FDD Talk 2013: Peak Class Enrollment and Monthly Birthday Parties Held at Great Play Units (2013 FDD)

Highlights of Great Play’s Item 19 Financial Performance Representations (2013 FDD) – Part 3

• Table 3 presents information about enrollment growth for Units that opened in 2012, specifically the number of participants enrolled after 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks of opening. The company tracks this information because the more quickly a Unit can ramp up its enrollment, the more quickly it can begin to be profitable.

• A Unit’s ramp up rate depends on many factors including the owner’s efforts at pre-marketing the opening, success with satisfying prospective customers when they take a trial class, and the time of year the Unit opens, along with local factors including competition and market demographics.

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  Table 4 presents information about the peak enrollment for Units, which is the maximum number of customers a Unit had simultaneously enrolled for classes. The company tracks this information because enrollment is a key driver of Unit revenue.

• Peak enrollment is an indication of the overall customer reach the Unit has and Units typically sustain enrollment levels within about 20% of peak for an extended portion of the program year. While local patterns vary, a typical pattern is for enrollment to ramp up during the weeks following the back-to-school timeframe and wind down leading into the summer, when enrollment is seasonally weaker.

• Table 5 presents information about birthday parties held per month. Birthday parties are typically the second largest component of revenue after class enrollment. They also provide a marketing opportunity, introducing party guests to your Unit. So robust party sales can be very helpful to site performance and growth.

• Units are often capacity constrained for birthday parties, with about 4-5 prime party slots and 2-3 non-prime party slots per weekend. Holidays and school vacations can interfere with party sales during certain weekends. Party bookings are seasonally slower in the summer months of July and August in most markets.

Table 3 – Class Enrollment Growth for Units Opened in 2012