Barry’s Is in ‘Growth Mode’ After Princeton Equity Deal, co-CEO Says

The iconic HIIT brand is looking to open 15 to 20 studios annually in the U.S. over the next few years, Barry’s co-CEO JJ Gantt said during the ATN Innovation Summit

Barry’s is eyeing aggressive expansion following a recent strategic investment from Princeton Equity Group, with the popular boutique fitness brand aiming to roughly double its number of U.S. studios over the next few years while also looking to open new international locations. 

At the ATN Innovation Summit 2025, Barry’s global co-CEO JJ Gantt confirmed those plans in a panel discussion with Princeton Equity Group principal Jack Nagle and North Castle Partners managing partner Jon Canarick.

“We are back in growth mode, and it’s really exciting to be at this point because, most certainly, COVID slowed down our ability to grow,” Gantt said. “We opened studios throughout the pandemic, but we are now entering a dramatic period of growth.”

Barry’s, which currently has around 50 locations in the U.S., is planning to open “15 to 20 studios per year for the next few years” in America, Gantt added. 

Inside the Deal 

Barry’s made headlines in January when it received a strategic investment from Princeton Equity Group, a move that saw North Castle Partners exit its long-standing financial relationship with the fitness brand. 

At the Innovation Summit, Canarick shared that North Castle was close to selling the popular high-intensity interval training (HIIT) brand just before the pandemic hit, but the arrival of COVID-19 upended those plans. Instead, North Castle stayed on for another five years, working with Barry’s leadership team to help the brand regain profitability coming out of the pandemic. 

North Castle re-opened the deal process in 2024, eventually striking an agreement to have Princeton Equity Group invest in the fitness brand. Canarick said the timing was right to hand Barry’s over to another firm after years of growing the brand. 

“JJ and his team worked just round the clock for years bringing the company back … it was time for a change because the business needed a fresh balance sheet so they could really restart the growth that the brand deserves,” Canarick said. 

According to Nagle, Princeton Equity invested in Barry’s because of the brand’s status as a “market leader” in boutique fitness, its impressive unit economics and its ability to attract affluent consumers in both urban and suburban markets.

‘We thought, effectively, ‘We can go out and we can put the right capital structure in place on this business. We can double the size of the network,’” Nagle said. 

Eyeing Growth in Cities & Suburbs

To achieve the ambitious growth goals set by Princeton, Barry’s will continue to open locations in major cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, where the brand has historically had a lot of success. But it will also target Tier 2 American cities as well as suburban towns, sensing a big opportunity in those markets. 

Gantt said that over the past few years, Barry’s has shown it can be successful in different types of areas.

“We’re successful in New York, but we’ve been tremendously successful in markets like Tampa, Dallas (and) Denver, and we will continue to grow in those markets,” he said. “Then, we are also very successful in more suburban markets, like Roslyn and Scarsdale, here outside of New York.” 

Barry’s also has around 40 international locations, and it plans to continue pursuing global expansion as well. Gantt said the brand will corporately own and operate locations in Canada and the United Kingdom (as it does in the U.S.) while selling franchise licenses in other international markets, which it’s been doing for some time. 

Boutique Fitness Stays Strong, But Temperance Is Needed

As investors, Canarick and Nagle are bullish on the future of the boutique fitness market as a whole. They cited increased consumer demand for health and wellness services, especially among Gen Z and Millennials, as well as the highly differentiated workouts that boutique studios provide. 

“Boutique fitness continues to be a great experience for millions and millions of customers. …  The advantage boutique fitness has, and I think will always have, is people who work in that store that care deeply about teaching that very specific class style,” Canarick said. “It’s very hard to replicate the quality of boutique fitness in a big-box (gym) location.”

However, Canarick cautioned that “every concept won’t work everywhere,” He expressed concerns that some boutique fitness brands are trying to grow too fast, in some cases forcing their way into markets where they don’t belong. 

“Certain concepts are not meant to have 1,000 locations,” he said. “They’re meant to have maybe a few hundred.”

Barry’s and Princeton Equity are aligned on that front. Nagle echoed Canarick’s sentiments, saying Barry’s will likely won’t expand beyond a few hundred locations in the U.S., even in the best-case scenario.

“Do we think there’s going to be 1,000 Barry’s locations in the United States? No,” Nagel said. “Could there be 400 locations of Barry’s in the U.S.? Absolutely.”