Can Body20 require franchisees to purchase 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. You must offer at the Studio any Sessions that we deem to be mandatory.
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 purchase specific signs for their studio. Body20 can mandate that all signs meet certain specifications, be a specific brand, kind, or model, and be purchased only from suppliers or service providers that Body20 has expressly approved or designated. This falls under Body20's broader right to control the sources of all furniture, fixtures, signs, and equipment (collectively, the "Operating Assets") used in the studio.
Specifically, Body20 requires franchisees to purchase interior graphics and exterior signage from suppliers or service providers that Body20 has designated or approved. This means a franchisee cannot choose their own signage vendor freely but must select from a pre-approved list.
This requirement ensures brand consistency across all Body20 locations, but it also limits the franchisee's autonomy and potentially increases costs if the approved vendors are more expensive than other options. The franchisee bears the cost of seeking approval for alternative suppliers, which involves a charge of $1,000 or Body20's actual costs and expenses related to the inspection and/or testing the proposed product or evaluating the proposed service or service provider, including personnel and travel costs, whether or not the item, service, supplier, or service provider is approved. Therefore, franchisees should carefully consider these restrictions and potential costs when evaluating the Body20 franchise opportunity.