INTERVIEW
Fit for Free clubs in the UK (pictured here: Birmingham) have a slightly different equipment mix from the Netherlands, with less focus on cycling
When members turn up at the location, they just show their membership card to receive the discount. “The ultimate goal is to save our
members approximately £15 a month if they use the services of our partners, effectively covering the cost of their gym membership. At the moment, members are probably saving around £10 a month, but the scheme will grow. In the Netherlands, where they have national coverage, partners include holiday companies, airlines, national taxi or transport organisations, ticket discounts. “Indeed, in Holland, there’s evidence of
some people joining the gym just to get the card. That’s not the idea of course – we want people to come and train – but it does show the value people see in it.”
INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION So how has the UK business progressed since its launch in 2011, and what are the plans moving forward? “We have four clubs at the moment
– in Liverpool, Bury, Worcester and Birmingham. We had an offer on up to 11 Fitness First clubs about a year ago, but the deal fell over at the 12th hour. At the time I was frustrated by that, as I wanted to grow the estate, but in hindsight I’m glad we gave ourselves more time to really finish getting our product right.
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“In the meantime, with a fixed amount
of money to invest each quarter, after the first quarter of 2013 the company’s focus shifted from the UK to Belgium, as well as continuing to expand in Holland. Opening in Belgium took longer than we expected, but the first club was a flying success and the second is going the same way. “And then there’s Brazil, a rapidly
emerging market, where the ‘boots on the ground’ is a Dutch guy who lives out there and who knows the Dutch operators personally. That club signed up 2,000 members in three weeks, so we’ll probably look to increase the number of locations in Brazil in a very short space of time. “But now we’re into another period
of funding and investment, I think the UK will move back onto the radar too. One challenge we face in the UK is that we’ve only been trading for two years and lots of the larger landlords are still wary about getting security from a Dutch entity. But we have four big name landlords in place
– Sainsbury’s, Urban Splash, Richardson Carillion and Thornfield Properties – and I’m confident this won’t be an issue for growth.” He continues: “I have a list of six sites in various stages of development and I
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hope to open our next club in the first quarter of 2014. Within the next two years, I expect to have reached 20 clubs. “We’re also trialling microclubs: our
Birmingham site measures 11,000sq ft, on-site at a Sainsbury’s supermarket, and it’s performing above expectation so we may do more of that format. It’s proving to be win-win situation too – Sainsbury’s has seen an increase in footfall to its store since the club opened in January 2013.”
FUTURE POTENTIAL Kearney concludes: “I also see the youth market as offering great potential. In one of our clubs, we partner with a local college and now have 400 members under the age of 16 – they come straight from school and are supervised by over-16s who attend with them. It’s challenging – a high maintenance market – but I believe there’s financial benefit in the long term. “I think ‘tweenagers’ are a market
the industry has to focus on, because if these kids are fit in mind and body, with a fit work ethic, they will survive in the real world when they leave school. It’s about showing them that being active isn’t a luxury any more – it can be an affordable part of everyday life. The budget sector has created that.” ●
November/December 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
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