Asia Fitness Ltd
- HKGCC Membership No. :
- HKA0789
24-Hour Gym for a 24-Hour City
Hong Kong’s long working hours, lack of activity and poor diet is putting a strain on the population’s waistline. Over a third (36.6%) of us are either obese or overweight, according to a 2014 report published by the HKSAR Department of Health. Bulging tummies is more of a problem for men, as the report showed that almost half of all men in Hong Kong are overweight.
We all know we should exercise more and eat a healthier diet, but many of us try to justify our sedimentary lifestyle with legitimate excuses: “The gyms are too expensive or are closed by the time I finish work. I don’t want to be forced into buying a year-long gym membership. I’d prefer to exercise in the early morning but the gym doesn’t open until later.”
One man is aiming to make sure we have no excuse for not going to the gym. John Phillips, Regional Agent of Anytime Fitness Hong Kong, aims to set up a chain of 24-hour gyms across the city.
“Only 3% of Hong Kong people actually own a gym membership,” he said. “When you compare that to the U.S., where over 14% of Americans belong to a gym, it is clear that we need to inspire more people in Hong Kong to get fit.”
Most gym advertisements show a 23-year-old girl who could be mistaken for a personal trainer working out to convey the message: ‘come to the gym and look like this’ “Our advertisements show an elderly woman who is overweight working out,” laughed Phillips. “This is in line with our vision, where we try to inspire ALL people to overcome fitness challenges in their lives.”
A different kind of gym
The approach is working. Anytime Fitness has around 2,800 gyms spread all over the world serving around 2 million people. Chuck Runyon and Dave Mortensen opened the first Anytime Fitness gym in Hastings, Minnesota, in 2002, with the goal of creating a comfortable, affordable gym accessible to all. Thirteen years later, the franchise has grown into the largest fitness chain in the world.
Phillips said new gyms open around the world almost daily and every 10 seconds a new member joins. Anytime Fitness entered the Asia-Pacific market in 2010, when it set up its first gym in Japan. Four years later, it entered the Hong Kong market with a gym in Kowloon City, and a second branch just opened in Sai Ying Pun in June this year.
True to its name, Anytime Fitness is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Phillips explained the concept accommodates even the busiest schedules. “Hong Kong is a 24-hour city, so we need a 24-hour gym,” he said.
The cost of membership is around HK$500 per month, which also gives users access to any of the 2,800 Anytime Fitness gyms around the world. Members can use their membership card which is embedded with a chip or facial recognition technology to gain access, as gyms are unstaffed in the wee hours. Phillips explained that this allows them to cut costs and pass on the savings to users.
While HK$500 per month may seem to be peanuts or quite a lot depending on your income, Phillips said when people are unsure if they can afford $500 per month: “I always tell them, if you ordered a latte from Starbucks every day for a month, you would spend $1156 dollars. For half of that, you get to go to a clean, beautiful gym with fantastic equipment and better your health.”
Franchising opportunities
The majority of franchises in Hong Kong are catering based. According to statistics compiled by the Hong Kong Franchising Association, 42.7% of the city’s total franchise businesses are in the catering sector, followed by service and retail businesses at 37.3% and 20% respectively. But recently, fitness brands, such as Anytime Fitness, have also expanded through franchising. Phillips believes that the trend will continue.
He credits this to the company’s training regime and support for new franchisees. New franchisees selected by the company undergo mandatory programmes designed to equip them with the necessary knowledge to operate the gym up to company’s standards. Afterwards, the company provides daily or weekly assistance and provides consultants to assist franchisees on matters such as location and staffing. To maintain a unified quality amongst its branches, Anytime Fitness gyms use the same equipment, follows the same design, and staff must go through the same training.
A healthy future
Phillips is confident his franchise will grow well in Hong Kong. After opening its second gym last month, a third will open in Kwai Fong soon, and three prospective sites for gyms are being studied. The company ultimately envisions more than 30 branches in Hong Kong. While he has no fixed targets, he expects growth in Hong Kong to be similar to its expansion in Singapore.
“We opened our first gym in Singapore in October 2013. Now, there are 45 Anytime Fitness gyms in the city,” he said.
With a network of more affordable gyms across the city, Phillips expects that more people will be heading to the gym instead of the sofa after work.
“Only 3% of Hong Kong’s population have a gym membership,” he explained. “If we raise that figure by just 1%, that’s a further 70,000 people using gyms. That is what we want to do – inspire people to get fit.”
