| News & Know How | On The Move Special Events
World Class Stages Summer Sports Championship
World Class, the growing club chain owned by the Russian Fitness Group, recently sponsored an exciting, two-day Summer Sports Championship and World Class Games event at the Yantar Stadium in Moscow, which was followed, in turn, by a sport ballroom dancing competition and awards ceremony. Svetlana Kuznetsova, the celebrated professional tennis player who won the 2004 U.S. Open and 2009 French Open, presided over the opening ceremonies. More than 1,000 club members, from World Class facilities in Moscow,
Ufa, Saratov, Ivanovo, Novgorod, Nizhniy, Vladimir, Khabarovsky, and Saint Petersburg, participated in the competition, which included swimming, volleyball, table tennis, water polo, cross-country running, and a triathlon. The grand prize went, for the third year in a row, to the World Class Kuncevo team. Some 20 couples participated in the dancing competition, which involved
Latin, European, and free-style routines; a sport festival was also offered for children between the ages of three and five. —|
Standing room only at World Class sports spectacular
NEFC is a private-equity firm that was
created by industry veteran Mark Mastrov, who founded 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide, Inc., and his business partner, Jim Rowley, a former 24 Hour executive. “No matter the economic climate, fitness-
based businesses continue to post profits as consumers view a gym membership as a necessity, not a luxury,” explains Rowley, who serves as the CEO of Crunch. “Our goal in offering franchise opportunities is to accelerate the growth of this unique entity and to share the Crunch experience with as many people as possible.” Crunch currently has more than 20 sites
in the U.S.; recently opened its first club in Australia; will unveil its first franchise opera- tions, in Lake Forest, California, and Portland, Oregon, this fall; and already has more than 50 franchise locations underway in the U.S. and abroad. —|
Vivafit Signs Master-Franchise Agreement for India
Vivafit, the largest women-only fitness chain in Portugal, has signed its first master-franchise agreement to facilitate its move into the Indian market. The master franchisee, Manisha Ahlawat, plans to open her first club in Delhi this fall, and Vivafit hopes to have more than 1,000 facilities operating in India within the next 10 years. “We want to focus on expanding the brand into
the high-growth countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China,” explains Pedro Ruiz, the CEO of Vivafit. “Latin America is also a priority area, with potential for expansion in countries like Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador.” Vivafit currently has 113 gyms in Portugal,
intends to open an additional 10 this year, and projects to have a total of 150 there by 2012. —|
Franchising
Crunch Fitness Embarks on Franchising Path Crunch Fitness, the innovative club chain best known for its special ability to make fitness fun, has launched an ambitious new franchise initiative. Founded in 1989 by Doug Levine, the company changed hands several times, and, in May 2009, was purchased out of bankruptcy by the New Evolution Fitness Company (NEFC).
28 Club Business Internat ional | OCTOBER 2010 | www.
ihrsa.org
Pedro Ruiz, l.; Manisha Ahlawat, center, and partner Mamta Singh
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