NEW OPENING
Big box versus microgym
“For me, 20,000sq ft is our sweet spot,” says Gymbox CEO Richard Hilton. “We have one smaller site in Old Street which is around 10,000sq ft. At that club, rather than try and squeeze everything in and not do it all properly, we dropped one discipline: combat. “I would do that again, but
I prefer to offer everything in each of our clubs, so really 20,000sq ft is ideal. The big box gym is still a very strong model, even in the days of the specialist microgyms. We strive to be best in class across every aspect of our offering, whether that’s free weights or classes. And if you do everything really well, you won’t be threatened by the microgyms. We had a boutique club open right near us in Holborn and we didn’t lose any members to it. Neither have we lost members to other mainstream clubs. “The key is to ensure that every
element of your offering is able to compete with a specialist club that offers only that discipline.”
when I came back I put together a business pitch for a new gym concept. I wanted to create a gym business with a distinctive look and feel that inspired and compelled you to exercise. It would be targeted at 18- to 40-year-olds, and – drawing on my advertising background – we would very much speak their language. That means Gymbox is a polarising brand – you either love it or hate it – but I believe you have to have confi dence in what you’re saying and be consistent with your brand at all times. “I wanted to use interior designers
and light designers and sound engineers, not gym designers. And I wanted the heartbeat to be the classes – to ensure these really differentiated us. “I needed £2.5m, but at fi rst I couldn’t
raise it. Then I approached Fitness First and they immediately loved it, putting in £2m. That was in 2001, and I opened the fi rst club in Holborn in September 2003.” I ask Hilton about some of the
quirkier PR stunts Gymbox has done in the past, and he says: “We had to get our brand on the map, but our approach
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The Gymbox clubs and branding are targeted at 18- to 40-year-olds
People are always very keen to throw the
spotlight on their new sites, but for me you have to look at an operator’s old clubs. That’s how you see the strength of the brand
is more sophisticated now. It’s more about word-of-mouth and social media. “The challenge now is how to keep
the creativity in the business as it grows. It feels like a start-up still – people still think we’re the new kid on the block – so how can we maintain that, going from being a cool small business to a cool bigger business?” Because the business is certainly
growing. Having received a cash injection from Octopus Ventures in 2010, which helped it grow from three to fi ve clubs, it then received £10m from the Business Growth Fund (BGF) in 2014 – the investor at Octopus had moved to BGF – as well as an additional £7m in fresh loans. “The original idea was to open another
three clubs, but the two we’ve already opened – Old Street and Westfi eld Stratford – are already doing so well that we’re now going to open four,” says Hilton. “We’ll open our eighth club in Victoria in October or November 2015, and there’s another central London site we’re in the process of signing.
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital “After that, it’s really a case of
balancing how big the business can be versus where I can take it myself. I believe it has huge potential. “London is core for the brand, but
it could also work well in other big UK cities – Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle – and internationally. That’s not on my radar though. I want to continue what we’re doing, take small steps and do it well. If the business ever gets that big, it may or may not be while I’m in charge.” All of which sounds like he’s getting
ready to move on, I suggest. “The business is not for sale,” clarifi es Hilton.
“But it’s a business, not my personal pension fund or a lifestyle. If at some point I’m approached by someone with the right money, who I feel is a safe pair of hands – willing to keep the management team intact and maintain our brand and our culture – and who has a better skillset to take the business even further… There’ll be a time when that might happen. But I don’t think it’s right now.” ●
June 2015 © Cybertrek 2015
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