Does Basecamp Fitness require franchisees to purchase maintenance services from approved sources?
Basecamp_Fitness Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
e, with the exception that the Development Fee replaces the Initial Franchise Fee you would have paid for those Studios.
ITEM 8 RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
All equipment, furnishings, fixtures, signs, software, software support and security monitoring, supplies, branded items, marketing, maintenance services, insurance and products you purchase for use or sale in your Basecamp Studio must meet our specifications. Additionally, all membership types you offer as well as workouts provided through your Basecamp Studio must meet our specifications and, where allowed by applicable law, comply with our pricing guidelines. Those specifications may include minimum standards for delivery, performance, design, appearance, and quality. We will issue the specifications to you before you begin operating. We may include these specifications in the manual that we provide to you online, or we may issue them separately. While we do not have specifications for local advertising you create to promote your studio, we do require that you obtain our prior approval at least 4 weeks before you use any advertising materials you prepare. You may not establish or have established any digital or electronic medium or method of communication, including a website, web page, review or opinion page, social media and/or social networking site, channel, avatar, profile, including an online business profile, account, hashtag, user name or application, whether web-based or otherwise, or keyword advertising, pay-per-click
advertising or other search engine marketing, relating to or making reference to us, your Basecamp Studio, or to the Basecamp Fitness System without our approval. We reserve the right to refuse, reject, adjust or require changes to any advertising material you prepare. You must provide us with full admin access (including with log-in information) to all social media accounts, profiles and pages, business managers, and ad accounts related to your Basecamp Studio or that use our marks. You must provide ownership-level access to any Google Business profiles.
You can expect that the items you purchase to meet our specifications will represent over 90% of the total purchases you will make to begin operations. Once you begin operating, we expect the items you purchase that meet our specifications will represent between 70% and 90% of your total expenses.
If you want to purchase items for your Basecamp Studio that we have not previously approved, or items that differ from our specifications, you must notify us in writing. If we request, you must submit samples and other information we require for testing or to otherwise determine whether the product, material or supply meets our specifications and quality standards. We do not impose any fee for our consideration of an item not previously approved.
We may require you to purchase certain furniture, equipment, inventory, supplies, services and other products used or offered at your studio from vendors we approve, in which case we will provide you with a list of approved suppliers. These will include mandatory vendors (persons from whom you must purchase certain items or services), designated vendors (for items or services that must be purchased from vendors we approve), and preferred vendors (for vendors we have approved, but in categories where we do not require you obtain our approval of the vendor). These suppliers may pay vendor rebates to us and they may include our company and affiliates of ours. We may modify our mandatory, designated, and/or preferred vendor(s) at any time. We may require you to offer additional services or products and some of those products or services may require that you purchase additional equipment or training for your staff.
When we have a designated vendor (other than a mandatory vendor), if you want to purchase from other vendors the items or services for which that vendor has been designated, you must notify us in writing and obtain our approval. If you seek approval of a new supplier (or if the supplier applies directly to us for approval), we will require the supplier pay us a nonrefundable fee of $300 before we will consider approving their application. This fee is intended to defer our cost of reviewing the supplier. (We do not require you to pay any fee.) We may also require the supplier to sign a supplier agreement with us.
In reviewing prospective suppliers, we consider whether the product or service is consistent with our concept and brand; how they and/or their products or services would enhance our brand and make it more attractive to members and other customers or franchisees; how the product or service would improve the studio experience of a member; how the product or service would increase revenue of a franchisee's business; how the product or service would increase the efficiency of a franchisee; if the product or service is already available through other sources, would approval of another vendor enhance competition or dilute our ability to maximize pricing benefits for our franchisees; is the product of a commercial quality with a proven record of durability; does the supplier support our values; and other factors. In addition, we consider demand from franchisees, the need for the vendor based on business trends, and the ability of the vendor to serve franchisees throughout the United States. (The criteria is posted on our website for potential vendors and franchisees.) We will generally notify you and the supplier of our approval or disapproval within 2-12 months of our receipt of all the information and samples we request. If we revoke approval of any supplier or any item offered by a supplier, we will send you written notice of our revocation of an approved supplier or item.
As of the issuance date of this Disclosure Document, we have the following sole suppliers in our System:
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 28–32)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Basecamp Fitness's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must adhere to specific guidelines regarding the purchase of maintenance services. All equipment, furnishings, fixtures, signs, software, software support and security monitoring, supplies, branded items, marketing, maintenance services, insurance and products used or sold at a Basecamp Studio must meet the franchisor's specifications. These specifications cover minimum standards for delivery, performance, design, appearance, and quality, and are provided to the franchisee before operations begin, either in the manual or separately.
Basecamp Fitness may require franchisees to purchase certain furniture, equipment, inventory, supplies, services, and other products from approved vendors. These vendors are categorized as mandatory (where purchase is required), designated (where items/services must be purchased from approved vendors), and preferred (approved vendors in categories where franchisor approval isn't mandatory). The franchisor retains the right to modify these vendor designations at any time. If a franchisee wishes to use a non-designated vendor, they must seek written approval from Basecamp Fitness. The franchisor may charge a nonrefundable fee of $300 to a new supplier for the review of their application.
Basecamp Fitness also identifies sole suppliers for specific items within their system. As of the issuance date of the 2025 Disclosure Document, Basecamp Fitness, or a third party depending on the item, is the sole supplier for logo'd items, retail products for resale, workout formats, and fitness programming. Franchisees must purchase a Build-Out Package from Basecamp Fitness, which includes items like signage, marketing materials, furniture, and fixtures that must be sourced from specified sole suppliers. ProVision, an affiliate, is the sole supplier for certain fitness equipment, technology services, network hardware, and security systems. Additionally, Basecamp Fitness has a sole supplier for studio management, billing, payment, and scheduling software. Supplies for the Basecamp Studio must be purchased from designated vendors, including Basecamp Fitness itself for business supplies and marketing materials.
These restrictions mean a significant portion of a franchisee's expenses will be directed towards meeting Basecamp Fitness's specifications and purchasing from approved or mandatory vendors. Franchisees can expect that initial purchases to meet these specifications will represent over 90% of their total start-up purchases, and ongoing purchases will account for 70% to 90% of their total expenses. Basecamp Fitness also earns revenue from franchisee purchases from these mandatory, designated, or preferred suppliers, potentially receiving rebates up to 15% of the purchase amount. Franchisees should be aware of these requirements and their financial implications, as well as the potential for changes in approved vendors and the introduction of new mandatory programs.