Big Blue Swim School Signs Its First Lease in Michigan

Big Blue Swim School, one of the nation’s fastest-growing swim school franchises, has signed a lease for a new swim school, securing its first location in Michigan.

The prime 9,680 sq. ft. location in the former Pier 1 Imports space at 914 W. Eisenhower Parkway is set to open in summer of 2022. The new location will be owned and operated by Ann Arbor-based franchise partners and self proclaimed “Townies” Hiag and Emma Avsharian, who are looking forward to helping children and families achieve the life-saving skill of learning to swim.

“Franchising appeals to me because I like being part of a team, and with Big Blue Swim School we will have support of the corporate expertise and support from other franchise partners,” Hiag said. “I liked the idea of having not just the corporate team, but also the other franchise partners as support. Big Blue also has a tech startup vibe with amazing proprietary technology. They have built the next-generation swim school and are completely unique. Other companies I looked at were older and were simply not up to date.

Big Blue’s data-driven site selection process considers a number of important criteria during site selection. In doing so, Big Blue puts their customers, families in need of swim lessons, at the center of their real estate strategy. By making their locations easy to find and access, parents are able to provide their kids with the vital safety skill of learning to swim with far greater ease than ever before. This real estate strategy maximizes a parent’s overall convenience while also increasing brand awareness. The team identified Ann Arbor as an ideal place for a Big Blue Swim School.

“The team has worked hard to seek out locations and create an experience that makes it easy for parents and families to add swim lessons into their schedule,” said Chris DeJong, Big Blue’s founder and president. “We build our schools with comfort and accessibility in mind, and we are looking forward to making a difference in the lives of Ann Arbor children by living up to our company mission of showing them they can do anything by unlocking their full potential in the water.”

The Avsharians are one of two franchise groups bringing Big Blue to Michigan with a total of eight locations currently planned for the Great Lakes State. The new Ann Arbor lease is just the latest phase of an aggressive growth strategy for the franchise, which has already signed agreements for 161 units in 22 states across the country. With a goal of reaching 170 units committed by the end of 2021, the brand is well positioned to be the leader in the learn-to-swim industry.

The buildout will be supervised by Big Blue’s in-house construction management team, which has a consistent record of building pools on time and within budget. The approach allows former retail space to be reborn as modern, comfortable facilities, setting Big Blue apart from its competition and adding value to the property.

Big Blue often fills vacancies created as a result of “the Amazon effect,” in which retailers reduce or close the number of physical store locations as customers increasingly prefer to shop online. Big Blue’s presence allows landlords to fill large, unused spaces, while also bringing customers with purchasing power to their properties. ?

“The landlord community likes what we’re bringing to their properties because we're not dependent upon making goods and selling them,” said Big Blue CEO Scott Sanders. “We are a unique service model that can’t be replicated at home or be replaced by technology. What we do simply can’t be delivered on someone’s doorstep.”

Big Blue is currently scouting new locations across the country, including multiple locations in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, California, New Jersey, New York, and South Carolina, among other major metropolitan areas.

About Big Blue Swim School

Big Blue Swim School was founded in 2009 by competitive swimmer Chris DeJong. The first location opened in Wilmette, Illinois, followed by four additional Chicagoland schools. In 2017, Level 5 Capital Partners acquired a stake in the brand, and pools are now open in Chicago, Atlanta, Denver and Northern Virginia. Big Blue is currently growing through franchising with plans to have a minimum of 170 pools sold by the end of 2021. Big Blue Swim School's real estate expertise, strong brand, proprietary technology, and leadership support, coupled with its best-in-class consumer offerings, position its franchise partners for long-term success. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Big Blue Swim School, visit http://YourBigMomentStartsHere.com.