Club Pilates Hits 1,000 Studios as Modality Booms
Xponential’s most successful brand continues to expand, with many additional studios in the pipeline
Club Pilates, the wildly successful Xponential Fitness-owned brand, has hit a new record with the opening of its 1,000th location, in Portland, Oregon, underscoring Pilates’ position as one of the most in-demand fitness modalities.
On Xponential’s recent earnings call with investors, executives noted that Club Pilates experienced the strongest license sales in 2023 (361), followed by StretchLab (159) and BFT (149).
“From 30 open locations in 2015 to opening the 1,000th nine years later, this milestone is a true testament to the incredible growth the brand has experienced and the impact Club Pilates has in the lives of our members and communities across the globe,” said Mike Gray, president of Club Pilates, which has a presence in 12 countries.
Prior to Gray leading Club Pilates, Shaun Grove helped catapult the brand to worldwide recognition alongside Xponential founder and CEO Anthony Geisler until Grove’s departure in 2021 to become president of Rumble Boxing, another Xponential brand.
In honor of its continued success, Club Pilates nationwide will host Millennia parties with members and staff to mark the milestone while also celebrating individual studio achievements.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate this moment with Club Pilates Grant Park, (Portland) which is particularly serendipitous, as the franchise owners are one of our earliest franchise groups, opening their first studio in 2013, and have partnered with us extensively to become our second largest franchise group in the Club Pilates System,” Gray said.
“This celebration would not be possible without the inspiring dedication of our franchise partners, studio teams and corporate team alongside our proven business model, which has helped continue to propel our growth forward and change lives,” he added.
Keely Watson, franchise owner of Club Pilates, Grant Park, emphasized the pivotal moment for the low-impact Reformer-based fitness brand.
“It’s been an incredible journey over the last ten years since we opened our first studio, which was the 13th location for Club Pilates,” Watson said. “Seeing the brand grow and bringing Pilates to so many people worldwide has been truly inspiring. We’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to make Pilates accessible for our members and provide our staff with chances to grow in the industry across our 30 locations in two states.”
Watson added that the plan moving forward is to bring Pilates to even more communities, confirming that her group alone has 45 additional studios currently in development.
A hit in both urban and regional areas, the Pilates brand has opened in nearly 50 states in the U.S. and has been growing internationally with a master franchise agreement in France. Additional agreements are in development in Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, New Zealand and Switzerland.
In addition to its success on land, the popular fitness modality has also made its way to the high seas as part of a partnership between Xponential Fitness and Princess Cruises, dubbed ‘Club Pilates at Sea.’ One upcoming adventure sets sail this August for a weeklong scenic cruise in Alaska, offering a full range of Club Pilates classes led by top instructors.
Fitness entrepreneur Allison Beardsley, founder of Club Pilates, has since moved on to launching Red Light Method, a boutique fitness experience that combines red light therapy with exercise.
