Q&A Nick Coutts
The former CEO of Holmes Place Iberia, now CEO of start-up venture Fitness Hut, talks to Julie Cramer about exceeding expectations at every level
Why did you decide to launch your own chain of fitness clubs? For a long time I’d wanted to work on a brand that was my own creation. In my last couple of years as CEO of Holmes Place Iberia, I’d become disillusioned. The wheels had fallen off the Spanish and Portuguese economies and we were under a great deal of pressure to deliver results in a challenging economy. One thing became very clear to me: a higher-end, higher-priced fitness product was no longer right for this type of environment.
How would you describe Fitness Hut? The brand will be based on a premium low-cost model, but we are not going into the market solely to be the cheapest on price. We want to exceed expectations at every level – in terms of the design, quality of equipment, fitness instructors and class schedules, as well as the club’s social element. Nevertheless, we’ll be a third of the price of the high-end
brands and half the price of the mid-market chains. Fitness offers in Portugal have always been very expensive – people can pay 55 a month just for a municipal club, and these are not the same quality as in the UK.
Who’s involved in Fitness Hut? There are three directors: me and two of my former colleagues from Holmes Place. Andre Groen is expansion and development director, concentrating on the design and
Each Fitness Hut club will have three fi tness studios and a full programme of classes
build, and JP Carvalho is in charge of sales and marketing. My focus is on the product. Our fi nancing bank is Banco Popular, and we also have
backing from a Portuguese private equity and real estate fi rm, EDGE Capital, which also happens to be the landlord of our fi rst Fitness Hut site.
What stage are you at? Our first club in central Lisbon is scheduled to open this month, with a further two sites due to open by the end of 2011. After that, we’re aiming to open between six and 10 clubs each year – starting in the greater Lisbon area and also in some other Portuguese cities.
What was the inspiration behind the brand? I spent a lot of time researching the concept, going to events like SIBEC and IHRSA and talking to as many people as possible. I love hearing about new ideas and networking with others in the industry. I did a tour of European clubs in Holland, Germany and the UK, where the premium low-cost idea has been pioneered. But I wasn’t just looking at budget models. I also visited unique and inspirational clubs – places like The Third Space in London.
What can members expect? We’re really looking to blow people’s socks off when they walk through the door! We haven’t scrimped on the equipment and have put a lot of money into designing an inspirational space – both for the members and the people who work there. The interior design is a little bit urban, but not too aggressive, with a mostly blue and white colour scheme and accents of orange. We’ve put in high quality, top of the range pieces of
equipment such as Keiser Infi nity and Star Trac’s eSpinner, as well as some exciting one-off pieces of kit like Jacobs Ladder. Inspired very much by the CrossFit phenomenon (see HCM Jan 11, p40), we’ve also invested in an extensive range of functional training equipment including sand bags, TRX, BOSU, Powerbags, kettlebells, Powerbands, battling ropes, Plyoboxes, climbing ropes and even JCB tyres. Each club will be a minimum 1860sq m (20,000sq ft) with
650–740sq m (7,000–8,000sq ft) for the gym fl oor. There will be three group fi tness studios, as we felt it was really important to offer a full schedule and range of classes. There’s also a sprint track, a fi ght zone, and a functional training area that can be used by the personal training community.
What’s the deal for personal trainers at Fitness Hut? Our aim is to build a truly excellent community of PTs who can operate their own profitable businesses. We’ll interview
46 Read Health Club Management online at
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