March 11, 2010
Topics:Industries:
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Your Fitness Franchise News SourceFranchise News Watch brings you the latest in fitness franchising news from around the web. As a news aggregator for the fitness franchise industry, Franchise News Watch streams the latest ground breaking franchise articles, features, guides, blogs, news and more directly to your desktop.  Fitness Franchise News
General Nutrition Centers, Inc. to Present at the Goldman Sachs Consumer/Retail High Yield ConferenceGeneral Nutrition Centers, Inc. ("GNC" or the "Company"), a leading global specialty retailer of nutritional products, today announced that Joe Fortunato, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Mike Nuzzo, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, will... GNC Adds Dream Water(R) to New York City LocationsSarpes Beverages today announced the availability of its innovative, first-of-its-kind sleep and relaxation water at New York City locations of GNC. GNC, a leading global specialty retailer of nutritional products, will carry the 2.5 oz.-size bottle of...
Gold's Gym And Us Weekly Proudly Announce Winners Of The First Ever Hollywood's Hottest Bodies AwardsAfter an intense week of voting and more than one million votes cast on UsMagazine.com, the polls are closed and the results are in! Gold's Gym and Us Weekly are pleased to announce the winners of the 1st Annual "Hollywood's Hottest Bodies" Awards, the... GNC Sponsors the 21st Annual Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OhioAs the main sponsor of the 21st annual Arnold Sports Festival, the largest multi-sport event in the nation, the 170,000 sports and fitness fans expected at the four-day extravaganza will have a chance to see a lot of GNC -- from the GNC Pro Performance...
GNC Says 'Thank You' to Customers and Employees for Their $1.4 Million in Donations to the Sixth Annual St. Jude Children's Research Hospital(R) ThankGNC sells products to help health-conscious consumers Live Well, but its customers and employees have once again put their money on the table to help a very special group of consumers: children battling cancer and other catastrophic diseases at St. Jude C
GNC Announces Entry to China's Nutritional Products in Partnership with Bright FoodGeneral Nutrition Centers, Inc. (GNC), a leading global retailer of nutritional products, announced today that it, together with its parent company, has entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a strategic partnership with Bright Food (Group)... Snap-on Incorporated Declares Quarterly DividendThe Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE: SNA) board of directors declared today a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.30 per share payable March 10, 2010 to shareholders of record on February 25, 2010. Snap-on has paid consecutive quarterly cash dividends... YAS Fitness Founder Kimberly Fowler Buys YAS Silver Lake with Big Plans for Studio and CommunityKimberly Fowler, former professional triathlete, cancer survivor and founder/owner of YAS Fitness Centers, acquired the franchise's YAS Silver Lake location on February 1st, determined to see the unique fitness studio meets her high standards while...
BounceU of Sarasota Hosts "Families Helping Haiti" FundraiserThe tragedy of the recent Haitian Earthquake has touched the lives of thousands and individuals around the country are looking for ways to help. Local business owner of BounceU of Sarasota has taken it upon herself to make a difference by working with...
GNC Becomes a Presenting Sponsor for the Pittsburgh Health & Fitness Expo of the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh MarathonGNC stores have long been a destination for serious athletes, and now the company is throwing its brand behind one of Pittsburgh's best-known events for fitness-conscious consumers who know how to push the limits: Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh... How to Talk to Young Athletes about Sports Scandals, National Youth Sports Franchise, i9 Sports, Offers Expert AdviceWith recent national news and tabloid gossip swirling around the scandals of Tiger Woods to Gilbert Arenas and Mark McGwire, young sports fans have become over-exposed to the misconduct of once idolized professional athletes. i9 Sports, the world's... Snap Fitness Promotes Gary Findley To Chief Operating OfficerSnap Fitness, the world's fastest growing franchise featuring compact, state-of-the-art fitness centers, announces the promotion of Gary Findley to Chief Operating Officer. Hot Fitness Concept Comes to AtlantaRetrofitness, the can't-be-duplicated 1980s-themed fitness chain, has made a bold resolution for 2010 and it's kicking off in Atlanta. The New Jersey-based fitness franchisor said it will open a 14,200 square-foot club in Smyrna by March, the first of... Growth is a 'Snap': Fitness Franchise Ranked Among Fastest Growing Franchises in Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500Snap 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... The Business of the Body Takes Shape: Max Muscle Sports Nutrition Shows Strength in 2010More people are leaving the office and starting their own business thanks to the exponential growth of the Sports Nutrition & Fitness industry. Max Muscle Sports Nutrition continues to be one of the most sought after franchise choices as another year.
Leading Kids Party Franchise Hires New VPs to Head Operations, DevelopmentPIU Management, LLC, franchisor of the Pump It Up and BounceU brands, announced two new appointments to its senior management team, including Vice President of Operations Scott Keppel, and Vice President of Development and Real Estate Sean Bock. Entrepreneur Magazine Ranks The Little Gym No. 1 in Children's FitnessThe challenging economy has taken its toll on businesses nationwide in the last couple of years. But as hundreds of businesses have struggled to stay afloat, one franchise company continues to show signs of success.
Snap Fitness Ranked No. 1 in Growth Category by the AllBusiness AllStar Franchise RankingsSnap Fitness continues to flex its muscle as one of the top franchise companies. The fastest growing franchise system featuring compact, state-of-the-art fitness centers recently ranked No. 1 in the growth rank category for the second consecutive year... Snap Fitness Opens 1,000th ClubLess than six years after opening its first club, Snap Fitness, the fast growing franchise system featuring compact, state-of-the-art fitness centers, announces the opening of its 1,000th club in Saint Paul, Minnesota. With GNC Live Well Foundation Support, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC Opens State-of-the-Art Fitness Center for CaregiversWhen the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh's HB4Life (Healthy Behaviors for Life) Center officially opens today, visitors will see a state-of-the-art fitness center for the hospital's caregivers. But they will also see the ongoing contribution to the... Investors & Entrepreneurs Choosing Max Muscle Sports Nutrition In Record NumbersThe year 2009 underscored a national trend showing that Health Care and Exercise taking center stage ranging from the American Medical Association issuing a nationwide directive that every American needs a daily multivitamin supplement...
General Nutrition Centers, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2009 ResultsGeneral Nutrition Centers, Inc. ("GNC" or the "Company"), a leading global specialty retailer of nutritional products, today reported its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. Snap Fitness Recognized as One of Twin Cities' Fastest Growing Companies By Minneapolis/St. Paul Business JournalSnap Fitness, the fast growing franchise system featuring compact, state-of-the-art fitness centers has 'muscled' its way to the top of the Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal's "Fast 50". GNC Targets $1 Million Goal for 6th Annual Thanks and Giving(R) Campaign of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital(R)For the fourth consecutive year, GNC is partnering with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital( )on its annual Thanks and Giving campaign, now in its sixth year. In 2008, GNC raised over $800,000 from its customers and employees and hopes to increase...
GNC Introduces Clinically Tested ViraBLOC(R)GNC has announced the introduction of its latest immune health product, ViraBLOC(R). ViraBLOC is a clinically tested immune defense product based on patent-pending elderberry extract from HerbalScience Group and is now available nationwide through GNC.
Alison McElroy Named General Counsel of Snap FitnessSnap Fitness, the world's largest and fastest growing franchise featuring compact, state-of-the-art fitness centers, announces the appointment of Alison (Ali) McElroy as general counsel of the company, effective June 2009. Gold's Gym Announces a Pair of Promotions in Franchise Development DepartmentGold's Gym announced today the promotion of Chris Finch to Senior Director of International Franchising and Paul Summers to Senior Director of U.S. Franchising for Gold's Gym. The promotions are reflective of their high performance and business...
Retro Fitness, Inc., Inks Development Agreement to Add Two New Locations in PhiladelphiaRetro Fitness, Inc., a national 1980s-themed gym chain, announced today that it has signed a franchise development agreement to open two new locations in East Norriton and King of Prussia, PA. The agreement will bring the total number of Retrofitness... |
Features & Special ReportsIs it Time for an Operating Cost Audit?: Franchise Tenants Unite!When was the last time you challenged a landlord or property manager about the operating expenses or common area maintenance (CAM) charges? Probably not recently or never, right? To clarify, operating costs are the day-to-day management and maintenance expenses charged to the tenant; examples include asphalt repairs, snow removal, property insurance, and so on. Franchise tenants pay a proportionate share of these costs based on the space they occupy. Therefore, if a franchise tenant occupies 12 percent of a building, he or she will pay for 12 percent of the operating costs. Paying by this said ratio is the industry standard but, of course, there are deviations for special circumstances like free-standing buildings and so on. "Old School" Communication: Cell Phone Texting Builds Customer TrafficConsidering the wide-ranging abilities of today's smartphones, simple text messaging may seem passé, but it's a basic social media tool that's working wonders for Chris Kramolis' franchise operation. He's been using text messages to build business and compile a database of his customers--and he doesn't see any reason to deviate from something that's working. Discovering Oil: Multi-unit Operator Strikes it Rich with Oil Change FranchisesDarrell Lamb remembers toiling away in the heyday of the mid-90s stock market. He was always searching for new investors, and on the lookout for hot investments. One day some of his advisers told him about an opportunity - a chance to invest in the Express Oil Change franchise. He had reason to trust the advisers since they were his uncle, who was president of the company, and his dad, an Alabama optometrist who was always interested in investing in growing ventures. Capital AccessDustin Winkle was a victim of the dot-com crash a few years back. While pondering his next career move, he visited with family members who operated some dry cleaning stores. He liked what he heard and purchased his first Martinizing Dry Cleaners stores six hours away in Yakima, Wash. It was a long commute from his home in Boise, Idaho, but he loved the business. Three years later his family was ready to sell its dry cleaning stores and Winkle was more than happy to buy some units closer to home. Today he operates 10 Martinizing Dry Cleaning stores (and one non-Martinizing unit) in the Boise area. Multi-Tasking: What It Takes To Be A Successful Multi-Unit FranchiseeTwenty years ago, franchising meant buying the rights to and opening a single unit or business. But a changing trend has taken hold during the last two decades. Today, it's not uncommon for a single franchise operator to have 5, 6, or even dozens of units. FRANdata research notes the number of multi-unit operators now tops 34,000, and those operators control more than 155,000 franchised units in the U.S. It's a growth strategy that has proven effective but it should be approached with caution. Multi-unit operators are generally wired differently then their single-unit counterparts. Successful multi-unit operators are typically experienced, skilled, professional business executives who have chosen franchising as their business model. They possess the skills, training, capital, infrastructure, and vision to operate numerous units and have the ability to continue adding units to their portfolio--without stressing their organization or their stomach. Episode 006: The Benefits of a Franchise ModelFranchising provides benefits for both seller and buyer. For franchisors, the primary benefit is the ability to use other people's money to expand the brand more rapidly than they could either on their own or through investors or lenders. The initial franchise fee and ongoing royalties they collect allow franchisors to build their brand without sacrificing control to outsiders or the pressure of repaying lenders. Measure for Measure: Unit Economics Plays a Leading Role on Today's Economic StageThe most fundamental business strategy calls for black numbers on the bottom line. In simplest terms, it's proof the business is generating more cash than it is spending. All too often, though, entrepreneurs get involved in businesses without employing a proper system to help them keep a watchful eye on what they're earning and what they're spending. Managing day-to-day operations can be so time-consuming that it leaves little room for financial analysis. Or perhaps key individuals lack a basic understanding of how to read and interpret financial statements. Combine these factors with the down economy, and you'll likely wind up with a troubled business. Service Based Franchising: Where the Action IsLast week we ended our discussion of service concepts with the point that many of these businesses are based on customers making the choice to trade money (surplus) for time (deficit). The example we used was maid services, where time-starved customers spend money to buy time they can spend with their family and friends. Other examples of businesses built on services that customers could perform themselves but choose to pay someone else for include lawn and landscaping services, residential painting, oil change, and installation of home entertainment systems. Seven Steps to Fiscal Fitness: A "Fiscal Physical" Will Help Your Business Survive, Grow, and ProsperIn the few minutes it takes you to read this article, 40 businesses across the nation will fail--and that statistic was [i]before[/i] the economic downturn of the last 24 months. Tragic? Yes. Remarkable? Not at all. The road to business success is littered with the skeletons of companies whose owners--mostly brilliant and skilled individuals--failed to "take care of business" in the financial management of their enterprise. Service Based Franchising: What Franchisors WantWhen you first consider franchising as a business model, one of the choices that arises is which type of business, in which sector, suits you best. One basic choice is to make is goods or service; another is retail or home-based. In previous months, we've explored ways to find the sector, and the franchisor, most likely to give you the best chance of success. More recently, in the previous four weeks, we've discussed the attributes franchisors look for in franchise candidates in the retail sector and in the home-based sector. Here we apply the same lens to the services sector. Let's begin with the similarities. All franchisors want candidates who follow the system, pay royalties on time, possess marketing skills and savvy, know how to run a business, show leadership and growth potential, are good communicators, and are expansion-minded, community-oriented, and willing to give back to the system. Franchisors look for these skills whether you choose a service, retail, B2B, or other concept.
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