Freedom Boat Club was ranked No. 1 in the Misc. Recreational Business Category in Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual rankings and was #309 in the overall 2018 Franchise 500 list. That’s a jump from the #398 spot in 2017. The list was published in the magazine’s January/February 2018 issue.
“We are especially pleased by our positive upward momentum in the overall rankings, along with our #1 ranking in the miscellaneous recreation business category,” said Freedom Boat Club president and CEO John Giglio in a statement. “Freedom Boat Club has experienced outstanding North American growth this past year and are poised for continued expansion including major international development in 2018.”
Over the past year, Freedom Boat Club launched more than 40 new club locations throughout the United States and Canada. The company currently operates 150 locations in North America, servicing a base of more than 16,000 members and operating a fleet of more than 1,600 boats.
“Our proven boat club model offers many advantages for members and has gained widespread acceptance as consumers continue to understand and more fully embrace the sharing economy,” said Giglio. “In addition, our franchise model provides a business-in-a-box formula for success, flanked by a very strong corporate training and support program. We are very fortunate to enjoy a very active and engaged group of franchise owner-operators who are keen to collaborate and share best practices in order to facilitate their own expansion and improved profitability.”
Entrepreneur said that the key factors it considered in the evaluation included costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength and financial strength and stability. Companies on the list are given a cumulative score based on more than 150 data points and the 500 franchises with the highest cumulative scores make up the Franchise 500.
