Continuing its trend of explosive growth since arriving in Canada in 2012, fitness lifestyle brand Orangetheory Fitness® shows no signs of slowing down. More Canadians are seeking More Life® via the benefits of Orangetheory’s unique combination of heart rate-based interval training and real-time fitness tracking. The chain announced today that it will close the year with 84 open studios in Canada (up 24 new studios from 2018), representing a 40 per cent year-over-year growth rate. In Q1 of 2019 alone, Orangetheory will open 12 new studios across the country, with plans to open its first ever location in New Brunswick later this year, putting the fitness phenomenon in nine out of 10 provinces.
In 2019, Orangetheory is launching several new proprietary wearable fitness trackers, a new app and challenge tracker system, as well as state-of-the-art technology, which will not only track participants’ heart rates during the workout, but also the distances achieved by running and rowing. “We are no longer JUST a fitness concept; we have evolved into a fitness and technology company,” said Hifa Maleki, Orangetheory Fitness Canada’s VP of Franchise Development & Operations. “Canadians continue to flock to the best one-hour workout in the country because we’re staying connected to our roots as industry innovators in the fitness and technology hybrid member experience. All of this data can be rolled up through our app and used to show members that results don’t JUST come from the inches you’re losing off your waistline.” Maleki adds, “Collecting multiple sources of fitness data points in our Challenge Tracker app in 2019, will allow us to gamify the workouts in a way that uses members’ competitive natures to drive results they never thought they could obtain!”
The brand has also bolstered its support network for its almost 100 Canadian franchisees in the last year. In the summer of 2018, the company added Blake MacDonald, a 20-year veteran executive in the fitness industry, in the full time role of President. MacDonald joins a corporate staff of over 30 employees stationed in offices in Edmonton, AB and Toronto, ON. “Being a franchisee of 16 Orangetheory locations ourselves (along with business partner, David Hardy), we are thrilled to see the internal support network for our franchisees reaching critical mass,” said MacDonald. “We are confident that we have built the right framework that will easily allow us to scale the brand to nearly 200 locations in Canada by 2021.”
In addition, Orangetheory Fitness Canada is proud to announce a new national partnership with Arcane, one of Canada’s leading digital and full service ad agencies out of London, ON. “Our partnership with Arcane will be about inspiring Canadians to achieve More Life® through the pursuit of their fitness and wellness goals,” MacDonald says, adding, “Exposing Canadians to the marriage of fitness and technology at Orangetheory Fitness has the potential to change hundreds of thousands of lives and, ultimately, make Canada a healthier country.”
