Fierce45 currently has four locations in and around Denver. (Courtesy Fierce45)
Fierce45 has been training to expand out of state for years, and now it’s finally making the move.
This fall, the Denver-based chain of Pilates studios will open its first non-Colorado location in Westchester County, New York, just north of the Bronx.
“Westchester was pretty densely populated with the same demographic of people that come to us in Denver, and there’s not a lot of boutique fitness,” Fierce45 Chief Operating Officer Melissa Williams said.
Additionally, both Williams and Fierce45 founder Torrey Newman have a personal connection to the county. Williams grew up in Westchester, while Newman’s good friend lives there. She said that made finding a location, leasing the space and hiring a trusted contractor much easier.
Fierce45 founder Torrey Newman, left, and COO Melissa Williams
Williams said Fierce45 will open in 2,o00 square feet at 251 Main St., in Mount Kisco. The space is slightly bigger than the studio’s Denver locations, and can hold up to 14 machines.
Newman started Fierce45 in 2015, opening along 38th Avenue in LoHi. The company now has four locations, also operating in Hilltop, West Wash Park and Englewood.
Another 1,880-square-foot location at 8547 E. Arapahoe Road in Greenwood Village should open in the fall. Along with New York, it will be the company’s first studio openings since 2019.
Williams said the business intended to franchise before the pandemic, but ended up scrapping those plans.
“We wanted more of a hands-on approach,” Williams said. “The quality aspect of what we feel like we can put out there and what’s very important to us … it just started to feel like we were not going to be able to put out the same product with (franchising).”
Williams said the businesses leadership team started researching where they wanted to expand about three years ago. Their broker, Cameron Flint with CBRE, used a software that gathers neighborhood demographic information to help them decide where to expand.
In New York, Williams said they plan on opening a second studio in east Westchester before potentially expanding into places such as New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island.
“We would like to double our footprint this year, and then probably next year add in another one to two markets,” Williams said. “Kind of slow and controlled, but a little bit faster growth than we’ve had over the past couple of years.”
As for Colorado, Williams said the studio has its eye on places such as Golden, Wheat Ridge, Castle Rock and Highlands Ranch. But she wants to get Greenwood Village running smoothly before deciding where it’s going next.
“We don’t want to come to a point that we oversaturate the market, have to close studios because we opened too many, or just have ‘OK’ performing studios,” Williams said.
Fierce45 currently has four locations in and around Denver. (Courtesy Fierce45)
Fierce45 has been training to expand out of state for years, and now it’s finally making the move.
This fall, the Denver-based chain of Pilates studios will open its first non-Colorado location in Westchester County, New York, just north of the Bronx.
“Westchester was pretty densely populated with the same demographic of people that come to us in Denver, and there’s not a lot of boutique fitness,” Fierce45 Chief Operating Officer Melissa Williams said.
Additionally, both Williams and Fierce45 founder Torrey Newman have a personal connection to the county. Williams grew up in Westchester, while Newman’s good friend lives there. She said that made finding a location, leasing the space and hiring a trusted contractor much easier.
Fierce45 founder Torrey Newman, left, and COO Melissa Williams
Williams said Fierce45 will open in 2,o00 square feet at 251 Main St., in Mount Kisco. The space is slightly bigger than the studio’s Denver locations, and can hold up to 14 machines.
Newman started Fierce45 in 2015, opening along 38th Avenue in LoHi. The company now has four locations, also operating in Hilltop, West Wash Park and Englewood.
Another 1,880-square-foot location at 8547 E. Arapahoe Road in Greenwood Village should open in the fall. Along with New York, it will be the company’s first studio openings since 2019.
Williams said the business intended to franchise before the pandemic, but ended up scrapping those plans.
“We wanted more of a hands-on approach,” Williams said. “The quality aspect of what we feel like we can put out there and what’s very important to us … it just started to feel like we were not going to be able to put out the same product with (franchising).”
Williams said the businesses leadership team started researching where they wanted to expand about three years ago. Their broker, Cameron Flint with CBRE, used a software that gathers neighborhood demographic information to help them decide where to expand.
In New York, Williams said they plan on opening a second studio in east Westchester before potentially expanding into places such as New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island.
“We would like to double our footprint this year, and then probably next year add in another one to two markets,” Williams said. “Kind of slow and controlled, but a little bit faster growth than we’ve had over the past couple of years.”
As for Colorado, Williams said the studio has its eye on places such as Golden, Wheat Ridge, Castle Rock and Highlands Ranch. But she wants to get Greenwood Village running smoothly before deciding where it’s going next.
“We don’t want to come to a point that we oversaturate the market, have to close studios because we opened too many, or just have ‘OK’ performing studios,” Williams said.
