Franchise Deep Dive: Premier Martial Arts' Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data

Brand overview

Premier Martial Arts is a franchise brand that specializes in teaching karate, krav maga, and kickboxing for children and adults under the Unleashed Brands umbrella. Sister brands include Urban Air Adventure Park, The Little Gym, Snapology, Class 101 and XP League.

Founded in 2004, the franchise’s aim is to “empower lives through Martial Arts and help students find confidence, strength, and focus to live their best life and understand their true worth.” The brand's studios have certified, professional instructors that are trained in modern teaching techniques and martial arts skills.

Notably, Premier Martial Arts received the No. 1 position in the Children's Fitness Programs category and No. 140 overall in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 for 2023, marking the first year the brand was included.

The organization was founded in 2004 and quickly grew to more than 70 locations in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. In 2018, the company began franchising and now has more than 260 locations worldwide. In 2023, the brand celebrated one year with Unleashed Brands. In their first year together, Unleashed Brands worked with Premier Martial Arts to open 110-plus studios. As of February 2024, there are over 200 locations.

With a goal of revolutionizing the martial arts industry, Premier Martial Arts spaces are “clean, bright, and beautiful, and they smell like fresh linen.” Located conveniently and easy to find, Premier Martial Arts studios are found in high-end retail areas next to mainstream brands like Starbucks. Because of this insistence on high-end locations, Premier Martial Arts has developed a business model that has several competitive advantages:

• A small footprint of 1,200–1,600 square feet

• Small staff of one or two instructors per location

• Lower ongoing overhead

• Contained classes to maximize space and foster community

• Minimal to no weekend hours

The simplicity of the business model is a result of founder Barry Van Over’s decades of experience in the industry.

“Our model is all about simplicity,” he said. “We can run the entire facility with a minimal staff. We can be super efficient with our profit generators, and our small footprint allows us to be in the best shopping centers for a reasonable rate. Our small footprint also keeps overhead low and profit margins high. And most importantly, it’s a lower-cost investment that is easy to scale up to multi-unit locations.”

Financial performance

The brand’s most recently published information is from its 2022 FDD which states that, in 2021, average gross sales were $548,345.

Franchise costs

The total initial investment to open a new Premier Martial Arts franchise ranges from $183,650–$421,800. Below is a breakdown of the costs:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $49,500

• Lease Payments: $5,000–$10,000

• Lease Improvements: $42,000–$150,000

• Licenses, Architectural, Engineering: $15,500–$16,500

• Construction Management: $0–$18,250

• Wages, Travel and Living Expenses for Initial Training: $575–$7,000

• Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment: $17,000–$23,000

• Signs: $7,000–$12,500

• Initial Inventory & Supplies: $800–$25,000

• Startup Salaries: $9,900–$36,000

• Insurance: $125–$2,000

• Computer System & Equipment: $5,300–$14,800

• Software: $700–$1,000

• Legal and Accounting Fees: $2,000–$14,000

• Optional Pre-Sale/Grand Opening: $0–$1,000

• Digital Footprint: $750

• Grand Opening Advertising: $20,000–$25,000

• Additional Funds: $7,500–$15,000

• Total: $183,650–$421,800

The franchise fee is $49,500.

• Barry Van Over, Founder

• Scott Thompson - President

• Ciara Lacy - Financial Controller

• Shannon Jones - Director of Training

• Josh Barker, Vice President, Franchise Recruitment (Unleased Brands)

• Franchise Support

• Unleashed Brands Announces Acquisition of Premier Martial Arts

• Premier Martial Arts Celebrates One Year with Unleashed Brands

• Premier Martial Arts Ranked ‘No. 1 Children’s Fitness Franchise’ in Entrepreneur’s Annual Franchise 500®

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