Seeking to find an opportunity that does not rely on human labor and also to maximise resources, Gym Pod has been created to leverage unutilized spaces, maximise the 24 hours in a day, and minimize Capex in the set up of their concepts.

Right off the bat, the concept was created to be easily replicable both in setup and operations. The well-designed management platform also allows for ease of management, operations control, and scalability.

The road to Franchise Development success

As the second outlet was being set up, franchise enquiries started to stream in. Without proper Franchise development strategy and recruitment processes, there was no easy and systematic way to engage the potential franchisees. Realizing the need to set up a franchise system that could meet the demands of their requests, they sought out the assistance of Astreem Consulting as their Franchise Development Consultant.

In the franchise development process, Gym Pod was able to design the franchise financials needed for a single container business unit. From there, they worked with their franchise consultants to build the business model to create a franchise system and expand to include Area and Master franchise strategies.

Is it too early to start planning and designing your franchise system when you only have one business unit?

Having a few successfully running units presents more balanced franchise financials but having one single unit that is running successfully can also be a good place to start.

As long as the success is not singularly attributed to a location and the model is easily replicable, it is never too early to start developing the foundation for a franchise system.

Gym Pod started to develop their franchise strategy in early 2019 to start their franchise journey and also started to document their SOPs.

During this franchise development process, they learned that they need to reduce their CAPEX and find creative ways to increase their production, whilst decreasing the costs of implementation, found other ways of leveraging their technology on other underutilized spaces as well as developed higher value fitness programs for their pods.

A future-ready franchise business

All these new innovations helped ready them for their franchise journey. When Covid 19 hit, Gym Pod found themselves in a unique position.

In the middle of a pandemic, and with the individual-focused franchise business model, consumers fully got to appreciate the Gym Pod system. The safety and inbuilt social distancing made Gym Pod the ideal solution.

At Gym Pod, when a customer books a pod, they are guaranteed space, equipment, and time, without the worry of external stressors. Building off of that demand, the franchisors saw a really big increase in new users and subscribers for Gym Pods.

Importance of ongoing innovation for franchise development and growth

One of the key drivers of franchisee growth is opening up new locations.

However, successful franchise development also relies on innovative new concepts and ideas driven by the franchisor. Gym Pod is not resting in their constant quest to innovate new solutions even though their franchise system is growing. Their goal is not only to grow their franchise network but also to increase the franchise options for their franchisees. Being able to create future revenue streams will help solidify their franchisee’s capabilities and success but also, in the process, anchor Gympod as the leader in Automation Led Fitness franchises.

What’s in store for Gym Pod franchisees

Gym Pod is consistent with their drive towards innovation. Owners of this franchise can expect more projects and tools that can help loyal customers and increase their bottom line such as:

Spin pods that will offer virtual spin classes via online streaming, Smart PTX which will allow the customer to work with a virtual instructor, and customised content where people can have a very personalized fitness journey inside the pods.

Gympod’s Franchise Development Plans

The Pandemic has not slowed Gympod’s growth plans. In fact, these are early days. Together with Astreem, they developed a sound Franchise Development strategy that has allowed them to grow regardless of the external challenges.

Gym Pod now has sold a total of 7 franchises and is continuously growing. Their next step is to start discussions with international partners to open up the Gympod franchises there.

Gym Pod is geared for franchise growth. They want to offer everything to users leveraging automation technology. So in terms of growth, you’ll definitely see a lot more gym pods and spin pods, and other new concepts and innovations they will dream up.

“Starting as a small company, Gym Pod faced challenges when it comes to scaling.” according to Peter Lam, Franchise and Branding Director of Gympod. “Astreem definitely provided some clarity in terms of what kind of organizational and techniques we needed to reach out to third parties and expand overseas.”

Franchise Development with Astreem

When you have a great concept that is easily replicable, you should never pass up on the opportunity to explore developing your unique business idea into a scalable franchise model. Do not skip steps and simply offer agreements without first understanding the value of the intellectual property that exists in your business model. Seek out expert franchise advice and develop your franchise strategy from a position of strength to avoid the typical franchise pitfalls.

At Astreem, we house Franchise Consultants who offer unparalleled expertise in Franchise strategy development, Franchise Valuation, Franchise Agreement Highlights, SOP Documentation, and Franchise management solutions.