9Round

The $24,900 franchise fee sits mid-range for fitness boutiques. Total investment of $149K to $416K is unusually wide — driven primarily by leasehold improvements ($10K to $110K), which swing dramatically based on whether you're taking raw space or a built-out shell. The mandatory equipment package is $39,800 to $41,700, paid to the franchisor.

The ongoing fee structure is manageable on paper but punishing in practice. The royalty is the greater of $600/month or 6% of net sales. The Brand Building Fund takes another greater of $250/month or 2% of net sales. The technology fee is $499/month flat — at low revenue levels, that alone represents 1-2% of gross sales. The real hidden cost: 9Round mandates local advertising spend at the higher of 8% of gross revenue or $4,500 per rolling three-month period. For a studio doing $300K annually ($25K/month), that's $2,000/month in local marketing before royalties, which means your total fee burden is approaching 16-18% of gross revenue. For a studio doing $150K, the minimums dominate and the burden is even higher.

9Round provides no financial performance representations in its 2025 FDD — no average revenue, no median, no unit economics. For a franchise that costs up to $416K to open, this is a significant gap. You're being asked to invest on brand recognition and the concept's logic without any validated revenue data from existing locations.

The absence of Item 19 data means you cannot reliably model payback. The only approach is extensive franchisee interviews — and with 171 net closures in two years, there are plenty of former franchisees to talk to about why they left.

The unit count trajectory is the defining issue: 371 locations in 2022, 279 in 2023, 200 in 2024. That's a 46% decline in two years, losing an average of 85-86 locations annually. The brand is still operating under Striking Brands, Inc., but has not reversed the contraction trend. The boutique fitness market has been competitive since 2022 — Orangetheory and F45 have faced similar pressures — but 9Round's decline rate exceeds most peers. 200 locations is a viable base for a franchise system, but the direction matters as much as the current count.

The combination of no Item 19 disclosure and 46% system contraction is the core concern. You're investing without revenue data into a shrinking brand. The mandatory local advertising floor of 8% of gross revenue means that even in your ramp-up months, you'll be spending $1,500/month on local ads before any revenue exists to justify it. The Step Up Program reduces the franchise fee to $14,900 for additional centers — which suggests the system is actively trying to retain multi-unit operators as single-unit operators exit.