COLTS NECK, N.J., Jan. 20, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Retro Fitness, a low-cost, high-value fitness franchise, along with its sister-brand Let's YO!, a fresh, all-natural frozen yogurt shop, announced today the appointment of Ray Lauletti as Vice President of Real Estate and Development.
Lauletti brings to the position 25 years of business and real estate development experience. Most recently, Lauletti served as Director of Development for Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen where he spearheaded the brand's development efforts in the Eastern United States. Throughout his professional career, Lauletti has held other key leadership and real estate development positions for brands such as Sbarro, Boston Market, SuperValu and Friendly's.
In his new position, Lauletti will play a vital role in increasing depth to the brands' franchise development system and franchisee support. Armed with a track record of positive results, Lauletti will work hand-in-hand with Let's YO! and Retro Fitness franchisees to facilitate and execute new store openings by taking them through each step of the sign-to-open process, including site identification, negotiating real estate costs, general support and more. This addition to the franchise development team will streamline the opening process for franchisees and corporate alike, providing extended support to these two rapidly growing franchise concepts.
"I am very excited to add another highly skilled individual to my team. Ray will have an instant impact on helping our franchisees seek out and negotiate the best possible real estate," said Eric Casaburi, founder and CEO of Retro Fitness and Let's YO!. "Ray's previous successes in the industry with other franchise systems will certainly amplify our current expansion efforts. I look forward to personally developing our next few hundred units with Ray and our team."
With more than 100 gyms open in 13 states and another 100 planned to open in 2014, Retro Fitness expects to have more than 300 locations in its franchise system within the next three years. Let's YO! has more than 30 locations in operation across the eastern half of the country, with 50 additional units slated to open along the East Coast within the next year.
About Retro Fitness
Founded in 2004 by entrepreneur Eric Casaburi, Retro Fitness has evolved from a regional Northeast gym concept into a national fitness system with more than 100 gyms open in 13 states. Under Casaburi's leadership, Retro Fitness is expanding its footprint with more than 100 gyms in its development pipeline and plans to open 300 gyms in the next three years in new, major markets, such as Florida, Illinois, California, Maryland, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.. Each Retro Fitness location is equipped with a full-service fitness center, including 60-100 pieces of equipment supplied by leading manufacturers. The burgeoning franchise has placed in the top 300 of Entrepreneur's magazine's prestigious Franchise 500 list for four consecutive years. For more information, please visit www.retrofitness.com, and to learn more about franchise opportunities visit www.retrofranchising.com.
About Let's YO! Yogurt
Founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Eric Casaburi, Let's YO! Yogurt is a frozen yogurt shop built around the social consumer experience – complete with iPads embedded into tables for consumer use. Each location features a sleek, sophisticated futuristic design, providing a high-tech atmosphere for customers. A healthy dessert alternative, Let's YO! offers a superior product offering with more than 80 lines of puréed yogurt options to choose from, along with leading brands such as Bear Naked and Kashi. Let's YO! Yogurt has more than 30 locations in operation, with 50 additional units slated to open throughout the East Coast within the next year. Through its well-managed development strategy, the company's current expansion plans are primarily focused in the New York and New Jersey markets. For more information on franchising opportunities, please visit www.letsyoyogurt.com or email franchising@letsyoyogurt.com.