With Private Equity Investing in Multi-Unit Franchise Teams, Now is the Best Time to Join Big Blue Swim School

Founded in 2009, Big Blue Swim School is one of the fastest-growing players in the swim school industry. Big Blue Swim School utilizes technology to offer an unparalleled swim school model made effective by full-time swim associates, a proprietary enterprise system and curriculum and exceptional family-centric facilities. Now, the brand’s semi-absentee franchising model is appealing to investors looking to build equity. 

As some of the industry’s biggest players are being sold to private equity, the industry-leading swim school concept is ideal for multi-unit franchise partners looking to diversify their portfolios by investing in new and successful brands with ample open territories in desirable markets.

An In-Demand and Fragmented Industry

With the backing of private equity firm Level 5 Capital Partners, Big Blue is positioned to become the market leader in the underserved and fragmented learn-to-swim industry, valued at $3 billion annually. 

“We’re attracting smaller private equity groups that own multiple locations of other service-based retail brands and are interested in our absentee business model,” said Big Blue’s CEO, Scott Sanders. “Savvy franchise buyers know they want to put themselves in a position, down the road, to attract the attention of these private equity firms on the secondary market as firms realize there is a lot of room for development in the swim school industry.” 

Participation in swimming is growing, with a 52 percent growth in year-round swim memberships from 2000 to 2017, according to USA Swimming. Swim lessons fill a vital need for safety and cannot be outsourced or automated. 

“It has taken the swim school segment a long time to catch up to consumer demand for a number of reasons,” said Big Blue Founder and President, Chris DeJong, who is a national champion swimmer. “Swimming is ubiquitous yet foreign at the same time—everybody swims but the market is still relatively new. Every child needs to learn how to swim but very few people are familiar enough with swimming to have the confidence or expertise to turn it into a business. That’s what provides so much opportunity for this category.” 

As private equity continues to purchase concepts from franchise partners of fitness providers like Planet Fitness and Orangetheory Fitness, Big Blue is an excellent way for investors to diversify their portfolios with an offering set to follow the same growth trajectory.

“The success of the boutique fitness industry demonstrates that a focus on a niche discipline can result in a higher value product than the one-size-fits-all model,” said Sanders. “Orangetheory Fitness is a good example of a concept dominating the market. The largest fitness brands are less likely to invest in similar concepts because they know Orangetheory dominates its niche market. We are doing something similar by becoming the leader in maximizing best-in-class swim lessons for families through technology and customization.”

Proven Business Model and Consumer Offering

Big Blue offers a business model that supports franchise partners with proprietary cloud-based technology, top-tier franchisor support, and strong unit economics. 

People looking for great returns on their investment want to park their capital for a long period of time and see high returns, especially as private equity continues to purchase larger franchise groups. Since parents will always invest in their kids safety, Big Blue is the perfect, recession-resistant opportunity.

In addition, Big Blue’s facilities are designed to prioritize training for children and comfort for parents. The lay-out is built to optimize capacity planning for each pool so families can configure schedules for multiple siblings in the same 30–45 window. “When families walk through the door of Big Blue, they’re greeted by remarkable staff in a unique facility designed to provide the best swim lesson experience possible,” DeJong said. “We create a fun and safe environment for swimmers to advance their skills and self-esteem in a relaxed and comfortable setting for parents.”

Big Blue’s proprietary enterprise technology system, LessonBuddy™, allows the brand’s franchise partners to remotely manage their business through dashboards and KPIs all the way down to the shift level—they can track costs and efficiencies so they have total transparency in terms of ROI and health of the business. On the consumer side, LessonBuddy allows families to schedule and reschedule lessons at the tap of a finger, avoiding availability concerns and simplifying the scheduling process.

Strategic Marketing

Big Blue’s corporate team provides ongoing support to its franchise partners through weekly calls that map out all necessary action items, from pre-launch through opening the facility. A corporate launch team then supports franchise owners for their first 12 months of business, and a field support specialist visits quarterly to help build and optimize a strategic marketing plan and chart metrics.

Big Blue’s recession-resistant business model cannot be automated or outsourced and is tailored to meet the needs of multi-child families. With best-in-class consumer offerings, strong leadership support, proprietary technology, and an aggressive growth plan, Big Blue Swim School is the ideal investment for sophisticated franchise buyers looking to take advantage of a brand backed by private equity.

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 $2,329,223 to $3,636,998 (refer to item 7 in FDD). To learn more or inquire about Big Blue Swim School, visit https://www.bigblueswimschool.com/franchising/.