HYDERABAD: While Indians are increasingly becoming health and figure conscious, and with lifestyle diseases on the rise, gyms and fitness centres are mushrooming across the country, making the market highly attractive. Not just the domestic, even foreign players are entering the market.
While Talwalkars, Gold’s Gym, Chisel, Fitness First and Snap Fitness are some of the popular brands, with the demand growing, new players are expected to enter the lucrative segment.“Sports and glamour fields have a major impact on Indians. On top of that, we make work out fun and stylish with new and revolutionary techniques. The ecosystem has been so conducive that within three years of launch, we have been able to sign up 115 centres. We are soon entering the Middle East,” said Dr Kingmoohan, chief business officer of fitness centre chain Chisel, which has cricketer Virat Kohli as its brand face.
Most fitness centres and gym chains follow franchise model for rapid expansion. “Launching a fitness centre makes for a good business proposition today, but care should be taken in aspects like location, real estate cost and skilled staff. As working out at a fitness centre is personal, we need to ensure that we provide the safest and satisfying experience for the clients. Therefore, when we select a franschisee, we look at their commitment and interest in fitness rather than just focusing on the financials,” said Srilekha Reddy, director (marketing), India of Snap Fitness.
Industry insiders say setting up of a gym or fitness centre could cost Rs 1-3 crore on an average in a metro (Tier-1) city, while it might cost about Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. If the business clicks, the owners could recover their investment in about 15-20 months. This proposition is leading to a steep rise in the number of gyms in India YoY. While funds have not been a problem for expansion, lack of skilled manpower is an issue of concern.
“Even by rough estimates, there might be about 2,000 gyms run by organised fitness chains. This is apart from those run by unorganised players. The number of organised fitness centres will grow rapidly in the next 2-3 years, as new players enter the market. While the market looks positive from all aspects, lack of skilled manpower is a problem the sector needs to address. We are launching our own academy to train staff soon,” said Kingmoohan.