For 7th year in a row, Anytime Fitness is the "World's Fastest-Growing Fitness Club"

HASTINGS, Minn., July 10 – Anytime Fitness is the world's fastest-growing fitness club for the seventh consecutive year, according to new data released by The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), which annually issues its "Global 25" rankings as a barometer of the fitness industry.

Anytime Fitness (www.anytimefitness.com) added 338 new gyms in 2013, a 17 percent increase over the previous year. The franchise also ranks No. 1 in unit growth over the past five years, opening 1,396 new gyms between 2008 and 2013.

"Anytime Fitness' remarkable growth is two-fold," said Jay Ablondi, IHRSA's Executive Vice President of Global Products. "For the fitness consumer, Anytime Fitness offers extremely convenient, 24-hour access to more than 2,500 club locations at a great value. For the business owner, Anytime Fitness has a proven model for success, with a leadership and support team that knows how to operate successful fitness clubs. Put the two together, and it's no wonder why Anytime Fitness has seen such impressive growth since its inception."

Membership Growth Increases Worldwide

Worldwide, the number of fitness club memberships grew from 132 million to 140 million (+6.1%) in 2013, according to IHRSA. In the U.S., fitness club memberships increased 8 percent, from 50 million to 54 million members. Meanwhile, Anytime Fitness added new members at more than double the U.S. rate and triple the worldwide rate: a 19 percent increase from 1.55 million to 1.84 million members. Additionally, the average number of members per Anytime Fitness club open at least one year has increased steadily for seven consecutive years, from 625 members per club at the end of 2007 to 811 members per club today.

"The secret to our success is that we're hyper-focused on constantly improving the services we provide our members, in- and outside our gyms" said Chuck Runyon, CEO of Anytime Fitness. "In the last year alone, we've increased the number of small group training options for our members, added to our repertoire of free video classes, and made it easier for our members to find the latest in healthy lifestyle information via our expert team of bloggers and other social media platforms. Those sorts of improvements help our members achieve real results. And when your members are happy and healthy, then our club staff can spend even more time providing individualized attention to the people who are already at the gym, rather than wasting a lot of time chasing after new members."

Revenue Growth Matches Club and Membership Growth

Anytime Fitness reports $634 million in system-wide sales in 2013, up $150 million over the year prior, ranking Anytime Fitness No. 2 among all fitness clubs in revenue growth for the past year, according to IHRSA. Anytime Fitness ranks No. 3 in "Revenue Growth" over the past five years.

"Nothing makes us happier than to hear one of our franchisees tell us that they love what they do," said Dave Mortensen, President of Anytime Fitness. "Our growth and revenue figures speak for themselves. But, in my mind, the true measure of success is whether you're helping improve the lives of others. I'm proud to say, at Anytime Fitness, that's what we're really all about."

SOURCE: http://pubs.ihrsa.org/CBI/july2014/files/50.html