Planet Fitness has kickstarted its Spanish expansion, unveiling a site in Sabadell in the province of Barcelona.
The initial gym openings will be a joint venture with a franchise partner; the market will then open up to franchise expansion.
Colleen Keating, CEO at Planet Fitness said there is huge potential for the brand in Spain.
“Today, only 10 per cent of the Spanish population has a gym membership* so this is an incredible opportunity to bring our brand and unique model to Europe,” Keating said.
“We are leveraging our strong balance sheet to drive growth at a faster pace and demonstrate proof of concept in exciting new markets as we continue to position Planet Fitness for sustained growth and value creation.”
Planet Fitness has more than 19.6 million members across 2,599 studios located in all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Australia, and now Spain.
Club Pilates adds four German locations
Reformer Pilates concept Club Pilates is also ramping up its European openings, with four German sites scheduled for summer launches. Three locations will open in Hamburg and one in Germany’s southwestern region in Kaiserslautern.
According to Athletech News, more sites are in the pipeline for metro areas to open in early 2025.
The first German Club Pilates studio was unveiled through licensee LifeFit Group last year and more growth is expected across the country. LifeFit Group also holds the licence for Austria and the Netherlands.
Last year the US-based Club Pilates’ owner Xponential Fitness signed a master franchise agreement for France. There are development plans for Ireland, Portugal, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland.
Club Pilates opened its first two UK studios in January 2024, with a goal of 75 clubs over the next five years. The brand is also in Australia, Dominican Republic, Korea, Japan and Singapore.
