The Great Khali eyes gym chain

The professional wrestler Dalip Singh Rana, better known by his ring name The Great Khali, to flex his muscles at the gym, is planning to set up 50 gyms in India in a year and then look abroad. The USP being a combination of gym with fitness and wrestling.

‘’The theme of the gyms would look like a wrestling ring. As members enter the gym, Khali will greet them with an automated voice message. There will be a Khali gallery, which will display and sell merchandise like clothes and boots,’’ says Ankur Makan, Khali’s man handling the project.

To be launched as the The Great Khali Gym & Fitness Club, the large format gyms spread across 4,500-5,000 sq ft will come with unique features like a lounge, kids area, the Khali gallery, marathon track and usual ones like two spas, two Jacuzzis, sweat room, which can be used by 40-45 people at any given time. Users will have to shell out Rs 27,000-28,000 a year, which is similar to what premium gyms charge in Indian metros. 

Khali’s franchisees will have to invest Rs 3.5 crore in gym infrastructure, including approximately Rs 35 lakh sign-up fees to be paid to Khali. A franchisee will also incur variable costs of Rs 50-60 lakh a year, but can hope to make revenues of Rs 3.5 crore a year. ‘’Assuming a gym can get 700 members, it can make Rs 2 crore per annum purely from gym revenues. Plus, it could hope to make Rs 1.5 crore in revenues from the lounge, the Khali gallery, self-defence training for kids, zumba, aerobics, power yoga,’’ says Makan.

The lounge will sell food supplements like protein bars that sell for Rs 2,000/kg while the gallery will sell merchandise for wrestling. These are likely to be the two key non-gym revenues, says Makan. Every gym will be personally inaugurated by Khali. ‘’He doesn’t want to compromise on the service parameters like hygiene, personal trainers, and wants to ensure that it doesn’t spoil his name,’’ says Makan. 

The first gym will come up in Jaipur by January, and the second one in Delhi. Gyms in Tier-II or Tier-III cities will be smaller— these will have fewer machines, and one spa and one Jacuzzi. Khali is doing this project under Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE), his company which has set up a wrestling academy in Jalandhar in Punjab that has over 350 students. After India, Khali wants to open gyms in markets like the US, Canada and Dubai, where he enjoys good following.

Virat Kohli-backed Chisel Fitness plans 100 centres by 2018

Chisel, the Virat Kohli-backed fitness start-up, is set to introduce technology-enabled workout routines, targeting young information technology workers, as it expands its network of fitness centres across India.

Targeting 100 centres across the country by 2018, the Bengaluru-based start-up is planning to launch its own fitness devices and will introduce ‘gamified’ fitness routines. While technology will play a big part in fitness, Chisel believes there’s no alternative to having a physical presence and giving users access to qualified trainers.

“Fitness is all about being physical. You cannot just use some watch to track your calories and not work out. It has to be a combination of technology and the environment of where you go that motivates you to work out. We are thinking of coming out with our own brand, which can sync with our programmes,” said Satya Sinha, co-founder of Chisel.

To grow its base of centres, Chisel is looking at a hybrid model of having its own centres along with signing up franchise partners. The firm isn’t just looking at tapping customers in metros, but also in tier-2 towns such as Guwahati and Indore in the coming months. For this, it has come up with four different levels of centres, varying in luxury and size.

The investment demanded by franchise partners is between Rs 1 crore and Rs 3.5 crore, depending on the level they choose. Chisel charges Rs 25-35 lakh as annual franchise fee, while offering partners a business model that allows them to break even within 25-30 months.

A large part of that fee will go towards training and certifying trainers and staff in each of the centres under Chisel. “Hiring and training is our responsibility because we believe only a certified and experienced trainer will help members achieve their goals,” said Sinha.

Chisel has signed up 18 partners and opened three centres. The firm plans to open four more centres in April, one of which will be located in Manyata Tech Park, where Chisel will target young IT workers who are prone to several health and fitness issues because of their lifestyle.

With an investment of Rs 90 crore in Chisel, Kohli's biggest competition will come from SportsFit, a chain of gyms backed by teammate Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Chisel will also compete with global brands such as Gold’s Gym, which functions in the premium fitness segment.

“There are a lot of international brands, but we want to introduce fitness concepts that are tailored for the Indian body type and mindset. We can’t completely copy what they do because the food we eat is different, the body type is different and we have conceptualised our brand around that,” added Sinha.

Anytime Fitness planning to double number of gyms in India

US-based health and fitness chain Anytime Fitness is planning to double the number of gyms in India to 40 by the year end.

"We have opened 20 units right now and we are projecting to have 20 more by the end of this year. So we would double our size," said Anytime Fitness director of International Operations Eric Keller.

"Apart from Delhi and Mumbai, we are looking at exploring markets in the country to provide world class workout centres in tier 2 cities," he added.

Majorly planning to capture the northern market, the company, which recently opened a new center at North Delhi, is planning to have five centres each in Gurgaon and Delhi. Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore regions would contribute 10, while it is looking to open 10 gyms in Punjab.

"We are coming up majorly in Punjab, where we are looking at centres like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Chandigarh," Anytime Fitness India managing director Vikas Jain said. The new centres would be mainly franchises, although the company is looking at other models as well.

On being asked about expected network of Anytime Fitness in the coming years, Keller said: "India has potential to have at least 100 of them in next 3-4 years... as franchise is more accepted and demand for our business model is growing, I do not see any reason that we would not have 500 gyms or more in next 15 years."

However, he added that availability of suitable real estate in large cities is a challenge, although growth potential is good for the next 5-10 years.

Virat Kohli launches Chisel, a chain of fitness centres

With celebrity-backed ventures becoming the new trend in consumer businesses, cricketers too are joining the fray with unique enterprises. Recently, Virat Kohli was present at the launch of Chisel, a chain of gym and fitness centres, which he has started. With investment of Rs 190 crore in sight, the plans are to launch 75 centres in three years under the brand name Chisel.

This brand is jointly owned by Kohli, Chisel Fitness and CSE, the sister concern of Cornerstone Sport & Entertainment, which is the agency that manages Kohli.

 "We will launch gyms of various sizes and with different facilities according to their locations," said Satya Sinha, Director of Chisel Fitness, a Bangalore-based startup that specializes in corporate fitness. 

Kohli is not the first cricketer to switch role from cricket pitch to entrepreneurship in the recent time. Speaking on the occasion, he said, "Fitness and good health are extremely important for a happy and successful life.

The brand under the celebrity-status of Indian cricket team’s vice-captain is hopeful of making it big in around Rs 1,300 crore Indian fitness industry comprising branded fitness chains and standalone gyms.