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Brisbane-founded wellness franchise Studio Pilates has revealed ongoing growth, opening its first Western Australian location along with international growth in China and the USA.

Already operating franchises in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia, the new studio in the Perth suburb of Leederville studio marks the first facility in Western Australia for the reformer Pilates specialist.

Jade Winter, Studio Pilates founder and Chief Executive said the latest domestic growth allowed the franchise to reach new clients, tapping into the lucrative Western Australian wellness market.

Winter advised “bringing the Studio Pilates brand to new cities always opens new doors and avenues for expansion.

“Not only do we find that the brand spreads across each new city that we enter, we are constantly finding that even more new markets open up to us.”

In May, Inside Franchise Business reported that the brand had broken into the US market, signing an initial three agreements in New York.

Subsequently, the business has now secured a franchise agreement in Louisville, Kentucky.

Advising that the area represented a meaningful gateway to an emerging market, Winter (pictured below) commented “(it is) a beautiful location in an equally beautiful and picturesque part of the USA, (with this location to) be the entry point for the Studio Pilates brand in the south-east of the United States.

“The data shows us that there are hundreds of under-serviced regions right across the US in relation to high quality reformer Pilates offerings. This potential excites me very much, especially when it’s combined with the ardour of so many Americans.”

Studio Pilates is also encouraged by its presence in China where, in 2018, it launched its inaugural venture in Zhujiang New Town, Guangzhou.

In just 18 months, the corporate-owned studio has flourished, with Winter explaining “the Chinese market is devouring our product; they are possessed by it.”

Commenting on the growth, Winter advised “China is a market where it’s … affordable to physically build a site, plus there are the additional benefits of a huge number of potential customers right on the doorstep of each site, far less competition and a genuine thirst for services that provide a high quality, customer experience.

“After observing first-hand the lack of quality and very few Pilates reformer offerings in China, I knew we would be successful.”

With a second location to open at Binjiang in Guangzhou, Winter notes  “we have successfully tapped into the local Chinese-speaking market, rather than just servicing the expat community and bilingual Chinese. This has been a key factor in our success in this space and it now opens up potential across the entire country. That’s a lot of potential.”

Looking forward, Winter adds “I believe that no matter where one lives, we all respond positively to a high-quality product or service that is combined with a customer experience that is of an equal calibre.

“In Australia, we are continuing to expand our footprint - in new cities and in cities that we are already in- as well as continuing to focus on constant same store growth and taking our franchisee’s profitability to even higher levels.”

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