Why Now Is the Time To Buy a Big Blue Swim School

Big Blue Swim School, one of the nation’s fastest-growing swim school franchises, is poised to emerge as a leader in the booming $3 billion learn-to-swim segment. With 214 units already awarded, Big Blue’s Chief Development Officer Scott Thompson explains the brand’s key competitive differentiators that makes it a prime franchise opportunity in the learn-to-swim space — and why franchise partners are choosing to invest. 

“First and foremost, we tend to build more water,” Thompson said. “We look at our swim schools as individual lanes. We have capacity-planning lanes, and these are 7-by-30-foot lanes that we can convert for any different lesson level. We also make sure that we have at least 13 capacity planning lanes, which allows space for multi-child families to get into that same 30-minute window, even if they’re at different levels.”

Thompson also explained that one critical key differentiator for franchise partners is the brand’s data-driven real estate strategy. The team selects locations that parents are already traveling, so it makes swim lessons easy and convenient to fit into their busy schedules.

“We're not locating these schools off the beaten path,” Thompson said. “We want to make these lessons frictionless for mom or dad, so we look for shopping centers they’re already visiting — by a Target or Whole Foods, for example.”

And the final piece of Big Blue's success that Thompson mentioned is having national champion swimmer Chris DeJong as the brand’s founder and president.

“He swam for the U.S. National Swim Team and was captain of the University of Michigan Men’s Swimming and Diving Team, but his experience learning to swim as a child was miserable,” Thompson said. “Chris took everything he disliked about swim lessons, and he improved on every aspect to make learning this vital life skill more enjoyable for the whole family. He believes that if a child can learn how to propel themselves, breathe properly and have balance and buoyancy that they're going to learn how to swim and be safe around water.”

Big Blue is establishing a growing footprint with a goal to have 240 signed franchise agreements by the end of 2022 and still has open territories in prime markets across the U.S. 

Watch the entire video here.

Multi-unit franchise opportunities are available for qualified candidates looking for their next big opportunity, and veterans can receive a 10 percent discount on the $80,000 franchise fee. The total investment necessary to begin operation of a new Big Blue Swim School is $2,475,200 to $3,966,700 (refer to item 7 in FDD) To learn more or inquire about Big Blue Swim School, visit https://www.bigblueswimschool.com/franchising/.