Franchise Information

Gymboree began in 1976 when Joan Barnes, a mother from California, tried to find a safe, fun place featuring age-appropriate activities for parents and young children to play together. Unable to do so, she did what any enterprising person would; she started her own programme!

We offer three distinctive business models depending on the needs and potential of the intended market.

Gymboree Play & Music Centres are full service centres offering a large range of programming including age-appropriate developmental play programmes, art and music and preschool classes. Play & Music centers are intended for major urban and suburban markets.

Gymboree Metro Play Centres are designed for smaller markets. They are a smaller physical space and offer a limited selection of programming focusing on our Play classes.  After helping you to analyse your intended market area, we will determine which of our business models best suits the opportunity.

Gymboree On-the-Go franchises are mobile franchises where our partners deliver Gymboree programmes in temporary locations such as community centers, sport clubs, schools, kindergartens and daycares. Gymboree On-the-Go franchises are an excellent way to test new markets.

As a Gymboree franchisee, you receive access to Gymboree’s trademarked lesson plans and specially designed proprietary equipment. You also receive a high level of initial training as well as ongoing training and support.

Like many franchisors, we do not provide or authorise our representatives to provide any information on past or possible future financial results. Your financial results will depend on many internal and external factors. We cannot reliably predict, forecast or project future performance, revenues, profits or otherwise for any Gymboree franchise unit. As you go through the due diligence process, we will provide you with guidance to assist you in completing your own business plan.

The total investment required for a Gymboree Play and Music franchise will vary, based on a variety of factors, including the cost of real estate and the choice of operating a either a full Gymboree Play & Music center or a Gymboree Metro Play Centre. We estimate the cost to set-up a Play & Music center in the DACH region to be €117,000 and a Metro Play Center €97,750. For Gymboree On-the-Go franchises, we estimate a start-up cost range of €9,300-€33,250.

Gymboree Play & Music and Play2Learn GmbH are unfortunately not able to  provide assistance with franchisee financial investments.

Successful Gymboree franchise owners come from a wide variety of professional and personal backgrounds. We strongly feel that there must be both a professional and personal fit between you and Gymboree. Here are some factors to consider:

• Are you passionate about working with children and their parents, and believe in the benefits of early childhood learning?
• Do you personally have the skills to set-up and operate a small business, or do you have someone you could partner with that has complementary skills?
• Are you prepared to “get your hands dirty” and participate in all aspects of the business, such as hiring, teaching classes, customer service, marketing and cashflow management?

Gymboree Play & Music is a business which requires a strong owner presence at all times. All site owners will be trained in Gymboree programmes, should be prepared to teach classes, and are required to train their own teaching staff. A Gymboree site requires a full-time commitment.

Gymboree Play & Music currently operates in over 40 countries around the world. We expand our global reach each year. For additional information on franchising outside of the DACH region, please contact Arleta.darusalam@gymboglobal.com. For a list of the countries that have Gymboree Play & Music centers, please view the Gymboree Around the World page.

Step 1: Inquire – contact us for further information. We will send you an Executive Summary document outlining the opportunity and ask you some initial questions.

Step 2: Initial Conversation – if you are interested in pursuing the opportunity further, we will set-up an initial telephone conversation to get to know one another.

Step 3: Apply – if you are interested in going further, we will send you our full information document and ask you to complete a non-disclosure agreement and an application document.

Step 4: Pre-approval and Discovery Day – upon receipt of your application document, we will assess your qualifications to become a Gymboree Play & Music franchisee.  If pre-approved, you will be invited to visit us at our flagship location in Munich for a “Discovery Day”.

Step 5: Business Planning – following the Discovery Day, we will jointly decide whether to move forward together. If this is the case, you will proceed with preparing a detailed business plan and exploring financing options.

Step 6: Franchise Agreement – complete franchise agreement, pay initial franchise fee and begin set-up of your business.  

Step 7: Initial Franchise Training – come to Munich for 5 days of initial franchise training.

Step 8: Launch your Gymboree Play & Music business – find and set-up your location; market your offering; hire and train your team.

Please contact us: Request for Franchise Information

For franchises outside of the DACH region, please contact: arleta.darusalam@gymboglobal.com