Niche fitness chain KX Pilates has unveiled a fresh program approach that provides more choice for its clients and more products for franchisees.
The changes come as KX looks to speed up expansion across Australia. The business sees opportunities in Queensland and in New South Wales. The target is to open a further 10 studios in 2026, to take the footprint to 115 studios in Australia.
The new program is rolling out now to early adopters and answers the challenge, how to innovate and still use one room and reformer beds?
KX Pilates CEO Selina Bridge said “We’re focused on not just following a trend, if we’re going to do it, we’ll do it the KX way. We’ve taken our time.”
The relaunched program KX Signature offers an all-level class, creating more options on the timetable for client.
Bridge told Franchise Executives the shift has come after the chain has taught tiered levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) since its inception.
“We train our trainers to teach and to help each level; they curate the class, respond to the level in the room. We’ve done that for 15 years but it created an operational challenge,” Bridge said.
The business has also launched Active Recovery in response to the wellness trend. It offers slower movements and mindful experiences, Bridge said.
“In the fitness industry we know the importance of recovery when you are active. We trialled this in winter and it was very popular,” Bridge revealed.
KX is also rolling out a new class type – KX Strength, focused on more traditional strength training.
“This is very different for our clients, we are reaching into the gym area and targeting the mid-30s market,” she said.
It’s a massive management shift for franchisees and with 1000 trainers in the network educating the trainers and franchisees on the changes is crucial.
“We are definitely leading that, training the trainers through online and state-based workshops. It’s a dual effort – we’re doing a lot of direct training with franchisee involvement,” Bridge said.
This article has been changed to clarify that KX has always taught tiered level classes, and the new KX Signature is an all-level class.
