Snap Fitness to open 240 clubs across India in next 3 yrs

As part of its expansion plans, US-based fitness chain Snap Fitness is planning to open around 240 health clubs across the country in the next three years.

The company, which entered India in 2008, currently has 60 operating centres across the country.

"Our goal is to have a footprint of 300 clubs over the next three years. Our immediate focus is on opening 20 stores by the end of this year," Snap Fitness Global CEO and President Peter Taunton told PTI.

India has been a very important market for the company and one of the fastest emerging ones in the APAC region, he added.

Out of the total 300 health clubs, 270 will be franchise clubs and 30 company owned, he said.

"We follow a 'hub-and-spoke' model, where we have one company-owned centre and franchise-run locations built around that area," Taunton said.

When asked how the company plans to fund the expansion, he said: "The investment required to open one club is approximately Rs 1.5 crore. Franchise-owned clubs are funded completely by the franchise owners." The company-owned stores are funded mainly by internal accruals, he said adding: "We are also open to PE investment." Apart from focusing on the markets in India where it does not have a strong presence, the company is looking for smaller cities for future expansion.

"We are a strong player in South India and our focus is now in the northern belt. We currently have 10 outlets in Delhi-NCR and are looking at opening more centres there," Taunton said.

Going forward, tier-II cities will be integral markets to the company's expansion plans as "we will be looking at opening in a lot more tier-II cities," he added.

As part of future expansion in India, he said: "We will also look to build, operate and transfer model where we will be looking at opening stores in a new area and transferring ownership to a franchisee once it's successful. We currently also manage clubs for franchisees at a management cost." Snap Fitness is currently present in Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow, Vadodara, Guwahati Mysore, Tumkur and Davangere, among others.

Founded in 2003 by Peter Taunton, Snap Fitness is currently present in 18 countries including USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, India, Mexico and Egypt with over 2,500 clubs.