Sky Zone is the creator of the world’s first all-walled indoor trampoline park and has more than 100 locations in the United States. The franchise has also seen incredible success internationally, with parks currently open in Australia, Mexico and Canada. 2015 will see parks also open in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, New Zealand and London.
Founded in 2004 by CEO Jeff Platt’s father, Sky Zone was originally developed as a professional sport in Las Vegas. The sport did not take off, but the business became profitable when local skateboarders wanted to jump, and they started to charge $8 per jump session.
While in college, Jeff wanted to expand his business knowledge and opened a second Sky Zone location that ended up being more successful than the first. Opening this park gave him the experience of being a franchisee, which proved beneficial for Sky Zone’s next step – franchising, which they began in 2008.
“This is a new and exciting category seeing explosive growth worldwide,” says Platt. “For an investor the choice is to identify who is going to be number one overall, and become the brand that defines it and stays the course,” he continues. “We believe that, as the clear market leader and originator of the business, Sky Zone will not give up its position and will continue to surge ahead with commitment to new innovation, guest safety and international growth with the strongest partners.”
Supporting franchisees
Sky Zone’s leadership team has extensive experience in the franchise sector, working with major brands that include McDonald’s, Universal Studios, IHOP, Pinkberry and Jamba Juice. They have put proven systems, processes and cutting edge technology in place to ensure franchise partners are successful and operating their businesses efficiently.
Furthermore, the corporate team provides continuous support to its franchise partners. Sky Zone assists new franchisees with everything from their site selection process, marketing collateral, public relations to support their opening and has representative on the ground to assist in opening events and activities, on-going support beyond opening, and on-going marketing materials. Additionally, for all United States and select international locations, Sky Zone designs, manufactures and installs its own parks in order to ensure quality, safety and consistency across all parks.
Heading up Global Development for Sky Zone, Lesley Hawks will be touring Europe this spring to interview qualified international developers. “Sky Zone created an exciting new category, and now with proven multi-country success, and as the clear industry leader it is likely to develop additional markets very quickly.”
Huge appeal
Sky Zone’s wall-to-wall indoor trampoline courts are designed as a fun and fit outing for all ages, shapes and sizes. The innovative trampoline park offers a wide array of activities for everyone to enjoy including Open Jump, and Ultimate Dodgeball allowing guests to leap, bound and soar. Additionally, fitness fans can burn up to 1,000 calories per session with the park’s original SkyRobics/SkyFitness classes offering dynamic cardio and strength training. Sky Zone locations are the ideal venue for groups seeking unforgettable events such as birthday parties, corporate team building, school field trips and more. Furthermore, a current global trend is the importance of childhood health and fitness. It’s well known that kids need one hour of daily physical activity in order to stay healthy, but it’s nearly impossible to regiment a 60-minute time period as exercise time. Sky Zone offers both kids and parents a fun and exciting way to get their recommended daily exercise and release energy without feeling like they’re working out.
“Shopping centres worldwide are now looking to include entertainment destinations along with food and retail, creating the ideal market condition for Sky Zone,” said Platt. “Sky Zone is the creator of the indoor trampoline park business model, and we are clearly the industry leader of this exploding new, but lasting, category.”
