Getting to know Fernwood Fitness

Fernwood Fitness is a franchised business operating in the health and fitness sector. Established in 1989, Fernwood revolutionised the landscape of health and fitness for Australian women forever.

Now featuring 70+ clubs nationwide, the health and fitness clubs are synonymous across Australia for being the experts in women’s health, fitness and wellness, and their empowering and supportive community.

Owner and Founder, Diana Williams has earned inductions into the Australian Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Franchise Council of Australia Hall of Fame in 2007, as well as winning the Australian Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Award in 2005.

Every Fernwood club is purpose-built for balance, offering everything from strength and weight training to high-intensity workouts, yoga, Pilates, meditation, nutrition coaching and more, so women can feel fitter, stronger, and healthier in a way that complements their individual needs and lifestyles.

Back in the 1980s, it was unusual for women to work out with weights, as most women who did join a gym only did aerobic exercises. As a member of a co-ed gym, Ms Williams was inspired by the impact that weight training had on the female body, though at that time weight training was mostly focused on the male demographic.

Williams felt the need to create an environment where women felt safe and comfortable to get into weight training so they too could experience the physiological and metabolic benefits, so she opened a small women’s-only gym.

Initially, the intention was to operate a small business, but the concept took off and her passion for building the business grew into a much bigger project than initially expected.

Fernwood is the only full-service, female-only gym in Australia. There are a handful of other small box studios around, but nothing on the same level as Fernwood.

A main point of difference is the high level of member service which is very different to other low-cost model and box studios – all services and operations are tailored to the needs of women.

On top of weight and strength training, Fernwood offer a huge variety of group fitness classes, its’ own signature small group HIIT workouts (FIIT30), reformer Pilates, personal training, nutrition coaching, and many of our clubs also offer childcare as part of the service, understanding that women are often primary caregivers.

Members receive complimentary breakfast and other special touches such as hair styling tools, toiletries and other necessities not found in other gyms. Fernwood makes it easy for women to customise their health and fitness routines based on their lifestyle.

Many modern women of today prefer to have their own safe and comfortable space to work out, rather than in a mixed environment.

The fact that Fernwood is exclusively female, creates a wonderful feeling of calm and contentment – no comparisons, no egos – simply women working out together, having fun and supporting one another within a strong community where they can feel understood.

Fernwood also caters to a growing number of Islamic members who cannot work out in a mixed environment, which is something they pride themselves on. Health and fitness should be easily accessible to all women regardless of their race, religion or ability, and Fernwood is here to empower every woman.

Fernwood intends to continue to flood the market with easily accessible health, fitness and wellness programs that can be customised to complement women’s lives. With detailed and expansive plans to grow both domestically and internationally, they have modified the business model to include smaller footprint clubs alongside large format footprint clubs.

Traditionally occupying 800 – 1,000 square metre sites, this new format for the Fernwood franchise model will allow them explore areas where larger real estate spaces have been impossible to find and make the Fernwood brand accessible to a greater number of women.

Fernwood Fitness certainly fits the demographic of female shoppers to complement Large Format Retail stores, and LFRA members are welcomed to get in contact with Fernwood at any time.

Fernwood’s Franchise Development Manager, Helen Alfa, has 35 years of experience working in the health, fitness and wellness industry. She is responsible for franchise development and growth, approving new franchisees, and coordinating and training of the franchisee journey.

If you wish to chat about Fernwood’s needs and expectations in locations across the country or to see if there are any upcoming developments that would suit, Helen can be reached via franchising@fernwoodfitness.com.au.

Fernwood is actively looking to grow the network by at least one club in every state this half of the year in order to fill the growing number of approved franchisees looking for their dream site.

With the recently updated franchise model approved, prospective franchisees can open their ideal Fernwood Fitness club based on their vision, resources, and site footprint. With the ongoing additions of new sites to the network, Fernwood can continue to empower women across Australia and beyond.