Aligned Fitness, a PE-backed Club Pilates franchisee, encourages owners to “follow the playbook” and leverage available resources
There’s no universal formula for running a successful fitness business, even with a booming modality like Pilates. That said, Club Pilates franchisee Aligned Fitness Holdings has gotten about as close as you can come to finding one.
Having grown from six locations in Raleigh, N.C., to 34 spread out across the Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions of the United States, Aligned has established itself as a marquee operation within the Club Pilates and broader Xponential Fitness network, as well as a shining example of how to scale your business.
It all started with a commitment to the Club Pilates methodology.
“Club Pilates has a very well-structured and data-driven model, everything from site selection, instructor training and member acquisition,” said Jon Smith, CEO of Aligned Fitness Holdings. “There’s a system and a playbook that helps you accelerate learning curves and reduce friction…The playbook is there. Follow the playbook.”
How It All Started
In order to read that playbook, Smith first had to find his way to it.
After growing frustrated with the lack of scalability with his own sales business, he, along with friend and business partner Joe Ruggieri, set out to look for franchising opportunities in 2016. It didn’t take them long to find Club Pilates and realize its potential.
“I’m 6’4″ and Joe is 5’11”, and we’re different ages, but we both had a successful workout,” Smith recalled of their first visit with the brand. “They also modified our workouts based on our injury histories. We thought, ‘Wow, this could be really cool,’ because it can help a lot of people. We loved how it took Pilates, something perceived as difficult to participate in, and democratized the whole concept — bringing it to a much broader audience.”
After that, Smith signed on for six locations in Raleigh. As wellness boomed coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, he acquired more, sensing the growth in consumer demand.
“We just loved the ‘why’ behind it,” Smith said. “Loved the ‘who’ behind it and the vision that was there to grow and scale the brand across multiple markets.”
Next-Level Support
With those initial franchise locations and the ones that followed, Club Pilates made sure Smith had everything he needed to grow and prosper. The brand’s focus on franchising can be felt at all levels of the organization.
“They have a proven model from the day that you sign the franchise agreement to getting your first studio open,” Smith said. “It’s very valuable what they bring to the table, as far as their execution and leadership over the years, not just with Club Pilates, but also the Xponential Fitness C-suite that’s there now. It has extensive franchising experience.”
That said, the brand allows wiggle room for franchisees to experiment and cater to their specific demographics.
“Xponential is very approachable as long as it maintains the brand standards or safety in the member experience,” Smith said
He also added that those in the Xponential Fitness C-suite are “very accessible” when it comes to help or inquiries. With new executives in new positions as well, he also reports there’s a renewed emphasis on supporting franchise owners.
“There is definitely a new sense of franchisee focus,” Smith said. “With an early brand, you constantly focus on growing it, selling licenses, and getting as many open as possible, but there’s this renewed sense of franchisee success — looking into the data, making sure you’re following the model and you’re doing best practices across the board. We’re excited about that, and that’s where we see the growth potential, not just with us, but across the brand.”
Additional Advice for Franchisees
But even with well-structured blueprints and ready-to-help guides, scaling remains no easy feat. Maintaining consistency with staffing, quality of instruction and the member experience became primarily concerns for Smith as he expanded his business. Maintaining a focus on the product — and the goal behind it — was his solution.
“It’s always good to surround yourself with team members that will remind you of the ‘why’ behind our business,” he said. “We’re creating this ability for our members to freely move, whether that’s picking up and playing with their grandkid and not feeling pain the next day or getting ready for their first dance at their son’s wedding. Keeping that consistency across the board has been a challenge and that’s our focus now as we grow.”
But above all else, Smith reinforces the importance of following the Club Pilates playbook and tapping the resources franchisees have at their disposal, which come horizontally as well as from above.
“Make sure you follow the model, follow the proven processes, lean into the existing franchisee network and get to know people, because you’ll also find great mentors or people that have been in the business. You’re always learning new things,” he said. “That’s what I would do if I were a new franchisee coming in, not just with Club Pilates, but any franchise system.”
By taking these steps himself, Smith hasn’t just grown his own network of locations but attracted financial backing for them as well. This past summer, Eagle Merchant Partners, a private equity investment firm, purchased a stake in Aligned Fitness Holdings. Smith called their interest and support a “big milestone.”
“It’s fun to be a part of a brand that changes people’s lives,” he also added. “Not too often can you say that in business, where it’s a great model, proven concept, profitable and helps people do better at life. That’s pretty cool.”
