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Boutique fitness brand franchisor Xponential Fitness, Inc. has announced that it has signed a master franchise agreement in Japan with Wellness X Asia for its Rumble and AKT studios.

The agreement provides the master franchise partner with the opportunity to license a minimum of 100 new studios across the two brands over the next eight years.

Wellness X Asia (formerly Club Pilates Japan Co. Ltd.) will now be responsible for the country-wide development of Rumble and AKT, in addition to Club Pilates and CycleBar brands for which it is an existing partner with Xponential Fitness.

Wellness X Asia is led by Japanese entrepreneur Naoki Shimabukuro who is also the founder of the franchise marketing agency, Idealink Co. Ltd., in Japan and Singapore, which assists franchisors in generating prospective franchise partner leads.

Shimabukuro acquired the master franchise rights for Club Pilates in 2019, which marked Xponential’s first international agreement. Now with 30 territories sold and 14 Club Pilates studios open in Japan, Wellness X Asia’s first CycleBar studio will open in early 2023, followed by its first Rumble and AKT studios expected to open in late 2023.

John Kersh, Xponential Fitness’ Chief International Development Officer, commented “the Japanese market is ready for world-class boutique fitness options like Rumble and AKT, and we are excited to ramp up our growth in this strategically important market.

“Naoki and the Wellness X Asia team have done an outstanding job developing Club Pilates in Japan, and we are confident they will have equal success with Rumble, AKT and CycleBar.”

Shimabukuro added “we are thrilled to have the chance to deliver the state-of-the-art Rumble and AKT experiences to Japanese consumers in the years ahead.

“Our wide range of franchise offerings, including Club Pilates and CycleBar, followed now by Rumble and AKT, will provide multiple paths for rapid studio expansion in Japan to the highly motivated, fitness-focused consumer community.”

Following Xponential Fitness’ acquisition of Rumble in 2021 and its successful franchise rollout in the USA, the largest global franchisor of boutique fitness brands has since signed international expansion agreements for Rumble in Australia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, New Zealand and Kuwait, where studios are either currently open or in development.

AKT will also debut in Mexico in the early part of 2023, following a master franchise agreement announced in May 2022. In addition to the USA and Canada, Xponential has master franchise or international expansion agreements in 14 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

In addition to Club Pilates, CycleBar, Rumble and AKT, Xponential Fitness brands include Pure Barre, StretchLab, Row House, YogaSix, BFT, and STRIDE Fitness.

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