What criteria does Basecamp Fitness use for determining territories in an Area Development Agreement?
Basecamp_Fitness Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
. (If you sign an Area Development Agreement with us, we will also give you a protected territory at the time you sign that agreement.) The limitations on us in that territory are described below.
If you sign an Area Development Agreement ("ADA"), we will describe this territory in the Rider to that agreement. The territory will typically be described as a geographic area in which each of your Basecamp Studios must be developed. The criteria we use for determining these territories is simply geographic markets in which we believe it may be feasible to develop a Basecamp Studio. If you are in compliance with the Development Schedule set forth in the Rider, then until your protected territory rights expire, we will not develop or operate or grant anyone else a franchise to develop and operate a Basecamp Studio from any location in the Development Territory, except for fitness studios within private establishments where access to these studios is limited to employees of the business, or transient guests of the business who, in either case, would not have reciprocity with any other Basecamp Studio as a result of their use or membership in this private studio. However, we do have the right to operate, or grant others the right to do so, fitness studios/businesses except under the Basecamp Fitness name within or outside your protected territory, and fitness studios/businesses operated under the Basecamp Fitness name or Marks outside your protected territory, even if they compete for members with your studio, and even if the territorial boundaries for that franchise overlap with the boundaries for your territory. You will not receive an exclusive territory. You may face competition from other franchisees, from outlets that we own, or from other channels of distribution or competitive brands that we control.
You will sign the Franchise Agreement for your first Basecamp Studio contemporaneously with signing the ADA. You will sign our then-current Franchise Agreement for each subsequent Basecamp Studio that you open according to the development schedule in the ADA. We will determine or approve the site of any
future Basecamp Studios and any protected territories for those Basecamp Studios based on our then-current standards for sites and territories.
Your rights in this territory will end at the earlier of (i) the date your ADA expires or terminates; (ii) the date on which your last Basecamp Studio must be open under the terms of the development schedule; and (iii) the date when the individual protected territories given to you under a franchise agreement for your final Basecamp Studio are determined. If the protected territory covers more than one city, county or designated market area, the protection for each particular city, county or designated market area will also expire on the date when we determine the protected territory to be given to you under a franchise agreement for your final Basecamp Studio to be developed in that city, county or designated market area. When your rights in a protected territory have expired under the ADA, you will still have the rights granted to you in any portion of these territories under an individual Franchise Agreement. When you sign a Franchise Agreement, we will give you a protected territory and describe it in a Rider to that agreement.
You are responsible if we terminate the ADA because you are unable to secure one or more acceptable, proposed locations to fulfill the development schedule in your ADA. If you fail to meet the terms of the development schedule in your ADA or you fail to develop a Basecamp Studio on or before the Required Opening Date in your Franchise Agreement, we can terminate your ADA and/or Franchise Agreement(s) in their entirety and you are not entitled to a refund of any of the Development Fees or Initial Franchise Fees paid.
Protected Territory
To identify your protected territory we will use mapping and demographic software to draw a circle around your location. The determination of your protected territory is within our sole discretion. Although the description of the boundaries outlining the protected territory may vary, the territory will not be larger than an area surrounding your Basecamp Studio that has no more than 50,000 people, based on census projections for up to five years from the date of your Franchise Agreement.
We may attach a map to your Franchise Agreement that will identify the protected territory or we may simply describe an area surrounding your location. The map or description may not be a specific radius from your Basecamp Studio, because it will take into account traffic patterns and natural boundaries. Protected territories may overlap, but we will not approve anyone opening a Basecamp studio, or relocating a Basecamp Fitness studio, into a protected territory given to another studio. We cannot unilaterally change your protected territory, and there are no minimum quotas, sales volumes, market penetration, or other contingency required to maintain your protected territory;
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 45–48)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Basecamp Fitness's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the primary criterion for determining territories in an Area Development Agreement (ADA) is identifying geographic markets where developing a Basecamp Studio is deemed feasible. The territory is typically defined as a geographic area within which the franchisee must develop their Basecamp Studios according to the development schedule outlined in the ADA. Compliance with this schedule grants the franchisee protected territory rights, preventing Basecamp Fitness from developing or franchising another studio within that territory. However, this protection does not extend to fitness studios within private establishments, such as those limited to employees or transient guests, nor does it prevent Basecamp Fitness from operating or franchising other fitness businesses outside the Basecamp Fitness name within or outside the protected territory, even if they compete for members. It is important to note that franchisees do not receive an exclusive territory and may face competition from other franchisees, company-owned outlets, or other channels of distribution. Basecamp Fitness retains the right to determine or approve the site of any future Basecamp Studios and their protected territories based on their then-current standards for sites and territories.
For individual Franchise Agreements, Basecamp Fitness may attach a map or describe an area surrounding the franchisee's location to define the protected territory. This description considers traffic patterns and natural boundaries rather than a specific radius. The criteria for determining these boundaries include population, population growth trends, the apparent affluence of the population, the density of residential and business entities, traffic generators, driving time, and natural boundaries. While protected territories may overlap, Basecamp Fitness will not approve the opening or relocation of a studio into another franchisee's protected territory. The franchisee retains these protected territory rights as long as the Franchise Agreement is in effect, without minimum quotas or other contingencies. However, upon renewal of the franchise, Basecamp Fitness reserves the right to modify the protected territory based on then-current guidelines and recalculated population data.
Prospective Basecamp Fitness franchisees should be aware that the franchisor retains significant control over territory decisions and can operate or franchise competing businesses outside the franchisee's protected territory. The protected territory is not exclusive, and franchisees may face competition from various sources. The franchisor's discretion in determining territory boundaries and the potential for modifications upon renewal are important factors to consider. Additionally, the franchisee is responsible for securing acceptable locations to meet the development schedule in the ADA, and failure to do so can result in termination of the agreement without a refund of fees paid.