Athletic Republic Franchise Sales Off to a Fast Start in 2008

Nine new franchises awarded in the U.S. and Canada during January and February.

Fargo, ND (PRWEB) March 8, 2008 -- Athletic Republic CEO Charlie Graves said today that interest in Athletic Republic franchise opportunities has never been higher. Noting the fact that nine new franchises have been awarded since the first of the year, Graves cited parents' commitment to helping their children reach their full potential, the past year's corporate re-branding effort and the addition of Vice-President of Business Development, Kevin Barker, as three driving forces behind franchise growth.

"The addition of seasoned sales executive Kevin Barker to the established business development team, coupled with a focused advertising and communications effort, has created a significant amount of interest in Athletic Republic franchise opportunities, " said Graves. "On top of that, the performance sports training industry in general is really taking off."

Graves added: "Parents are investing more and more in their children's potential. What used to be limited to piano lessons and dance classes now includes performance sports training. With more than 20 million 10-18 year-old athletes participating in organized team sports, parents are committed to giving their child every competitive advantage they can."

Since Graves and his investor group acquired Frappier Acceleration Sports Training last April, and re-branded it Athletic Republic in July, awareness of the 17 year-old company has reached new heights. Just last Sunday, the New York Times Play Magazine featured Chelsea Piers BlueStreak, an Athletic Republic franchise, in a story about an aging weekend warrior who turned to BlueSteak's soccer-specific performance sports training program to stem the tide of decline in his speed and agility.

Graves observed: "Over the past year, Athletic Republic's re-branding effort has extended to every facet of the business. Our science-based sports training system has always provided developing athletes of all ages the advantage of increased speed, power and agility. We've simply revised our product packaging and training delivery system to heighten awareness of who we are and what we do. When you couple our re-branding effort with 17-years of research and the fact that over 500,000 athletes have successfully completed our 6-8 week long performance sports training programs, it's easy to see why our franchise offering is attracting investors and operators who want to introduce Athletic Republic to their community."

Over the past 60 days, the following franchises have been awarded: Shreveport, Louisiana; Rochester and Shelby, Michigan; Fergus Falls, Minnesota: Clifton Park, New York: Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Cornwall and Vaughan, Ontario; and New Braunfels, Texas. Going forward, the company's franchise sales strategy will continue to focus on key U.S. markets, including: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Orange County, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, South Florida and Washington D.C.

About Athletic Republic:
Athletic Republic, formerly Frappier Acceleration® Sports Training, is the world's premiere provider of scientifically based, athletic development training programs. Founded in 1990 on the continuing research of exercise physiologist John Frappier, M.S., and Stephen C. Swanson, M.S., Athletic Republic's training programs are available at more than 160 facilities throughout North America, United Kingdom and Japan.

For more information about Athletic Republic, visit www.athleticrepublic.com, or contact Deb Uglem at (701) 241-9018.

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