fi tness
franchises Sunset at the
In the second of a two-part series on the arrival in India of the international fitness franchise (see HCM July 11 for part one), Kate Cracknell looks at the opportunities, challenges and potential pitfalls of operating in this market
INTO INDIA SNAP FITNESS – NO FRILLS
ENTRY TO INDIA: 2008 NUMBER OF SITES: 24 EXPANSION PLANS: 300 sites in the next three years
“I
ndia is one of the fastest- growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region, making
the potential for success enormous,” says Snap Fitness CEO Peter Taunton. “Around 30 per cent of its 1.2 billion population live in urban India, with exposure to a modern lifestyle and an awareness of fitness and health growing through the media and Bollywood film industry. It therefore has, I believe, the highest potential for fi tness growth in Asia-Pacifi c – indeed, the industry is already growing by around 30–35 per cent each year.” Mohan Kumar of the Snap Fitness
India team adds: “The industry was previously dominated by local players with sub-standard equipment, but the entry of international players has brought facilities up to international standards. Average fees now
vary from US$250 to US$1,000 a year.” Taunton continues:
“Snap Fitness clubs have a similar look and feel across the globe, with some slight alterations to suit the market. Things like
interiors, fl ooring, showers and
so on have been changed as the weather in India and the US is different.
“Also, Snap Fitness clubs in the US
have minimal staff, but in India we have 14 staff for each club including trainers, sales team, management team and admin people. In India, we also operate 18 hours a day wherever local permissions are not granted for 24/7 operation. “Internationally, Snap Fitness operates
on a master franchisor model due to the convenience of local expertise. We believe localising the model and approach without compromising the business model will always yield better results, and this is proven time and again.” Kumar says: “Convincing members to
join a ‘no frills’ fi tness club as opposed to a big box club has been easier than expected. We offer three- to seven-day free trials and we’ve found that people have picked convenience over everything else when choosing a fi tness club.”
Friendly faces: The Indian market demands a higher staff presence than in the US
52 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital However, he adds: “We faced a couple
of challenges that had the potential to affect our growth plan: real estate costs and talent. In terms of real estate, lease- holding expenses are comparatively very high, which in turn affects the bottom line of the club. We’re trying to improve our negotiations with real estate owners by showing our current success, growth plans and so on. We also focus on higher sales fi gures for each club, helping compensate for the expense of the lease. “Meanwhile, the availability of qualifi ed
trainers is sparse – the growth in trainer numbers is way behind the growth in club numbers. We have plans for a Snap Academy in India, focusing on training the trainers and providing them with career opportunities. Based on our projected growth, Snap Fitness alone will require a signifi cant growth of the talent pool.” And for those considering entering
India, Taunton urges: “Study the market. Fitness might be a global industry, but each local market is different, and in India each individual state has its own culture, language and mode of operating.”
august 2011 © cybertrek 2011
WORLD WORLD
FOCUS
Gateway to India in Mumbai
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