JF Fitness has acquired four Crunch Fitness gyms in Mississippi and two in Florida, bringing its total to 33 as it eyes 60 Crunch locations by 2028.
In Southern Mississippi, JF Fitness is taking over existing Crunch gyms in Petal, Hattiesburg, D’Iberville and Long Beach, the franchise group confirmed to Athletech News on Tuesday.
“This acquisition was perfect for JF Fitness,” JF Fitness founder and CEO John Freeland said. “Mississippi continues our expansion eastward along the Gulf Coast, and we’re excited to bring fitness to Mississippi and welcome all the members and employees to our family.”
The Mississippi acquisition comes on the heels of JF Fitness acquiring two clubs in Jacksonville, Florida, earlier this month (Regency Park and Harbour Village).
Backed by investment from Dallas-based private equity firm Trive Capital, along with 808 Partners, JF Fitness has kicked its expansion plans up into high gear in recent months.
Inside JF Fitness’ Expansion Plans
Already one of the five largest Crunch Fitness franchise groups by unit count, JF Fitness is aiming to operate 60 Crunch gyms by 2028.
Freeland, who founded JF Fitness in 2014 in Richmond, Virginia, says the group plans to continue expanding throughout the eight states in which it currently operates: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and now, Florida and Mississippi. The group also has rights in Louisiana, where it could pursue expansion.
“Within that (geographic area), we continue to be very focused on the Carolinas; we think the Carolinas offer a continuing opportunity for tremendous growth,” Freeland told ATN. “Northern Florida is going to be very important to us, in particular Jacksonville. We now have two gyms there – we could easily see that expanding to six to eight gyms over the next couple of years.
Ocala, Florida, is another market that JF Fitness has its eye on, Freeland shared.
To reach its goal of 60 clubs by 2028, JF Fitness is aiming to open around 10 new clubs per year over each of the next few years. Freeland expects that growth to be around 70% organic (new club openings) and 30% through acquisitions, although he notes that the balance isn’t set in stone.
“We’re very opportunistic,” he said. “If the right acquisition opportunity presents itself, that could change.”
Gym Brands Race to Consolidate
JF Fitness’ recent deals are the latest in a recent wave of consolidation in the fitness industry as larger franchise groups by up smaller operators. Investors and analysts expect to see the consolidation trend continue in the years ahead.
“The industry has consolidated around some clear winners in the space,” Freeland said. “Especially through the COVID period, a lot of the smaller gym operators struggled and concluded it was tough to make a go on it on their own. I think that led to the continued market share growth on the part of the operators like Crunch.”
High-value, low-price (HVLP) gym brands like Crunch have been particularly active on the consolidation front, driven by large franchise groups buying up smaller operators inside the Crunch system and by operators acquiring new gyms outside of it and rebranding them under the Crunch name.
Across its entire brand, Crunch Fitness now counts over 500 locations and three million members worldwide.
As consolidation likely accelerates, Freeland believes Crunch is well positioned to win the race among rapidly expanding HVLP gym brands thanks to its top-tier amenities like heated group fitness studios, infrared sauna and more.
“Crunch aspires to have all of the amenities and quality of service of a very high-end gym at an affordable price point,” he said. “Crunch is really the value proposition for the 99% of (people) who can’t afford the very high-end gyms.”
