HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO OPEN A GYM?
What is the cost of opening your gym? Is it a good time to enter the market? Is it a profitable business, worth investing in? How expensive is the equipment? And finally, how exactly does the process of opening the fitness club from scratch look like? These questions appear non stop in the heads of the people, whose dream it is to lead their own business.
Before you decide on opening your fitness studio and entering the market, it is important to make your research and find the answers to the above questions.
Gym market in Poland
Currently, there is a trend of a healthy lifestyle in Poland, which has influenced the cost of operating fitness studios, offering services from the scope of Fitness & Health. According to the “The European Health & Fitness Market 2019” report, published by Deloitte, there’s currently 2,7 thousand operating gyms and fitness clubs, in Poland.
Almost every tenth Pole declares that they regularly visit these places. It does not seem like a large per cent. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In estimation, roughly 3 million clients use the gym in Poland, and that number has been on a steady rise. All you have to do is look to the western neighbors. The Polish market is very similar to the German one. The only difference is the speed of change. As such, you can observe trends in Poland, which are currently happening in Germany with 5 years of delay. Thus, how will the Polish fitness market look in the near future?
Let’s have a look at German data:
In the year 2018 in Germany, there were 6200 functioning fitness clubs. The value of the market came to 5,33 billion EUR, and the speed of growth, estimated by Deloitte, reached 4.6% through a year. What does it mean?
The fitness market in Poland will bloom?
Polish market was dominated by the large chains of large scale fitness clubs, offering to open one’s location through the franchise model.
It’s a costly investment, requiring high own contribution in the beginning. Costs of equipping a moderately sized gym in basic equipment oscillate around the 750 thousand PLN or more. Clients demand high-quality equipment, conservation and exchange of which generates even more expenses.
One of the solutions, which can help to optimize expenditure is the leasing of professional fitness equipment. It does not, however, solve the issue of other problems: costs of renting or purchasing of location, employment and training of staff, as well as the expenses connected to current service and functioning of the club.
A fitness studio in the boutique model – the solution?
An alternative for the large scale gym in the franchise model is a small fitness club in boutique style. This form of a studio is currently going through a renaissance. Clients are tired of huge establishments, in which contact with a personal trainer is limited, and an individual approach to the client does not exist. More and more trainees look towards smaller clubs in the boutique model. A visit to the gym does not consist of simply taking part in training as it used to. Clients demand experience at a high level. In smaller clubs, they appreciate the intimate atmosphere, high level of staff and direct contact with a personal trainer.
You could say, that boutique club is a perfect idea for your own business. Not exactly. Clients expect a high level of service. They put their health and physical fitness in the hands of the trainer, they expect them to be a specialist in their field, whom they can trust. Acquiring qualified trainers, who take care of updating their knowledge and regularly learning new findings, for many potential gym owners may become an obstacle they will never surpass.
EMS training – a revolution in the fitness world
Amongst the innovative solutions, you can find the training with electro-stimulation of muscles. Known under the abbreviation EMS. Germans ended up in love with EMS. And as we know, successful solutions from the west will also find their place in Poland. In Berlin, there are more than 2000 EMS training clubs. For comparison, in Poland there are only 200 such objects, that number is, however, on the rise. Training with electro-stimulation is tempting potential clients with is a wide range of benefits. Unreachable in the case of traditional methods. Time of the workout is limited to 30 minutes (some places offer 20 minute EMS workout), and the effects are visible after just 4-6 sessions. The training itself is conducted always with the assist of a personal trainer, who makes sure the exercises are done properly and accompanies the client in their transformation. EMS method is safe for your health. What’s more, is a great addition to therapy, and shortens the time required to go back to health after an injury. Despite relatively high prices for each workout, which can go up to 120-150 PLN, depending on the city, clients still choose EMS. The benefits, which come for electro-stimulation training are worth the price.
Learn more about EMS training.
How to open EMS training club?
An advantage of EMS club over the large scale gym come from many aspects.
EMS studio combines in itself the features of the traditional boutique club but offers much more. It’s small, guarantees an intimate atmosphere and individual approach to the clients. Just like in a boutique studio. Value, which decides about the superiority of EMS studio is the electro-stimulation itself, still rather uncommon in Poland. To open your own EMS club, all our need is an object of the small surface. As small as 60 m2 is enough to create two training rooms, in which two trainers can work simultaneously. Equipment is limited to electro-stimulation devices and basic fitness equipment, such as mats, dumbbells or stepper. Finding and hiring a staff of trainers, experienced in conducting EMS training may be the only roadblock. In such a case, you can use the franchise model.
EMS club in franchise model – an idea for your own business.
The franchise, know also as a franchise is one of the answers to the difficulties found along the way of opening your fitness club.
Franchisor offers an already made recipe for conducting your business under its recognizable brand. Localization, advertisement, and the equipment are no longer an issue of the franchisee. Franchisor provides support in choosing and preparing the place in regards to the guidelines of their brand, as well as helping with the financial aspect of the fitness equipment. Previously mentioned lack of qualified trainer staff also ceases to be a problem. It is in the interest of the franchisor to keep the standard of the offered services high since their brand’s reputation depends on it. Which is why a good franchise is characterized by regular staff training of the franchisee’s staff and taking care of updating the knowledge of their business partner. What’s more, it is important to take a look at the way of purchasing the EMS system and general equipment, suggested by the franchisor. The franchisor should offer a possibility of a purchase of professional fitness equipment through leasing, it shows their reliability and financial stability.