A Club Pilates franchisee operates a reservation-based fitness Studio built around recurring memberships, scheduled group and individual Pilates instruction, private training, approved retail, and—where authorized—Teacher Training. The franchisee runs local sales, staffing and service delivery; Club Pilates Franchise SPV, LLC controls the curriculum, brand standards, suppliers, technology, pricing authority and operating data.
The Studio converts local prospects into members, books them into equipment-based classes, assigns trained Authorized Instructors, records attendance and payment in the required Computer System, and repeats that cycle through renewals and additional bookings. The franchisee supplies the people and daily execution; the franchisor specifies what may be sold and how the service must be delivered.
What does a Club Pilates Studio sell, and who buys it?
The core sale is access to live Pilates and related exercise instruction, usually through recurring memberships and booked classes. The customer base includes first-time prospects entering through an Intro Class, ongoing members, private-training clients, retail buyers and, at approved host Studios, Teacher Training students.
Membership-led classes
The official Club Pilates class and membership page presents Intro Class, Reformer-based formats, multiple class levels and recurring membership packages. The Franchise Agreement requires the franchisee to offer all required Approved Services and to follow the prescribed class methodology.
Private training and retail
The official U.S. franchise FAQ identifies membership sales, approved retail and private training as operating revenue streams. Approved Products can include authorized merchandise, but the franchisor may add, remove or restrict products and suppliers at any time.
Teacher Training branch
A Studio may provide the Teacher Training Program only when an approved Master Instructor conducts the required instruction. The public Club Pilates education page describes the 450-hour blended program; the FDD controls the host-Studio approval and payment mechanics.
Contract basis: 2026 Amended FDD, Item 1, pp. 3-5; Item 8, pp. 29-34; Item 11, pp. 44-45; Item 16, p. 54; Franchise Agreement §8.4, FDD PDF pp. 113-114.
How does work move through the Studio?
The verified workflow is a lead-to-membership-to-class cycle. Local marketing produces inquiries; staff book and enroll prospects; the Designated Manager builds a compliant schedule; Authorized Instructors deliver the class; and the Computer System records attendance, payment, business data and the next booking.
Generate and receive demand
- Actor
- Franchisee, Designated Manager and local sales personnel.
- Action
- Run approved local marketing inside the Designated Territory and receive website, app, telephone or walk-in inquiries.
- Required system/asset
- Approved creative, brand website, social-media rules and local marketing records.
- Output
- A prospect or Intro Class request.
Book the first visit
- Actor
- Sales personnel or the Designated Manager.
- Action
- Confirm the prospect, select a class time and create the booking. Customers can use the official online and app-based booking channels.
- Required system/asset
- Required booking and member-management software; Club Ready Software is named in manager training.
- Output
- A scheduled prospect with a Studio record.
Enroll and collect payment
- Actor
- Sales personnel or the Designated Manager.
- Action
- Offer an approved membership, class package, private-training service or Approved Product under the current pricing rules and membership documents.
- Required system/asset
- POS, card processing, approved agreements and franchisor-authorized pricing.
- Output
- An active member, service credit or completed retail transaction.
Schedule qualified delivery
- Actor
- Designated Manager or on-site Operating Principal.
- Action
- Publish the class schedule, assign Authorized Instructors and maintain enough trained personnel for the required operating hours.
- Required system/asset
- Required class-scheduling software, Learning Management System standards and approved Pilates equipment.
- Output
- A staffed, bookable class or private session.
Deliver and verify the class
- Actor
- Authorized Instructor; Studio personnel manage check-in.
- Action
- Teach the approved class methodology without unauthorized exercises, choreography, positions or music; log attendance or no-show status.
- Required system/asset
- Reformers and designated apparatus, approved music licensing, check-in and session log.
- Output
- A completed Approved Service and attendance record.
Report, bill and repeat
- Actor
- Franchisee and management team; franchisor receives system data.
- Action
- Maintain member, sales, expense, invoice and schedule records; process recurring payments; submit required reports and support the member’s next booking.
- Required system/asset
- Computer System, electronic funds transfer, accounting records and data-security controls.
- Output
- Updated Gross Sales records, fee calculation, audit trail and repeat-service opportunity.
Customer-channel support: official Club Pilates booking guidance and the ClubReady session-logging documentation. Contract basis: 2026 Amended FDD, Items 6, 11 and 16, pp. 17-23, 35-46 and 54; Franchise Agreement §§6.6, 8.4, 10.1-10.3, FDD PDF pp. 109, 113-114 and 120-121.
Can the Studio be manager-run, and who performs each function?
Personal supervision by the franchisee or Operating Principal is recommended but not contractually required. A franchisee may appoint a franchisor-approved Designated Manager; if no Designated Manager is in place, the Operating Principal must be on-site during normal business hours.
The public franchise site describes both owner-operated and fully staffed approaches, but the 2026 FDD sets the controlling conditions: the Studio must always be managed and staffed by at least one person who completed the Designated Manager Training Module, and only Authorized Instructors may provide Approved Services.
- Operating Principal: a qualifying owner with authority to communicate and act for the franchisee; manages on-site when no approved Designated Manager is appointed.
- Designated Manager: handles direct day-to-day supervision after franchisor approval and required training; ownership in the franchisee entity is not required.
- Authorized Instructor: meets the Instructor Eligibility Criteria and completes Instructor Bridge Training before teaching any class or Approved Service.
- Sales and administrative personnel: handle prospect response, enrollment, member management, retail, booking and local follow-up under the manager’s supervision.
- Franchisee as employer: chooses employees or contractors, wages, hours, benefits, discipline and staffing levels, subject to adequate coverage, required qualifications and employment law.
Contract basis: 2026 Amended FDD, Item 15, p. 53; Item 11, pp. 41-45; Franchise Agreement §§8.3 and 8.6, FDD PDF pp. 112-115. Supplemental context: official U.S. franchise support page.
Which suppliers, systems and operating decisions are mandatory?
Club Pilates controls the operating specification; the franchisee controls daily employment and execution inside that specification. Approved Suppliers provide required equipment, inventory, insurance, installation, water filtration, training materials, POS and software, while the Learning Management System defines current methods and standards.
Franchisee controls
People: recruiting, compensation, scheduling, discipline and employment policies.
Daily execution: prospect response, sales follow-up, class coverage, cleanliness, maintenance and customer service.
Local compliance: permits, membership-law compliance, insurance, payroll, privacy and safety obligations.
Franchisor controls
Offering: Approved Products, Approved Services, class methodology and required operating hours.
Commercial rules: supplier list, pricing authority, advertising approval, territory solicitation and member reciprocity.
Quality and records: inspections, mystery shoppers, surveillance rights, reporting formats, audits and system data access.
Third-party dependencies
Approved Suppliers: Pilates apparatus, FF&E, retail inventory, water system, insurance and other required inputs.
Technology providers: required management software—including Club Ready Software named in manager training—card processing, updates and system migration.
Specialists: Master Instructors, performing-rights organizations and other approved service providers.
The required web-based business management software records receipts, expenses, invoices, member lists, class schedules and other business information. The franchisor has immediate independent access, may retrieve data regularly, can require upgrades or a migration to a new Approved Supplier, and imposes no contractual cap on upgrade frequency or cost.
Contract basis: 2026 Amended FDD, Item 8, pp. 29-34; Item 11, pp. 45-46; Item 16, p. 54; Franchise Agreement §§6.5-6.6, 7.1, 8.1-8.7 and 10.1-10.4, FDD PDF pp. 109-121.
What protection does the Designated Territory provide?
The territory is not exclusive. While the franchisee remains compliant, the franchisor generally will not place another standard Club Pilates Studio inside the Designated Territory, but it reserves alternative channels, other brands, Non-Traditional Sites and online sales, including activity inside the territory.
- Local boundary: the Designated Territory generally contains at least 15,000 people and may be mapped by ZIP codes, streets, landmarks, county lines or radius.
- Inbound customers: the Studio may serve a member or prospect who contacts it, regardless of where that person lives or works.
- Outbound solicitation: targeted advertising or active recruitment outside the Designated Territory requires prior written consent.
- Reserved channels: the franchisor may use internet, e-commerce, streaming, retail, wholesale and other distribution channels without sharing proceeds with the franchisee.
- Multi-unit distinction: a Development Area preserves scheduled development rights, but each opened Studio receives its own Franchise Agreement and Designated Territory.
Contract basis: 2026 Amended FDD, Item 12, pp. 46-50; Franchise Agreement §8.4.E-F, FDD PDF p. 114.
What does Item 20 show about the operating network?
The year-end U.S. system became fully franchised during the reporting period. Franchised Studios increased from 868 at the end of 2023 to 1,179 at the end of 2025, while company-owned Studios fell from eight to zero.
Item 20 systemwide outlet summary, December 31 of each year
Interpretation: unit-level execution rests with franchisees across the reported U.S. network; the franchisor’s operating role is standards, systems, supply controls, support and oversight rather than direct ownership of the year-end Studio base.
Source: 2026 Amended FDD, Item 20, Table 1, p. 74. The FDD notes that the parent company’s public filing uses a different closure definition, so this chart preserves the Item 20 population. See the Xponential Fitness 2025 Form 10-K for parent-company context.
Item 20 also reports 133 transfers of franchised outlets to new owners during 2025. That figure does not explain why transfers occurred, but it makes transfer history, local management continuity and the condition of the specific Studio’s staff, member records, equipment and supplier accounts material diligence topics in a resale.
Which operating facts still require unit-level confirmation?
The FDD defines the control framework but does not disclose a universal employee count, shift structure, instructor bench, local class timetable or named list of every current Approved Supplier. Those details must be verified for the proposed territory and current system version.
- Obtain the current Approved Supplier list and identify every franchisor, affiliate, designated and sole-source relationship for equipment, retail, software and services.
- Confirm the current management-software configuration, including any ClubReady functions, payment processor, required integrations, data migration obligations, hardware replacement cycle and access rights.
- Model manager coverage for all required operating hours and verify the local supply of instructors who already meet the Instructor Eligibility Criteria.
- Review the proposed Designated Territory map, adjacent development rights, Non-Traditional Sites and the consent process for advertising in contiguous areas.
- Request the current pricing directives, membership forms, reciprocity rules, cancellation policies and local discretion available for promotions or packages.
- For an existing Studio, reconcile member contracts, future service obligations, class credits, payroll classifications, maintenance records and Item 20 transfer history.
How does the Club Pilates operating model fit together?
Club Pilates is a membership-led, reservation-based Studio system: prospects enter through local and digital channels, staff convert them into approved memberships or services, and Authorized Instructors fulfill the promise through scheduled equipment-based classes. The franchisee’s central responsibility is maintaining enough qualified people to sell, schedule and deliver that service consistently.
The strongest dependency is the franchisor’s control over the Learning Management System, Approved Services, Approved Suppliers, Computer System, pricing authority and operating data. Territory protection is limited by reserved online, alternative-brand and Non-Traditional Site rights. The largest undisclosed operating question is the actual local staffing and instructor coverage required to sustain the mandated hours and class schedule.