In yesterday’s post on the acquisition of the 1-2-3 FIT franchise chain (1-2-3 FIT Sold to Diversified Health), I pointed out that Fort Lauderdale-based Diversified Health & Fitness has been aggressively buying up the assets of dead, dying and severely wounded franchised fitness chains.
Two years of writing about and commiserating with the franchisees of these chains has left me both hopeful that Diversified HF is genuinely dedicated to helping these franchisees, and fearful that they’re not.
I concluded with an invitation to Diversified Health & Fitness to respond to my rather cynical musings, which they quickly did with the following statement.
Dear …read more

There’s an ancient saying that’s been passed down through generations of fitness franchise bloggers:  Old Fitness Franchises Never Die, They Just Get Acquired by Diversified Health & Fitness.
And just as Blogstradamous predicted, the troubled and troubling 1-2-3 FIT franchise chain was sighted being  led across a misty field by a grim character carrying a scythe and sporting a black “Diversified Health & Fitness” hoodie.
Yes, just after aquiring the Butterfly “I’m not quite dead yet!” Life fitness chain, Diversified Health and Fitness has acquired 1-2-3 Fit, the coed express fitness club created by the supposedly dark knights of franchising, the controversial …read more

(Franchise Pick)  Related reading:
Will the 1-2-3 Fit Franchise be the Quiznos of Health Clubs? Is That a Good Thing?
9,509,657 Reasons to Read Disclosure Documents Before Investing
Article Scrutinizes Quiznos Rick Schaden, 1-2-3 Fit Franchise, Butterfly Life Franchise, Contours Express Franchise & Fitness Franchise Woes
“Quiznos of Fitness” 1-2-3 Fit in Financial Trouble
“They Lie”: 1-2-3 Fit Franchise Owners Sound Off
The 123 FIT organization and franchise concept has taken some heat from commenters on this blog – in part because it is owned and operated by the much maligned (in franchise circles) executives of Quiznos.  But 123 FIT is not an isolated …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  Related reading:
“Quiznos of Fitness” 1-2-3 Fit in Financial Trouble

Article Scrutinizes Quiznos Rick Schaden, 1-2-3 Fit Franchise…

9,509,657 Reasons to Read Disclosure Documents Before Investing

Will the 1-2-3 Fit Franchise be the Quiznos of Health Clubs? Is That a Good Thing?

In Stuart Goldman’s recent article (Lights Out) about struggling 30 minute fitness franchise concepts, failed franchisees of the much-hyped 1-2-3 Fit fitness chain speak out.
In the article, fitness franchise owners tell how their dreams of capitalizing on a hot new franchise concept founded & led by high-powered Quiznos execs turned into their own personal financial nightmares.
“I thought they knew what they …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  The concept of successful franchising is based on creating a win-win-win situation:
The Franchisor organization wins by having franchisees provide the expansion capital and unit-level management.
 Franchise owners win by having a proven system, expert guidance and support.
Consumers win the benefits of trusted brands, efficient service and quality products.
Sometimes, the reality is win-lose-lose, and even lose-lose-lose.
According to Stuart Goldman’s article Lights Out, the 1-2-3 Fit fitness franchise was initially heralded as the ultimate win-win-win:
1-2-3 Fit, Denver, which opened in 2005, was the brainchild of Rick Schaden and Brooksy Smith, two men who made Quiznos a successful national restaurant …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  Eric Blair, Chancellor of the Orwellian Institute for Counter Intuitive Thinking (located at 358 Chauncey St.,  Bensonhurst, NY 00666 Phone: 800-555-1212) has issued a press release warning of impending 123 Fit fitness franchise closures.
Of course you remember that Eric Arthur Blair is the real name of author George Orwell (whose social and governmental predictions in his classic book 1984 were pretty darn accurate, at least in comparison to the technological warnings in his lesser-known book Y2K) who died in 1950.  And of course you remember that 358 Chauncey St. is the address of Ralph Cramden of the Honeymooners (and …read more

Stuart Goldman of Club Industry’s Fitness Business Pro, a leading health club industry trade publication, has written an extensive and well-researched article on the struggling 30-minute fitness franchise chains and some of the powerful names that were instrumental in putting the match to this “hot new franchise” phenomenon.
I plan to look at particular points of this article in upcoming posts. Please share your initial comments below.
Here’s an excerpt. Click a link to read the entire article:
Source: Lights Out by Stuart Goldman, Managing Editor, Fitness Business Pro
The troubles that continue to plague circuit club companies also extend to …read more

(FranchisePick.Com) If you were perusing their impressive website, attending one of their regional seminars, or reading about their founders (a former executive vice president and the current CEO of Quiznos Sub) in Entrepreneur magazine, you’d see lots of reasons to invest in this fitness franchise.
Learning the reality behind the franchise marketing often takes a little more digging, and tips from insiders. On a recent post, a FranchisePick.Com commenter directed us to this paragraph in the 43 page Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC) of the 1-2-3 Fit Franchise:

A commenter named 123 Fit Owner left this message on a recent post …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  Is the 1-2-3 Fit fitness franchise the Quiznos of health club franchises?  If so, is that a good or a bad thing?
When the 1-2-3 Fit franchise launched in 2005, Club Business International gave this glowing and unqualified accolade:
If ever fitness seemed fated for success, it may well be 123 Fit. This new enterprise, based in Denver, Colorado, is the product of a unique partnership between a fitness industry legend [Ray Wilson] and one of the most powerful forces in franchising [The Quiznos Franchise Co.].

Ray Wilson, who started in the fitness industry in the 1950s, has perhaps been responsible for more …read more