Tell us about your portfolio.

KR: Rather than creating brands internally, Extraordinary Brands is building its portfolio through acquisition.

Our initial partnerships were smaller, but Rumble and CycleBar have proved we can integrate brands with a lot more scale and/or the ability to grow quickly and nationwide. As a start-up, it makes sense that this is where we focus our time and resources.

So, while Neighborhood Barre and Row House are still in the portfolio alongside new acquisitions CycleBar and Rumble, we’re divesting the other brands [Pūrvelo Cycle and Eat the Frog Fitness – see An Extraordinary journey timeline at the end of the feature].

Neighborhood Barre is already in growth mode: it came into the portfolio in 2024 prepped and ready to grow. The other three are great brands, but we took them on in a distressed state. They will need to contract and stabilise before growing again in a way that fits the boutique market at that time.

Even though we don’t have all the answers yet, we’re sensing a return of cautious optimism

In fact, Row House is almost there – we’re looking at Q1 2026 to restart growth – but for CycleBar and Rumble, we first need to audit and stabilise. It would make no sense to throw these two brands into franchise development right now.

The good news is, so many of the problems are fixable. By giving these brands the attention they deserve, we have a chance to revitalise them and build franchisee success.

Beyond these four brands, we’re also interested in further acquisitions where it makes sense for the portfolio – not only in boutique fitness, but also in wellness.

What’s the current status at CycleBar?

LK: We’ve been identifying the core issues at the heart of the business, both collectively and at a local level. Our goal is to understand what’s broken and fix it quickly but also as strategically as possible.

Our immediate focus has been on rebuilding franchisee trust, opening up channels of communication, speaking one-to-one with them, listening and offering some transparency around what’s going on behind the scenes.

We’re diagnosing the health of each individual location, working with our franchisees to build roadmaps to success and profitability wherever possible. Even though we don’t have all the answers yet, we’re sensing a return of cautious optimism.

A recurring theme among under-performing sites is an overly large footprint. Many sites need to shrink by 30–50 per cent.

KR: We do have some franchisees who decided to exit before we came onboard. Some have now changed their minds and chosen to stay with us, but where there are problems we can’t solve – where sites simply weren’t set up for success – we’ll help them exit in a way that works for them. 

LK: A recurring theme among under-performing sites is an overly large footprint, with high start-up and running costs making ROI very hard to achieve. Many sites need to shrink by 30–50 per cent.

KR: That will certainly be the model for new locations: it’s better to have waiting lists than half-empty studios and high utility costs. We could reduce overall footprint by 40 per cent and only lose around 10 bikes.

For existing studios, closure may be an option, but we’ll aim for re-sale where possible. For overly large sites, relocation may be an alternative. And although we aren’t actively looking at this yet, in the future we might also consider dividing larger sites to offer multiple modalities under one roof.

How big is CycleBar now?

KR: There are currently 130+ CycleBar sites [see Extraordinary Brands in numbers below], but we expect around a 20–30 per cent contraction in the estate before it begins to grow again. We need to slow down to speed up.

Every product needs to evolve to keep up with changing trends, but CycleBar hasn’t moved forward enough over recent years

The majority of CycleBar studios are in North America – the US and Canada – but we also partner with an amazing group in Australia that runs its own franchise operation for CycleBar and Rumble, supported at a high level by Extraordinary Brands. CycleBar is also operational in Japan.

Once we start to grow the brand again, our focus will be on North America. We will continue to work with existing international master franchisees – including offering them our other brands – but there’s so much white space in the US and Canada that for now, these will be our key growth markets across all four brands.

There’s so much white space in the US and Canada that for now, these will be our key growth markets across all four brands

Why not merge Pūrvelo Cycle and CycleBar?

LK: Even though they’re both indoor cycling and both based around music and rhythm, the brands are very different. Pūrvelo Cycle is a dark room with no mirrors or metrics. CycleBar is almost the opposite customer experience: very metrics-driven.

CycleBar does offer a variety of programmes, including one – CycleBar Connect – that’s more introspective and soulful. We may diversify the programming further once the brand is stabilised and the franchisees profitable. But in the meantime, Pūrvelo and CycleBar are almost different modalities – it would be really hard to pitch them as the same brand – and our view is that CycleBar’s programming is more in line with what consumers are looking for today. 

KR: All that said, our Pūrvelo franchisee runs a very successful business. She’s a capable self-starter who does the grassroots work and activates at a local level, which is exactly what’s needed to be successful in this business. She’s embraced everything we’ve taught her; she still has access to our assets, playbooks and so on; and she runs a great shop. We gave her the option to bring her two sites into the CycleBar brand, but we were never going to force that on her and she’s chosen to stay as Pūrvelo Cycle.

The third Pūrvelo site is corporately-owned. We’re currently making a plan for that studio.

Will the CycleBar product change?

LK: Every product needs to evolve to keep up with changing trends, but CycleBar hasn’t moved forward enough over recent years. That’s something we’re now addressing.

New programming is currently in development, so I can’t say too much, but we will certainly be looking at new and better ways of incorporating strength, giving people the cardio they need and the strength they want all in one class.

We also need to recognise our ageing population – for whom cycling is an accessible option – and consider the growing focus on longevity, healthspan and functional wellness.

And we need to understand that consumers now want something more meaningful than a party on a bike. They want to see and measure the impact of their workouts on their lives.

Our product team is looking at all of this, diving into the research, the science and consumer demand to understand how we best evolve our product.

We want to create unique, results-based, scalable programmes that support people’s holistic health journeys. We’re also identifying the wellness metrics that really matter to people and looking at the technology we need to measure these, so we can demonstrate the value of all our modalities.

CycleBar is the world’s largest cycle franchise, but we need to put it in front of the right audience with the right voice and right message

The strategic brand repositioning we’re currently undertaking ties in with all of this. CycleBar remains the largest cycle franchise in the world, but we need to make sure we’re putting it in front of the right audience with the right voice and right message. We’re still working on this project, but the way our classes make people feel –  the community, the dopamine hit, the release – will be key. A more distilled audience is also likely to be part of the solution. You can make everyone welcome without saying you’re ‘for everyone’, because in practice that means you’re not really ‘for’ anyone.

We’re also expecting the repositioning to support a better balance between push and pull, not relying so heavily on gimmicky sales offers to get people through the doors.

What support do you give franchisees?

LK: Our focus is on franchisee profitability. You can’t build a portfolio of brands if you don’t put franchisees first.

This is what attracted me to Extraordinary Brands. I understand from personal experience the challenges of being a franchise owner and entrepreneur and I know that CycleBar owners in particular have had a tough time. Having the chance to step in and be part of the solution was very appealing.

Our dedicated business coaching for franchisees is something we pride ourselves on. This is extensive, tactical coaching that’s designed to support the holistic health of franchisees’ businesses, not just sales.

You don’t have to be the biggest brand or even the hottest trend if you get your grassroots marketing right, building a local community

It’s delivered by a team of coaches with a wealth of boutique fitness experience, who are able to get very granular with the franchise owners and their GMs. They look at the experience within the four walls, the touchpoints that keep customers coming back, the ways of using data to reach out and personalise the experience, the KPIs that help franchisees run a better business from the top. It’s extremely effective.

KR: We also provide assets and playbooks, all of which support a hyper-localised approach. We talk about ‘four walls, four blocks, four miles’: create your experience, know who you are for those closest to you and go out from there.

This hyper-localised approach is critical in boutique fitness. You don’t have to be the biggest brand or even the hottest trend if you get your grassroots marketing right, building a local community for your studio.

I can speak as the founder of Neighborhood Barre, where revenue has consistently risen 20 per cent year-on-year since joining Extraordinary Brands. That’s great success for a brand that didn’t come into the portfolio distressed.

You do have to be the right person, though, so we’re looking closely at the prototype for our franchisees. For all new agreements, we will be discerning about who we partner with, looking for those who are passionate about the industry and making sure we pair the right people with the right brand.

And there’s more…

Hear from the CycleBar owner who’s setting the standard for five-star indoor cycling. Catch the podcast here.