Snap Fitness to open new location

Ed Taylor, East Valley Tribune

Snap Fitness, a Minnesota-based franchiser of fitness centers, said it plans to open a new location March 1 at 990 E. Riggs Road, Chandler.

The business, owned by Chandler residents Jon and Susan Moore, will be the seventh Snap Fitness location in the Valley.

The club has set up a hotline to provide information about charter memberships at (480) 369-4457.

In addition to state-of-the-art equipment, the center will offer personal training and online services such as nutrition and meal planning through personal Web pages, Jon Moore said.

The company has opened more than 1,000 locations in the United States, Canada and India with another 900 sold or under development.

Snap Fitness expands

BY SUE STOCK - STAFF WRITER
The News-Observer

After years of gyms and fitness centers that look like Disney amusement parks, one fitness chain is banking on a scaled-back model to drive growth.

Minnesota-based Snap Fitness is expanding in this market and others with its 24-hour centers, which offer cardio- and strength-training equipment but none of the extras found at larger centers.

"I came from the big-box fitness world running full-service clubs," President and founder Peter Taunton said. "That's what I owned, and I did that for 20-some-odd years. I just realized that in my full-service clubs, it was not the fitness classes and the climbing walls that people used the most. They wanted to come in, do some cardio and lift some weights and leave."

Customers of Snap Fitness have no contract and pay roughly $35 a month. The company has more than 1,000 stores in 47 states.

In the Triangle, there are five clubs already open in North Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Wendell, Pittsboro and Cary. In addition, there are sites under development at 3751 Holloway St. in Durham and 1000 S. Main St. in Holly Springs.

Overall, the company thinks the area could probably eventually have 20 or 30 clubs.

"We have 100 stores in Minnesota," Taunton said. "It's typically about a three-mile driving distance between our clubs."

Growth is a ‘Snap’: Snap Fitness Ranked Among Fastest Growing Franchises in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500®

Snap Fitness has been named one of the top 500 franchises in the United States, ranking #51 in Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500®. A fast-growing franchisor of state-of-the-art 24/7 express fitness centers, Snap Fitness was also ranked as the 20th Fastest Growing Franchise and 44th Top Global Franchise.

The rankings for all 500 companies are determined using an exclusive formula that takes into account objective and quantifiable factors. The most important factors include financial strength and stability, growth rate and size of the system. The franchises that grew the most were the ones who serve a budget-minded consumer, didn't cost as much to set up, or both.

According to company Founder and CEO Peter Taunton, Snap Fitness’ success is attributed to a business model that is set up to thrive in a fitness industry that has averaged an 8% annual growth rate since the early 1990s. “Snap Fitness continues to grow as we have proven to be the right business concept for those who wish to secure financial freedom and allows for franchise owners to follow a turnkey operational system that sets them up for success,” he added.

Snap Fitness makes its compact, state-of-the-art clubs easy to own, manage and market. Start-up costs range from $77,000 to $272,000, putting it well below the price tag of well-known franchisors in other categories. The ability to manage operations via web-based tools with little need for on-site staffing makes it attractive for entrepreneurs and others seeking opportunities that accommodate semi-absentee ownership. Snap Fitness also offers its more than half a million members a convenient, low-price alternative to traditional big-box health clubs.

Consistently opening 300-400 new clubs each year, Snap Fitness has nearly 2,000 locations open or under development worldwide. Company plans call for a total of 3,500-4,000 centers within the next several years.