Can Body20 require franchisees to lease specific signs for their studio?
Body20 Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
l investment requirements.
ITEM 8 RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Authorized Products and Services. We have the right to require that all furniture, fixtures, signs, and equipment (collectively, the "Operating Assets") and products, supplies, and services that you purchase for resale or purchase or lease for use in your Studio: (i) meet specifications that we establish from time to time; (ii) be a specific brand, kind, or model; (iii) be purchased or leased only from suppliers or service providers that we have expressly approved;
and/or (iv) be purchased or leased only from a single source that we designate (which may include us or our affiliates or a buying cooperative organized by us or our affiliates).
You must offer to customers only the products, services, and Sessions we approve in writing. In addition, you must offer the specific products, services, and Sessions that we require in the Manuals or otherwise in writing. We may change these specifications periodically, and we may designate specific products or services as optional or mandatory. You must offer all products or services that we designate as mandatory. You may sell products and services only in the varieties, forms, and packages that we have approved in accordance with our System Standards. You must maintain a sufficient supply of required products to meet the inventory standards we prescribe in the Manuals (or to meet reasonably anticipated customer demand, if we have not prescribed specific standards).
We may require you to purchase merchant processing services from us, our affiliates or an approved or designated vendor. The payment processor may process all credit card payments related to your Studio and remit payment to you of all monies owed, after withholding any Operating Fees (i.e., Royalty Fees, Brand Fund Fees, Technology Fees, and Music Licensing Fees) payable to us and any payment processing fees payable to the processor.
You must conduct all Sessions in accordance with the System.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 32–37)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Body20's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Body20 has the right to require franchisees to lease specific signs for their studio. Body20 can mandate that all furniture, fixtures, signs, and equipment, referred to as "Operating Assets," meet specific standards. These standards include being a specific brand, kind, or model and being purchased or leased only from suppliers or service providers that Body20 has expressly approved or designated. This means a franchisee may be obligated to lease signs from a specific source chosen by Body20.
This requirement extends to other products, supplies, and services that franchisees purchase for resale or use in their studios. Body20 maintains the authority to change these specifications periodically and designate specific products or services as either optional or mandatory. Franchisees must offer all products or services that Body20 designates as mandatory, ensuring uniformity across all Body20 studios.
Furthermore, Body20 estimates that a significant portion of a franchisee's costs will be subject to these specifications. The cost to purchase and lease equipment, inventory, and other items and services that Body20 requires franchisees to obtain from them, their affiliates, or designated suppliers ranges from 75% to 90% of the total cost to establish a studio and 30% to 45% of the total cost to operate a studio. This indicates that franchisees have limited flexibility in sourcing these items independently.
Before engaging project managers, architects, engineers, or designers for studio development and construction, franchisees must obtain Body20's prior written approval. Additionally, franchisees are required to maintain signage coverage with limits of no less than $10,000 as part of their property insurance. These stipulations ensure that Body20 maintains control over the brand's image and operational standards, potentially impacting a franchisee's initial and ongoing investment costs.