Anytime Fitness finally cracked the top 10 of Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 list, which was released today.
The Hastings, MN-based company is No. 6 on the 2013 list, its highest ranking ever from the magazine. It also is the highest-ranked fitness franchise company on the list for the second year in a row. Anytime Fitness was No. 11 on the 2012 list, No. 18 in 2011 and No. 43 in 2010.
Hampton Hotels is No. 1 on the list, followed by Subway, Jiffy Lube, 7-Eleven and Supercuts. After Anytime Fitness, Servpro, Denny's, McDonald's and Pizza Hut round out the top 10.
"Considering the reputation and status of the other franchises ranked in the top 10, including Subway, McDonald's, and Hampton Hotels, this is a tremendous honor for Anytime Fitness," Chuck Runyon, CEO and co-founder of Anytime Fitness, said in a statement. "We're especially pleased for our franchisees who have worked so hard to build their own businesses while helping their members lead healthier lifestyles."
For 2012, Anytime Fitness listed 1,620 franchised clubs in the U.S., 47 Canadian clubs, 223 international clubs and 16 company-owned clubs.
Recently, Anytime Fitness, founded in 2002, opened its 2,000th club in the chain in The Netherlands.
Runyon told the magazine that Anytime Fitness could eventually support 4,500 clubs in the U.S. and 10,000 clubs worldwide.
Other fitness franchise companies on the 2013 Franchise 500 list are Jazzercize, Carlsbad, CA (No. 27); Snap Fitness, Chanhassen, MN (No. 35); Planet Fitness, Newington, NH (No. 74); Gold's Gym International, Irving, TX (No. 192); Get in Shape for Women, Needham, MA (No. 213); Tiger Rock Martial Arts International, Pensacola, FL (No. 257); RetroFitness, Colts Neck, NJ (No. 270); My Gym Children's Fitness Center, Sherman Oaks, CA (No. 358); Great Play Children's Gyms (No. 386); The Little Gym, Scottsdale, AZ (No. 393); Baby Boot Camp/Karna Fitness (No. 407); 9Round, Greenville, SC (No. 443); Koko FitClub LLC, Rockland, MA (No. 455); LA Boxing Franchise Corp., Santa Ana, CA (No. 469); and CKO Kickboxing, Hoboken, NJ (No. 482).
The magazine has yet to release its specialty categories for 2013, such as home-based, low-cost, top new, fast-growing and top global.
Only franchise companies that sent full Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs) or Canadian Disclosure Documents and whose information was verified by Entrepreneur could receive a listing in the magazine. To be eligible for the list, a franchise company must have a minimum of 10 units with at least one based in the United States, must be seeking new franchisees in the United States and cannot be in Chapter 11 at the time the ranking is compiled.
All companies are judged by objective measures of a franchise operation, regardless of size, according to Entrepreneur. Financial strength and stability, growth rate and size of the system are the most important factors that the magazine takes into consideration. Other criteria include start-up costs, litigation, percentage of terminations and whether the company provides financing.