INTERNATIONAL in brief...
goodlife expansion GoodLife Fitness, Canada’s leading fi tness club chain, has announced plans for signifi cant expansion over the next fi ve years. The company, which already
operates almost 300 clubs across the country, has now outlined plans to create approximately 100 new clubs by 2016. This comes on the back of an impressive 60 per cent growth in 2009/10, at a time when many other businesses were struggling due to the economic slowdown. A CAN$125m loan from Penfund
– an independent provider of capital to middle-market organisations – will help drive GoodLife Fitness Clubs’ growth plans, as well as allowing for re-investment in existing sites.
altor acquires elixia Altor Fund III has signed an agreement to acquire ELIXIA, the Nordic health and fi tness chain, from Norvestor and its other owners. ELIXIA operates 34 centres in
Norway, 11 in Finland and two in Sweden. It has revenues of NOK 900 million (over £100m). “We see scope for substantial
growth across the region,” says Jaakko Kivinen, partner at Altor Equity Partners. “ELIXIA has demonstrated a
strong track record of profi table growth. We look forward to continuing to develop the business with Altor as the new owner,” says Ståle Angel, CEO of ELIXIA.
dir running track Barcelona-based health club operator DiR launched a new running circuit in the city’s Collserola Park in April. The 9km track includes two areas
for additional physical exercise – parallel bars placed at different heights so people can work their biceps, chest and so on. Two million people visit the park each year. District councillor Ivan Tibau says:
“The effort of private companies such as DiR to promote sport and healthy behaviour to the population of Barcelona is greatly valued.”
16 make serious exercise fun
Fitness franchise Crunch has opened six new sites since the beginning of the year, with a seventh due to open this month. Two clubs opened in California
in January – in Sacramento and San Marcos – with the doors opening at new facilities in Beaverton (Oregon) and
NEWS new franchise sites for crunch
Norwalk (Connecticut) the following month. A further site opened in Norwalk in April; Wayne, New Jersey, opened in May; and El Cajon, California, is scheduled to open this month. Meanwhile, Crunch has teamed up
with well-known fi tness operators Kirk and John Galiani to open 20-plus sites in the mid-Atlantic region. The joint venture has already launched its fi rst two clubs in Washington DC. Each club adheres to the Crunch
mrs.sporty opens in poland Crunch: The US chain’s ethos is to
Mrs.Sporty opened its fi rst club in Poland in April, in the city of Czestochowa. The 180sq m club, equipped by Technogym, is the women-only franchise’s fi rst site in eastern Europe. A second Polish club is already in the
pipeline for Warsaw, with entry into the Slovakian market also planned for 2011. The Mrs.Sporty concept – a fi tness
circuit, plus nutrition advice and personal training – was developed fi ve years ago in conjunction with tennis legend Steffi Graf. The franchise currently operates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, with more than 150,000 active members; the 550th club is scheduled to open this year.
ethos: making serious exercise fun by fusing fi tness and entertainment. The sites measure 1,485–1,860sq m (16,000– 20,000sq ft) with around 80 pieces of CV kit, plus resistance machines and free weights, from manufacturers including Precor, Star Trac and Freemotion. There’s also a diverse group exercise programme.
The women-only franchise concept offers fi tness and nutrition advice
second site for bonga gym in mexico
Bonga Gym, the fi rst low-cost gym chain in Mexico, opened its second club last month in Mexico City. This follows the launch of the inaugural site, also in Mexico City, in March.
Measuring more than 1,200sq m, the gyms offer free weights, resistance and CV equipment from Matrix, plus group exercise classes. Complementing the fi tness facilities are lounge areas, lockers, showers and changing rooms. A gym-only membership costs around US$35 a month, while unlimited access
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
to the gym and group exercise classes is approximately US$50 a month. Joining fees during pre-sale are US$45. Bonga Gym is owned by private equity partners and Fernando Garcia, whose school nickname was ‘Bonga’. Garcia plans to open a further fi ve clubs over the next 12 months; fi ve of the initial seven sites will be in Mexico City. A second wave of development will see another 10 clubs being developed, both in Mexico City and in other main cities across the country.
june 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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