Excel Fitness, Austin, Texas, increased its footprint by nearly 30 percent in 2022, the Planet Fitness franchisee announced.
In 2022, Excel Fitness built 10 new clubs and acquired 28 locations, including end-of-the-year acquisition of seven Planet Fitness locations in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia from Jamie Mason, and seven Planet Fitness locations in Texas and Oklahoma from Brian Hooker.
“We ended the year by onboarding two incredible franchise groups into the Excel Fitness family, and I can’t thank Jamie Mason and Brian Hooker enough for their trust in our organization and the great partnership we’ve shared over the years,” said Excel Fitness CEO CJ Bouchard. “With the addition of these 14 locations, our footprint continues to strengthen in Texas, Oklahoma, and North Carolina, and we’re looking forward expanding operations into Tennessee and Georgia.”
With the opening of three new clubs in first quarter 2023, Excel now has 128 locations across the United States. Last spring, Excel Fitness was purchased by private equity firm Olympus Partners. At that time, the company had 90 clubs with a goal of ending 2022 with 100 locations in operation.
In August, Excel Fitness acquired 14 Planet Fitness locations in the Hampton Roads region of Eastern Virginia from the KSMA group. That deal included development rights to bring six more locations to the Virginia market during the next five years.
The company is developing multiple locations for the remainder of 2023 with Bouchard noting that additions to the management team means the company is prepared for growth in existing and new markets.
To support its growth, Excel Fitness recently hired Kristi Allison as its chief operating officer. Allison has seven years of experience with Neiman Marcus where she led an operations team of more than 7,000 associates in support of their portfolio of luxury department stores.
“We’re excited to have Kristi on the team,” Bouchard said. “I’m confident she will have an immediate impact on the guest experience and deliver exceptional value for our organization. Kristi’s keen eye for elevating customer service aligns with the Planet Fitness brand and her tenure in the retail industry will bring new ideas to help support Excel’s growth.”
In addition, Excel Fitness appointed three new vice presidents of operation and created Central and Atlantic regions. Brad Lonas, who started with Excel in 2005 at the club level and moved up to regional director, was promoted to vice president of operations Atlantic, overseeing Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Jeremy Warren, who started at Excel in 2006 and moved up through the organization in similar fashion, was promoted to vice president of operations Central, overseeing Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.
As a shared services role supporting all locations, Chris Escobar was promoted to vice president of operations support overseeing the Member Support Center, a call-center with more than 40 agents, the facilities team and other enterprise programs including expansion into new territories.