Franchise Spotlight: Leisure
Diverse category includes spa, gym, restaurant, travel and children’s entertainment franchises, among others.
The leisure industry is a broad umbrella term for industries that provide services used for the purposes of recreation, entertainment or relaxation.
So this can include everything from spas and gyms to restaurants, cinemas and theatres.
Franchise industry trends
As such an eclectic category, it’s hard to spotlight general criteria for becoming a franchise, and the benefits of operating, in the leisure sector – franchisees must do their own market research. Nevertheless, they do nearly always involve interacting with the general public, so franchisees typically need interpersonal skills and an aptitude for customer service.
As with other sectors, franchisors also like attributes like determination, business acumen and a willingness to follow a proven business model. In return, franchisees who pass muster get all manner of back-office support and the economies of scale of a large network that can translate into lower prices for customers.
Sports and fitness franchises, which tend to offer considerable repeat business, include gym and health club chains like Listen To Your Body, Anytime Fitness and Snap Fitness 24-7, dance-pilates hybrid specialist XTEND Barre and cycle studio chain CycleBar.
Spa franchises, meanwhile, include Urban Spa, Endota Spa and (for infants) Baby Spa.
Offering ‘edutainment’ that is both fun and aids cognitive development, social skills and/or physical fitness, kids leisure franchises include Lollipop’s play centres, arts and crafts specialist Creation Station, Young Engineers, which teaches STEM subjects using LEGO bricks, and Algorithmics, which has children making cartoons and video games, among other projects, to similar ends.
Bar and restaurant franchises include Outback Jack’s Bar & Grill, the Sporting Globe, and Kombi Keg, while Ben & Jerry’s and Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt cater to sweet-toothed customers.
Finally, travel agency franchises such as HolidayXP,Travel Associates and Helloworld Travel benefit from the strong industry growth rate (pandemics notwithstanding) of Australia’s tourism sector.