Crunch Fitness Inks Deal to Open 30 Franchises in New Jersey; Surpassing 100 Clubs in First Year of Franchising

NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In its first year, Crunch Fitness Franchise, known for making Crunch's innovative classes and No Judgments philosophy available and affordable to gym-goers across the country, has opened 12 locations throughout the United States and Australia, and has inked deals to open an additional 100 clubs throughout the U.S. and beyond. The largest and most recent agreement has come via a partnership with retail development mogul, Dennis Cieri, who plans to open 30 franchise locations throughout Northern New Jersey.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090909/NY72689LOGO )

"We couldn't be happier with the achievements and success we've seen in our first year of business, especially the recent partnership with Dennis Cieri and his team," said Ben Midgley, president, Crunch Franchise. "We have a great team of franchisees, making it clear that industry leaders and experienced entrepreneurs see the value and potential in the Crunch brand and are excited to share it with fitness enthusiasts around the globe."

Cieri has been in the retail and franchise arena for over two decades. He is the founding partner of EDEN Property Company, a development company based in Rutherford, NJ.  EDEN has successfully opened dozens of retail shopping centers and free standing Walgreens throughout the Northern New Jersey marketplace.  Cieri is also a founding partner of Heartland Restaurant Group, LLC, which signed the largest deal in franchise history in 2007 to build and operate 105 Dunkin Donuts Restaurants in the greater Pittsburgh, PA area.  Cieri has extensive experience in the fitness industry as well; he is the President and Founder of SSP Nutrition, Inc., a boutique performance nutrition company and the founding partner of The Fitness Factory Group which owns and operates three health clubs in Northern New Jersey.

"I've been in the entrepreneurial and franchising industry for a very long time, but I've never been this excited about a brand," said Dennis Cieri, Crunch Franchise owner. "Crunch's No Judgments philosophy and unique fusion of fitness and entertainment reaches an expansive audience and I can't wait to tap into this unique entity."

Cieri looks to open the 30 clubs in Northern New Jersey, specifically in Middlesex, Union, Essex, Hudson, Bergen, Passaic and Morris counties. Crunch currently has franchise locations in Portland, Sacramento, Orange County, San Diego, Wayne, NJ, Norwalk, CT, Naples FL and Sydney, Australia, and has over 100 new clubs set to open. For more information about Crunch franchising opportunities go to http://www.crunchfranchise.com/.

Crunch is a gym that believes in making serious exercise fun by fusing fitness and entertainment and pioneering a philosophy of No Judgments. Headquartered in New York City, and co-owned by New Evolution Ventures (NeV) and private-equity firm Angelo Gordon, Crunch serves over 100,000 members with 35 gyms worldwide, including 12 franchise locations in Orange County, CA, Sacramento, CA, San Diego, CA, Portland, OR, Norwalk, CT, Wayne, NJ and Australia, and looks to rapidly expand across the U.S. and around the globe. Go to www.crunchfranchise.com for more information.

About New Evolution Ventures™ (NeV) Based in Northern California, New Evolution Ventures (NeV) is a private equity firm focused on the acquisition, development and operations management of fitness, media and sports entities both domestically and internationally.  Founded in 2008 by Mark Mastrov, Jim Rowley and Mike Feeney, the current team of NeV professionals is shaping the world of fitness, media, and sports one brand at a time.  With a foundation representing over a century of business experience, NeV currently has operations and investments in more than 20 countries worldwide representing over 800+ facilities.  For more information, please visit www.nev.com

SOURCE Crunch