Geared Up Issue 1 2018 | Page 24

FAC Real Estate

2018 Issue 1 | GearedUp

Committee is looking forward to continued gains in 2018. Each of the four FAC Real Estate subcommittees sees the new year as an opportunity to accomplish objectives benefiting Planet Fitness ® and the franchisee community.

Site Selection During 2017, the Site Selection Subcommittee, co-chaired by Chris Klebba and Steve Thomas, made great contributions to the newly drafted site review process. Of primary importance was enhancing necessary franchisee communications during that process, enabling franchisees to better share their thoughts and ideas as to the impact the club would have or how they view the growth opportunity in that market. Site selection and its impact on cannibalization is – and always will be – an area where we need to maintain constant involvement. The re-energized Site Selection Subcommittee continues to keep its finger on the pulse of what’ s going on in markets and facilitates open communication and new ideas around the topic. Additionally, for this upcoming year, members will continue to focus on expedited site approval process; portfolio reviews; restrictions PF ® may have in markets with existing, big-box tenants preventing clubs from going into some spaces; and overall market analysis.

Small Markets As the next exciting frontier to explore, PF has a fantastic opportunity to really expand its footprint and bring this great concept to small markets. We are gathering franchisees’

“ We are now putting in 5 Beds and Lounges at every new club. We have sold many Black Cards solely on having HydroMassage!”

-Alex Choquette, Planet Fitness ® Franchisee

New HydroMassage Pricing Now Effective:

• New lower price on Bed orders

• Free shipping on 5 + units per club

For more information on HydroMassage, contact Maria Kruse at 727.536.5566 or mkruse @ hydromassage. com thoughts on marketing, favorable deal terms and demographic parameters to increase early success while maintaining brand standards. We are working to identify which markets are too small and others where franchisees can pull from a drive time outside the 20-minute window. Our priority is analyzing the most effective way to approach small markets, including evaluation of buildout costs with PFHQ and aggregating data and experience to help franchisees to determine optimal size for their small-market clubs. We hope to have more information to communicate in the next few quarters.

Construction Led by Dave Lomasney, the Construction Subcommittee is focused on evaluating different levels of buildouts. Part of that is also looking at buildout for small-market clubs, potentially creating a small-market template to help the return on investment. In addition, there is a focus on consistency to strengthen the brand, what to do to increase the wow factor, creating better finishes, Black Card spa amenities, and ways to reduce costs to leverage collective buying power as it pertains to certain supplies and specific vendors.

Performance and Demographics A lot of work has gone into researching Tango as a potential site selection software by John Clancy and his team. It is exciting to see the robust platform available through Tango, and we’ re happy to work alongside PFHQ on the survey and data collection efforts. A significant amount of quality data was collected from the franchisee base to build the beginning of a predictive platform that will aid in making the best decisions for future unit growth and provide a significant advantage over the competition. We are very eager for the program’ s upcoming launch.

While we accomplished so much in 2017, a lot of work lies ahead in 2018. The FAC Real Estate Committee will continue to pioneer efforts and bring ideas together to assist the Planet Fitness system in growing better, faster and more profitable clubs. Together, we can continue to build this phenomenal brand!

Shane McGuiness

Planet Fitness Franchise Conference March 12-16 Las Vegas, Nevada

PFIFA Franchisee Convention May 31-June 2 San Diego, California

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