market report: middle east
While foreign brands often look to Dubai for their
first launch in the region, Anytime Fitness’ debut club is in Doha, Qatar
addition the Lals Group – a leading business conglomerate and owner of some of the most well-known brands in the Middle East – launched its own fi tness brand, SportsFit Health Clubs, in 2011, with a number of clubs in the pipeline for 2012. It’s not surprising that, even with
the aim of establishing a presence throughout the Middle East, all three brands chose Dubai, UAE, as their fi rst launch site. Despite the economic downturn that Dubai has faced since 2008, its stable political environment and its openness to western companies and expatriates have ensured Dubai’s continued appeal to potential investors in the health and fi tness market. That being said, Al Muftah Group – one
of Qatar’s most diverse and successful multi-service groups – has announced the debut of the Anytime Fitness health club brand in Qatar and has opened its fi rst site in Doha, with fi ve more planned. Fitness First is due to open two more sites in Abu Dhabi, with Gold’s Gym opening another club in Abu Dhabi with more in the pipeline for the region. In addition to international fi tness
brands, hotel brands are also beginning to engage in the health and fi tness market as another area of possible revenue generation, by focusing their in- house facilities as potential competitors to existing health and fi tness brands. Nonetheless, according to Andy
Staines, a 20-year veteran of the region and a Precor distributor: “Although some hotels offer great facilities, the services are highly priced compared to other brands.” As such, he believes the aforementioned three international fi tness chain brands will dominate the
landscape for the immediate future, until other investors are confi dent that there is a stable political environment in the region, which would attract diverse brands to the area.
FRAGMENTED MARKET The current market fragmentation is also rooted in the presence of numerous single site operators, which offer more functional types of training including traditional and/or specialised studio classes such as boot camps, TRX, core fitness, Zumba and so on. Adding further to the fragmentation
is the wide-scale inclusion of basic gym facilities in most residential buildings, which are free of charge to residents. Given the current pricing of memberships by operators in the market, the presence of these in-house, free gyms attract many potential target members with an alternative to joining an independent health and fi tness facility. Indeed, although the market is
fragmented, there are few – if any – brands offering full-scale services at reasonable prices, targeting the full range of local national and expatriate members.
In addition, many users have commented on the lack of value, especially in terms of customer service, for the membership prices currently paid. Investors or brands that provide a
competitively priced full-service offering under one roof, with everything from functional training to traditional and/or specialised group classes – and who do so with high levels of customer service – will fi nd they are fi lling a keenly felt gap in the market.
SERVICE STANDARDS In entering the market, a potential investor needs to keep the following in mind. First, most of the Middle Eastern markets require that a business or health club, in whatever form, must be operated with a local partner or sponsor who will hold 51 per cent of the ownership of the company. Franchise agreements with companies already established in the region, such as those undertaken by Fitness First and Gold’s Gym, tend to be the preferred way to overcome this requirement. However, if the local partner/sponsor route is the choice, it may be useful to
Fitness First’s next two clubs will be in Abu Dhabi, an area offering relative stability and affluent locals and expats 72 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital march 2012 © cybertrek 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100