Orangetheory's Italy Deal Tests Smaller Studio Formats In Dense International Markets
Purpose Brands is bringing four smaller-format Orangetheory studios to the Rome area, with Technogym supplying equipment, in a deal that tests format flexibility for dense European cities.
Compact fitness studio interior with treadmills, rowers and strength equipment
Orangetheory Fitness is entering Italy through a Rome-area franchise agreement that will bring four studios to the market over the next four years. Purpose Brands announced the deal on June 4, naming Icon Palestre, an Italian fitness management company led by CEO Felice Orsinetti, as the local development partner. The agreement gives Orangetheory its first Italian market entry and adds another international step to a 2026 growth push that also includes Japan and the Gulf region.
The most important part of the announcement is the format. Purpose Brands said the Rome studios will use a smaller configuration with a streamlined equipment offering while preserving Orangetheory's strength and cardio class model. For international franchise development, that is a meaningful adaptation. Dense European cities can make traditional studio real estate difficult: smaller footprints can open locations that would otherwise be too expensive, too constrained, or too hard to source.
A smaller format also changes the franchisee economics. Lower buildout and real estate requirements can reduce the upfront capital burden, but the model still has to produce enough class capacity, membership retention, and labor efficiency to work. If the smaller studio creates bottlenecks, it can weaken the member experience. If it preserves the core workout while improving site flexibility, it could give Orangetheory a stronger path into urban markets beyond Italy.
The local supply relationship is also notable. Technogym, the high-end Italian fitness equipment manufacturer, will supply a portion of the strength equipment. That matters because cross-border franchising works better when global brands do not simply export a format unchanged. Local suppliers, local real estate knowledge, and local operating partners can make a new-market entry more credible and more practical.
Purpose Brands described Orangetheory as part of a broader portfolio that includes Anytime Fitness, The Bar Method, Waxing the City, Healthy Contributions, and Provision Security. The company says its brands operate across 46 countries and territories and serve about six million members. That scale gives the franchisor international experience, but it does not remove the need to prove the concept in each new consumer market. Italy has its own fitness habits, pricing expectations, urban constraints, and competitive alternatives.
Rome will also test whether Orangetheory can keep its coaching and heart-rate driven identity legible in a different cultural and urban setting. International franchisees need more than a recognizable U.S. brand. They need a concept that can explain itself quickly to local customers, hire and retain coaches, and make membership economics work around local rent and labor. The smaller format may help with real estate, but the guest promise still has to feel complete.
That is why the first four studios will matter beyond their local revenue. They will become proof points for site selection, pricing, staffing, and consumer education in Italy.
For the franchise market, the Rome agreement is a useful signal. International growth is no longer only about signing master rights and replicating the existing box. It is increasingly about format flexibility, local partnerships, equipment strategy, and careful capital planning. Orangetheory's Italy launch will show whether a smaller studio can maintain brand identity while unlocking markets where the standard footprint might be harder to justify.
"International growth is no longer only about signing master rights — it is about format flexibility, local partnerships and capital discipline."
