 franchises across the world at the start of 2017. That number is greater than the total number of franchises for the other four businesses on this company combined.
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