California Dreamin’
You might find it surprising to know that the original vision for elements was to develop just 10 clubs in 3 cities: New York, Miami, and LA. That was it. The idea was to offer the most complete fitness experience for women, in a hip, stylish environment, and to corner those three important markets. Our launch team was fairly well qualified, and we had many contacts within the industry.
A buzz began to develop about this new women’s brand, a chip off the block of Crunch Fitness. At the time, Crunch was making history with a 83 million dollar valuation, 9x EBIDTA - setting new records within the industry. Since the initial elements team shared some of the original Crunch minds (post-sale), it was only natural that we would begin getting attention
We were approached by several entrepreneurs who were interested in developing elements for women clubs in their local markets. These entrepreneurs identified with elements philosophy of a full-service, upscale club. elements for women was (and still is!) much different than the other “micro-clubs” such as Curves, Countours Express, Shapes, or Slender Lady. Those players were all serving a very entry-level niche, and did not offer a sustainable business model to their franchisees. We saw, 5 years ago, that there would be a significant consolidation with these players (as there has now been) - and that this would open a window for elements for position itself as the leading full-service fitness brand for women.
Fast forward 4 years, and here we are…. over 7 clubs open, 3 in presale, 54 clubs under development, pending acquisitions of company owned clubs in San Francisco, Georgia, and the Northeast. Given the growth, and our objectives to develop 800 elements for women clubs nationally within the next 6-8 years (including 20%, or 160 company owned units) we have invested more than a fair amount of time and dollars into long term development infrastructure.
Our patience has recently paid off with the launch of elements for women in California. This was an exciting announcement, coupled with other press elements has recently received, including a great placement in Valley magazine (“[elements is] a much needed breath of fresh air to the California Fitness Scene”). We also began with our first act of business in the state being a large charitable contribution to The Wellness Community, a Los Angeles based cancer-wellness foundation led by Courtney Cox and David Arquette.
I will be traveling to California next week to help with the launch of the state and meet some of our new franchisees. Look for elements to lauch the state in a big way - with a mix of company owned as well as showcase franchised clubs… more to come!
