Blink Fitness Appoints President of Franchising
Posted: July 10, 2019 in Chains
Blink Fitness
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Blink Fitness, a premium-quality, value-based fitness concept, has appointed franchising industry veteran Thomas Flaherty as President of Franchising, a newly created position. In this role, Flaherty will oversee the entire franchise business, including directing the brand’s expansion across key markets in the United States and internationally.
In his previous position as president and CEO of Agile Pursuits Franchising, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, Flaherty oversaw the Tide Dry Cleaners franchise and Mr. Clean Car Wash license. Flaherty helped to grow Tide Dry Cleaners from three test stores to more than 140 locations, becoming the third largest dry cleaner in the United States. Prior to joining Agile Pursuits, Flaherty served as chief development officer for Huddle House and spent 13 years at Papa John’s International, where he served as vice president of new business development and vice president of global business development. During his time at Papa John’s, Flaherty signed more than 2,000 new units and spearheaded franchise development efforts domestically and abroad.
“Thomas’ proven track record of growing brands through franchising will be instrumental in shaping Blink’s future as the top-player in the premium quality, value fitness sector,” says Todd Magazine, Blink’s CEO. “Thomas is a seasoned leader. His experience is exactly what we need to dramatically accelerate franchise growth and seamlessly integrate our franchise business with our company-owned infrastructure.”
Flaherty will build on Blink’s franchising momentum, which includes numerous multi-unit deals inked in key markets including New York, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, South Carolina, California, Tennessee and Texas. In recent months, Blink has signed a major 20-unit development deal for the greater Sacramento region with Yadav Enterprises, Inc., one of the largest multi-unit franchisee groups in the country with a portfolio of more than 350 restaurants. The brand also inked a 10-unit development deal for the Boston area with multi-brand franchisee group BBI Fitness Holdings. In addition, three-time NBA All-Star Draymond Green, who has a 20-unit development deal with Blink in Michigan and Illinois, opened his first location in Warren, Mich., in late June.
Founded in 2011, Blink currently has more than 100 locations open or in development and has plans for more than 300 company- and franchise-owned Blink gyms in the next three years.
As Blink focuses on franchise expansion in 2019, the brand is awarding franchise development opportunities to experienced multi-unit groups focusing on diversifying their portfolio with a proven concept well-positioned for growth.
