US-headquartered
health and fitness chain Snap Fitness, which entered the Indian market in 2008
with a centre in Bengaluru, is looking to expand its India footprint to 300
centres in three years.
Snap Fitness, which
claims to be among the first to offer 24/7 access to members, along with
nutrition and diet counselling, currently operates 60 fitness centres across 11
cities nationwide. It has centres in three formats — 3,000 sq ft, 4,000 sq ft
and 5,000 sq ft, and has a user base of 60,000 members.
The chain has
introduced two-fitness related products — the International Access Card, which
gives members access to any of the 2,500 Snap Fitness centres located in the
US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Mexico and Egypt; and Myzone, a wi-fi
enabled area in the centres that allows members to track their workouts and monitor
their heart rates via devices.
A free Myzone app
allows members to stream and review the activity results from a smartphone,
anywhere.
“India was the first
country I entered into outside of the US in 2008,” said Peter Taunton, Global
CEO and President, Snap Fitness. “While we are growing at a steady pace, we
could grow much faster if entrepreneurs who want to be our business partners
have access to loans from large banking institutions at fair interest rates.”
It costs ₹1.6
crore to set up a Snap Fitness centre, he explained. “The
entrepreneur has to contribute 30 per cent, the rest of the capital has to be
raised from banks or other financing institutions, which is not forthcoming,”
he added.
In sharp contrast to
the situation in India, Australia/NewZealand, a market that the company entered
three years after India, already has 230 centres, he pointed out.
The $2-billion
fitness and wellness market in India, which is dominated by weight loss and
beauty treatment services, is growing at a healthy clip of 25-30, fuelled by
rising income levels and changing lifestyles, said Dr Vikram BM, owner of Force
Fitness Pvt Ltd, which holds the master franchise for Snap Fitness in India.
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