Orangetheory Fitness Accelerates Global Expansion

Orangetheory Fitness is picking up the pace on global expansion.

What’s happening: The US-based boutique studio is pursuing aggressive growth, expanding its high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout to 100 more locations across Canada, the UK, Spain, Japan, India, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia.

Known for its tech-driven studios that deliver personalised, performance-oriented experiences, OTF weathered the pandemic well, opening its 1,500th studio last year, with another 300 in development.

HIITing the accelerator. The boutique fitness boom is picking up post-pandemic, especially in HIIT, strength, and boxing modalities. Now, franchise studios around the globe are staking new territory.

• Boutique franchisor Xponential Fitness acquired Aussie functional training concept BFT in ’21 and surpassed 200+ developments in the US, AUS & NZ, Singapore, and the UK.
• HIIT brand TRIB3 is converting its wholly-owned UK studios to a franchise model and pursuing new locations in Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal.
• London-born 1Rebel acquired HIIT studios Sweat It and Core Collective out of liquidation last year while opening studios in Melbourne, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.
• Australian boxing and strength concept UBX recently opened in Singapore and signed a franchise agreement to add 145 studios in Japan over the next decade.

And the list goes on.

What it means: Post-COVID, personal well-being is a top priority. And boutique studios offer a unique combination of physical fitness and social interaction that was sorely missed during lockdowns. With the world reopened, franchise operators, and their clientele, are set to thrive.

Takeaway: While big-box gyms and health clubs boutique-ify group classes, high overhead and energy costs will limit physical expansion. Meanwhile, if they can avoid hyper-growth pitfalls (à la F45), engaging, efficient concepts like Orangetheory have an open runway.