Anytime Fitness will celebrate the opening of its 4,000th club on March 16th in Shanghai, China.
Additionally, after formalising an agreement to open clubs in Morocco, Anytime Fitness will pursue plans to open at least one new gym in Antarctica – which would make Anytime Fitness the first franchise in history with locations on all seven continents.
“Our mission is to ‘Improve the self-esteem of the world,”said Chuck Runyon, the CEO and co-founder of Anytime Fitness. “It may sound like an audacious goal, but we’re very serious about it. We’ll soon have 4,000 clubs open in more than 30 countries on all seven continents. Each of those clubs supports a small community of like-minded individuals who are determined to enjoy healthier, happier and more active lifestyles. That’s what we mean by ‘Improving the self-esteem of the world.’”
The 4,000th gym celebration will take place at an Anytime Fitness club currently under construction in Shanghai. Anytime Fitness is the first and only U.S.-based club to have been granted a franchising license in China. Currently there are 11 Anytime Fitness clubs open and operating in China.
Inc.com recently referred to Anytime Fitness as “fastest-growing fitness franchise of all time”. Founded in 2002, it’s taken Anytime Fitness just 16 years to reach 4,000 clubs, with only Subway reaching 4,000 franchised units faster (this was in 15 years). Additionally, according to FRANData, Anytime Fitness is just one of 15 franchisors located in 30 or more countries.
The first Anytime Fitness club in the UK opened in Bristol in 2010. Since then, over 140 clubs have opened throughout the country, with the aim to reach 400 clubs by the end of 2020.
“Anytime Fitness has always focused on convenience, affordability and a friendly, supportive atmosphere,” said Stuart Broster, Anytime Fitness UK CEO. “That will never change and we continually work with our franchisees to expand our programming and benefits for members. Owning a fitness club is becoming an increasingly attractive proposition for entrepreneurs in the UK and we’re confident of meeting our objective of being the largest fitness club provider in the UK.”
Within the next few weeks, Anytime Fitness expects to formalize an agreement with master franchisees to open at least 75 clubs in Morocco over the next ten years. That entre into Africa means that the franchise will almost certainly have clubs open in 32 countries on six continents by the end of this year. Runyon’s next goal is to become the first franchise in history with locations open and operating on all seven continents.
“We’ve already begun exploring options for Antarctica,” he said. “It’s going to happen – and sooner than you might think.”
