Shorewood Development Group

Technology-fueled swim school franchise is on track to achieve goal of 150 units by 2021

CHICAGO –In late 2018, Big Blue Swim School, a Chicago-based children’s swim school announced its plans to reach 150 units by 2021 by partnering with growth-minded franchise partners across the U.S. So far in 2019, the brand has already made good on its plans, with the signing of three major multi-unit deals for 16 units brining 10 locations to Chicago, Illinois and six to Minneapolis, Minnesota; five units in Denver, Colorado; and three units in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In March, Big Blue Swim School also opened its fifth Chicagoland corporate location, in the North Center neighborhood of Chicago. This opening was the strongest in the system to date, with 1,400 memberships sold before the doors opened, cementing the brand’s pre-opening marketing strategy to be mirrored for all future new openings.

Former Orangetheory franchisees Wendy and Erik Skaalerud will bring five locations to the Denver area; Sun Stop Sunglasses franchisees Zack and Brittany Groesbeck will bring three Big Blue Swim Schools to Salt Lake City; and Shorewood Development Group CEO and father of five Big Blue Swim School members Louis Schriber III along with Aaron Roth will bring 16 locations to Chicago and Minneapolis.

In addition to aligning with experienced franchise partners with business acumen and the potential to grow the brand in their respective communities, Big Blue Swim School has also focused on building its leadership team. In early 2019, former PepsiCo executive Brooke Mallick joined Big Blue Swim School as VP of Marketing, former Premium Service Brands and College Hunks Hauling Junk executive Justin Waltz joined as VP of Franchise Operations, and franchise industry veteran Catherine Monson joined the brand’s Board of Directors.

“We’ve kicked off 2019 in a big way — by signing major agreements in new markets with incredible franchise partners, with several more in various stages of development,” said Scott Thompson, Chief Development Officer for Big Blue Swim School. “We have also solidified our leadership team to ensure that this will be a huge year for the growth of this brand.”

To keep the momentum going, Thompson and his team have had a presence at many key franchise industry conferences so far in 2019, including the International Franchise Association Conference in Las Vegas in February, and the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas, the bi-annual FranNet conference in Atlanta and the Great American Franchise Expo in Dallas in March.

Looking ahead in 2019, Big Blue Swim School plans to exhibit at the International Franchise Expo in New York in late May, in addition to hosting Dive-In Day events for brokers, and regionally in Phoenix and Seattle in July and Dallas and Houston in August, which will allow Big Blue Swim School executives to present the brand to groups of 50-100 potential investors.

“In the first few months of 2019, we have been laser-focused on building our infrastructure, developing our strategic growth plan and franchise marketing materials, and hiring the right leaders to join our executive team,” said Thompson. “With 24 committed franchise locations and two corporate leases signed, we plan to have at least 50 committed locations by the end of 2019. We are well on our way of achieving our goal of 150 open units by the end of 2021.”

Husband-and-Wife Franchisee Duo Zack and Brittany Groesbeck signed a three-unit deal to bring the technology-rich swim instruction concept to the Salt Lake City market.

SALT LAKE CITY — Leading swim instruction franchise Big Blue Swim School is coming to Salt Lake City this year as part of a three-unit deal signed by husband-and-wife franchisees Zack and Brittany Groesbeck. The pair own a series of sunglass retail locations throughout Utah and Zack is a Director of Sales for Maui Jim Sunglasses. The Groesbecks are still working with the Big Blue development team to secure prime real estate, but plan to open one location each year for the next three years and to potentially develop the entire Utah market.

Founded by U.S. National Champion swimmer Chris DeJong after he missed qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 and 2008 by three-tenths of a second—just behind Michael Phelps—Big Blue Swim School takes a holistic approach to swim instruction, developing critical life skills like confidence and self-esteem consistent with children’s developmental levels. Big Blue is now positioned to become a dominant player in the $20 billion swim school industry thanks to key differentiators such as Lesson Buddy™, a proprietary and easy-to-use lesson management platform and customer self-service mobile app; a proven curriculum; and optimized operational model involving data-driven capacity planning.

The Groesbecks’ journey to Big Blue Swim School is a fascinating one. After witnessing a tragic drowning incident at their local pool several summers ago, the Groesbecks—themselves parents of two young children—knew that they wanted to commit themselves to promoting pool safety and providing unparalleled swim instruction through a swim school franchising opportunity. They first looked into Goldfish Swim School, where their children were enrolled. After unsuccessfully negotiating territories with Goldfish, Zack decided to look elsewhere. Once the Groesbecks learned about Big Blue’s proprietary teaching and real estate-sourcing technology, scheduling software and dual-pool model, they were hooked.

The Groesbecks have signed a three-unit development deal with plans to open one location a year for three years, along with the goal of eventually developing the entire market and expanding the Big Blue footprint to eight or nine locations. The duo is presently in the midst of locking in real estate for their first location, but is ecstatic to bring Big Blue Swim School to Salt Lake City this year.

“Zack and Brittany are just truly awesome people,” said Big Blue Swim School’s Chief Development Officer, Scott Thompson. “They have young kids in a swim school and Brittany herself embodies our target customer, so they have an incredibly valuable perspective. Additionally, they understand the Salt Lake City market and are right in-line with Big Blue’s philosophy concerning the importance of water safety and swim education. We’re thrilled to welcome them to the Big Blue family.”

The Groesbecks identified Salt Lake City as the perfect market for Big Blue Swim School development because Utah claims the youngest population in the U.S. and families in the state often include four or more children.

“It’s an extremely family-oriented community—every extra dollar goes to their children, and into extracurricular activities or programs to their benefit,” said Brittany Groesbeck.

“Today, parents are leery of contact sports and looking for alternatives for their children,” said Zack Groesbeck. “That’s Big Blue Swim School.”

Nation’s Leading Swim School Franchise’s Newest Franchise Partners Led by Louis Schriber III and Aaron Roth to Bring 10 Locations to Chicagoland, Six More to Twin Cities

CHICAGO — Big Blue Swim School, the nation’s leading swim school franchise, is excited to announce a new partnership with Shorewood Development Group to bring 10 new locations to Chicagoland and an additional six locations to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

Shorewood Development Group, a Buffalo Grove, Illinois-based commercial real estate firm specializing in infill retail shopping center development, brings a wealth of relevant experience to the Big Blue Swim School franchise family. Led by Louis Schriber III and Aaron Roth, SDG Swim, LLC’s 16 locations will be managed by Jeff Plazak and Rachel Chavez.

“I was first introduced to Big Blue Swim School when my children attended lessons in Glenview. Being in real estate development, we knew some early investors in the brand and were intrigued,” said Schriber. “Once the Level 5 team got involved with Big Blue, we knew this was of significant interest to us and started pursuing the brand as another business to grow within our Shorewood investment model.”

Added Roth, “My excitement about the opportunity and the brand increased after flying down to Atlanta and meeting the Level 5 team. Their energy, passion and vision for Big Blue Swim School was contagious, and made me a believer of the model, culture and future of the brand.”

Like Big Blue Swim School co-founder Chris DeJong, Schriber has a long history with competitive swimming. Raised on the water in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, swimming has always been a part of his life.

“Growing up both on and in the water, I recognize that not only is water safety extremely important, but also that being a skilled swimmer opens the doors to adventure and fun,” said Schriber. “As a result of always being in the water, I was a natural at swimming. I swam varsity all four years of high school and continued to swim competitively in college for the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.”

Fast forward to 2019, and the team at Shorewood Development Group is prepared and excited to tap into its vast knowledge and network in the commercial development space to expand Big Blue Swim School’s presence throughout Chicagoland and into the Twin Cities market.

“We have a deep understanding of the Chicago market and are extremely well-connected here, which gives us confidence in our ability to select the ideal locations for our swim schools,” said Schriber. “Signing on for the exclusive rights to the remaining Chicagoland territory was critical for us to be able to be hands-on and grow our schools to both our and Big Blue’s high standards.”

Thanks to Roth’s roots in Orono, Minnesota, Shorewood Development Group has a strong familiarity with the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and feel that is one of the premier markets in the Midwest for expansion. Coupled with Big Blue Swim School’s analytical ability to identify top markets, the brand’s new franchisees are well-equipped to execute.

“Other than just being my home state, Minnesota is truly an amazing, thriving market full of active, family-oriented people that really focus on their kids,” said Roth. “It also doesn’t hurt that Minnesota is ‘The Land of 10,000 Lakes’ — where people love the outdoors and regularly interact with water, marking swimming a must-have skill. This makes our schools and services very important to the families in the community.”

“Aaron and Louis both have large families, each with five children all under the age of 14. They are intimately familiar with the important role swimming plays in kids’ lives,” said Scott Thompson, Chief Development Officer of Big Blue Swim School. “Their experience as business owners and ability to take existing real estate, envision a totally new product and execute in accordance to that vision are exceptional. They have the same vision for Big Blue Swim School and there’s no doubt in my mind that their locations will be something to behold. Their ability to grow and retain top-tier employees gives us the utmost confidence that our schools will be in great hands with Jeff and Rachel leading the way.”

“We feel confident that our partnership has the necessary market knowledge, analytics and personnel to make the right decisions and get open quickly with the right locations,” Schriber said. “Our immediate goal is to fulfill our commitment to these 16 schools while continuing to evaluate new market options to expand into. We couldn’t be more excited to begin our journey with Big Blue Swim School and feel these 16 schools are just the beginning.”