Top Franchise Development Executives of 2024: Ryan Slemons, Chief Development Officer, Unleashed Brands

Ryan Slemons is a top franchise development executive known for his extensive experience in retail real estate and store development. With over a decade in leadership roles at Amazon, Starbucks and GameStop, Slemons has played a key role in expanding store footprints and improving operational efficiencies. Currently serving as chief development officer at Unleashed Brands, Slemons leads the development of new franchise units across a portfolio that includes Urban Air, The Little Gym and Premier Martial Arts.

1851 Franchise spoke with Slemons to find out more about his story and to learn about some common mistakes he sees franchisors making in today’s industry.

1851 Franchise: Tell us about your brand.

Ryan Slemons: Unleashed Brands currently includes Urban Air, The Little Gym, Sylvan Learning, Snapology, XP League, Class 101 and Premier Martial Arts, and was founded to curate and grow a portfolio of the most innovative and profitable franchise brands that help kids learn, play and grow. Over the last 10 years, the team at Unleashed Brands has built a proven platform and know-how for scaling businesses focused on serving families. Its mission is to impact the lives of every kid by providing fun, engaging and inspiring experiences that help them become who they are destined to be.

1851: How did you get into franchising? 

Slemons: Before Unleashed Brands, I helped lead the expansion and management of the store development functions at Amazon, Starbucks and GameStop. Unleashed Brands brought me onboard to focus on the new unit development across all brands given the growth trajectory of the businesses.

1851: Are there any keys to consistent franchise growth? 

Slemons: Strong unit-level economics are critical to consistently growing franchises. From a development standpoint, a steady pipeline of franchisees, real estate and projects under development. There is a risk of consistent growth without a healthy pipeline throughout the various stages.

1851: What are the biggest hurdles to successful franchise growth right now? 

Slemons: The current development macroeconomic environment (high interest rates, occupancy and development costs, and low vacancy rates) has impacted growth trajectories for many companies. This requires retailers to flex into spaces with trade-downs outside their typical requirements. Additionally, it requires retailers to value engineer build-out costs to ensure an acceptable ROI is achieved.

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

Slemons: If subject matter experts are not helping steer franchisees through the development process, then there is a risk of process inefficiencies or mistakes made that end up costing either time or capital. Furthermore, franchisors should always look for ways to simplify bottlenecks in their process or buildout.

1851: What is your number one goal at the moment?

Slemons: Currently, my top priority is new unit openings for 2024-2026. The development timelines for our seven brands vary depending on the complexity of the build-out. In addition to new unit expansion, we are inspecting every part of our build-outs to value engineer costs without sacrificing the customer experience, which will in return drive a strong ROI for franchisees.

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