FraDev Players: Kate Doyle-Kwon, Vice President of Communications & Franchise Marketing at Xponential Fitness

As the vice president of communications and franchise marketing for Xponential Fitness, Kate Doyle-Kwon leads not one, but eight boutique fitness franchise concepts. Doyle-Kwon is a communications leader with deep expertise in franchise development, digital marketing, content management and event management in the fitness, food and franchising industries.

1851 spoke with Doyle-Kwon to gather her insights about the state of the franchising industry in 2021.

1851 Franchise: Tell us about your company.

Kate Doyle-Kwon: Xponential Fitness is the curator of the best brands across every vertical in the boutique fitness industry — including Pilates, cycle, stretch, dance and rowing. We have decades of boutique fitness franchising experience across all of our brands and we have the resources and network to dominate every boutique fitness category. 

Currently, Xponential Fitness’ portfolio of brands includes Club Pilates, the nation’s largest and fastest growing Pilates franchise, CycleBar, the first and only premier indoor cycling franchise, LA-based StretchLab, a concept offering one-on-one assisted- stretching services, Row House, a rowing concept that provides an incredibly effective and efficient workout centered around the comradery and drive fostered by the sport of rowing, AKT, a dance-based cardio workout founded by celebrity trainer Anna Kaiser, YogaSix, a modern fitness boutique offering a fresh perspective on one of the world's oldest practices, Pure Barre, the largest barre brand in the world and most recently, Stride, a treadmill based cardio & strength workout.

1851: How did you get into franchising? 

Doyle-Kwon: I was introduced to the franchising world five years ago when Anthony Geisler recruited me to set up Club Pilates’ franchise for sales marketing and business PR. I had the opportunity to learn and tell the stories of our franchisees, which allowed me to build a connection with them and understand what is important to them when it comes to operating their businesses successfully. 

The successful corporate communications strategy I built and implemented at Club Pilates became the foundation of what I now lead for all eight Xponential Fitness brands. Consistency is key to the success of franchising, and consistent communications is at its core. 

1851: Are there any keys to consistent franchise growth? 

Doyle-Kwon: Strong business model foundations, infrastructure and support, as well as brand consistency, are imperative for steady franchise growth. All of our brands have great products, (i.e. the workout and loyal followers) so we knew that each concept, no matter how mature or emerging it was, would be successful once a strong business model and infrastructure was put in place. 

For our brands, this means finding ways to implement recurring revenue streams at the brand and studio level. Some of our mature brands that needed these adjustments required quite a lot of energy and resources initially, as it’s always harder to implement changes to existing infrastructures and processes. For our emerging brands, we were fortunate enough to implement these changes from the brand’s infancy, allowing for effective scaling. This solid foundation, support and brand consistency allows for systemwide growth, which in turn helps to sell franchises.

1851: What are the biggest hurdles to successful franchise growth right now? How did the COVID crisis affect franchise growth opportunities? 

Doyle-Kwon: Our industry is particularly challenged at the moment, but we have been very fortunate to continue attracting prospective franchisees and were able to sell 250 territories in 2020. People know that fitness and wellness will remain important to consumers and they see the long term opportunity in our brands along with the support we provide our owners.  

1851: Are there any common mistakes you see franchisors making when trying to grow? 

Doyle-Kwon: It can be very exciting to establish a brand and dedicate energy and resources to the “look and feel” — which is important — but it should be timed to ensure that the profitability of the concept is the main priority in establishing the brand. Profitability allows for franchisee success and continued franchise growth. 

A good example is when sales and marketing are not at the core of the business and implemented the minute a lease is signed. Effective sales and marketing can allow for predictability, sustained growth and profitability. Another example is when a franchisor focuses on the design of the physical space too heavily, leading to a more expensive build out overall and more costly monthly expenses an owner. Balance can be achieved between profitability and design-focused branding when a clear strategy and its execution is established from the start. 

1851: What are Xponential’s biggest goals/plans for 2021?

Doyle-Kwon: We have many exciting innovations soon to be announced, including both U.S and international studio openings. We’re committed to finding creative ways for our owners to succeed, so 2021 will be a big year!

This year we are also focused on rebuilding and returning to pre-pandemic system wide performance. Our owners have demonstrated their incredible dedication, creativity and adaptability as studio owners and community leaders, so we’re confident we will find ways to succeed in 2021.