In 15 years, one Portland-area fitness company went from one studio in the Pearl to more than 180 franchised studios around the globe.
Sadie Lincoln, founder of Barre3, said franchising has been in the plan for the company since its inception in 2008 so that it could bring mindfulness-based fitness to as many customers as possible.
And recently, Barre3 furthered its reach by acquiring The Barre Code, a Chicago-based chain with 21 locations. The acquisition makes Barre3 the largest women-owned omnichannel fitness brand offering in-person as well as streamable, on-demand coaching.
Lincoln attributes the company’s success to her previous experience in fitness. She and her husband and business partner Chris both knew how to scale fitness and always had a vision for growth for Barre3 and for redefining fitness for the next generation.
“A lot of fitness, the mindset around it is you're doing fitness to get somewhere, like a future state. You're doing fitness to shape your body, sculpt your body, lose weight, all these different things that are really set in the future,” Lincoln said. “And there's an attachment to that that robs us from exercising in a way that's really enriching, really empowering and a practice of honoring our bodies versus changing our bodies.”
Another part of that redefinition involved investing in a digital platform, which Barre3 began in 2011. The digital platform gives the Lincolns control over its offerings: They can customize and switch out certain classes or workouts to fit what clients in more than 150 countries say they need.
“It's way more flexible that way than building a studio, which takes a lot more capital and a lot more time,” Lincoln said, adding that a lot of Barre3’s newest customers are moms who can only manage stepping away for a digital class.
The growth Barre3 experienced in digital was fast, and at times overwhelming to keep up with, Lincoln said. The company counteracted this by intentionally slowing down growth to ensure it can add workers to the team with experience in key areas such as product development, analytics and R&D.
But Barre3’s digital growth cannot overshadow its in-person studio growth, which has also grown quickly. Lincoln said when it's picking new franchisees, it seeks partners who want to hyper-localize their studios to fit their communities specific wants and needs from fitness.
“We've run slower than we could have at times when we had so many people wanting to open a studio. We're saying no way more than we are saying yes,” Lincoln said. “And we could afford to do that because we also have a digital platform.”
When it came to acquiring The Barre Code, Lincoln utilized the phrase “Rising tides raise all boats.” Both companies' fitness philosophies aligned, and The Barre Code needed structure and support to grow that Barre3 could offer, Lincoln said, making it a natural fit for them both.
As Barre3 enters this new era with nearly two dozen new studios added to its roster, Lincoln is listening to what the individual studios need.
“We want to have a really clear process for mindfully migrating that brand to Barre3 in a way that boosts their communities' experience, that really is additive versus taking anything away,” Lincoln said.
Lincoln and Barre3’s secret to success, she said, is practicing what she preaches by ensuring there is balance in the business and in herself.
“Alot of people in times of struggle look outside and think, ‘Oh, I need to be doing something completely different,’ versus having confidence in that foundational product, offering or service that you do the best and stay really, really focused on that,” Lincoln said. “Our vision, mission and core values have not changed since day one in August of 2008. The industry has changed, but that hasn't changed.”
Closer Look:
Employees: 43 full time, 104 part time
Revenue: 23% year-over-year studio revenue growth as of September 2023
Role model: My mom, Sonja Ungemach, is my most formative role model. She has always modeled living her life in a way that is congruent to her values. She has a practice of self-awareness and brings her truth to the world in a loving and very authentic way. She is also an entrepreneur and the co-founder of the Eugene Weekly. I grew up watching her build this alternative weekly and in the very first publications when it was called What's Happening, I even contributed my 3rd grade art to fill ad space.
Currently reading: "Running with Sherman," by Christopher McDougall.
