Boutique Fitness: Leisure Property Forum Breakfast Seminar
By David Minton
“The boutique studio trend should come as no surprise; fitness is simply playing catch up to other industries. Retail, hotels, food and drink have been establishing small, hip boutique options for some time. People are prepared to pay a premium to have more of an experience and be part of a tribe. Boutique fitness studios are a part of this movement and are cashing in, particularly in London”.
I said this back in October 2018 when The Leisure Database Company released the 2018 London Boutique Studio Report. One year later it is evident that the boutique fitness market is thriving.
I was kindly asked by Leisure Property Forum to panel their recent breakfast seminar to discuss the booming boutique health and fitness market. Thank you to everyone that attended plus a big thank you to Leisure Property Forum and the generous hosts, Memery Crystal.
The Seminar provided a review of the rapidly growing and evolving class-based gym sector and I chaired an excellent panel of fitness professionals who each gave differing but equally thought-provoking insights of the same industry.
The panel consisted of:
· Olia Sardarova, CEO of BXR, a high-end boxing gym backed by professional boxer Anthony Joshua
· Mike Dean, Head of Franchise Sales at F45 Training, the fastest growing boutique fitness chain
· Geoff Bamber, CEO of Digme Fitness, offering a diverse range of authentic group exercise classes
· Jonathan Sattin, Managing Director of Triyoga, a leading yoga and pilates centre offering treatments and over 600 classes per week
Olia Sardarova discussed how BXR has successfully launched its own studio concept called Sweat with two studios in Canary Wharf and Marylebone. But Olia has more than just boutique studio expansion on her mind, she has also recently entered the fitness retreat market by offering adult-only escapes. The boutique market has no limits and the push into boutique retreats at boutique destinations is just the start.
F45 Training, the fastest growing boutique fitness chain with over 1,750 sites in 45 countries, has big plans for innovating the market. Having already successfully built a millennial army of devout F45ers, it’s time to focus on the adolescents and over 60s. Known as F45X, the new Prodigy class will be open to 11 to 18-year-olds and the Master class for over 60s. It’s clear that boutiques can be open to all.
Digme Fitness have plans of expanding their very successful studio concept. The 6 studios, including 5 across London and 1 in Oxford, are planning to take their spin classes, HIIT workouts and Yoga further afield in the next 18 months. It’s time for the UK to embrace boutiques so could we soon be seeing a Digme Fitness in every major city?
Triyoga’s aim is to inspire and help people lead healthier lives and Jonathan believes that as the wellness industry continues to grow, every boutique will be looking at how to build wellness into their offering.
It was great to hear from these four key figures from the boutique industry, it looks like 2020 is set to be another great year of growth for the boutique sector.
With boutiques continuing to thrive, I’m looking forward to seeing what else happens in the fitness market in the year to come. Keep an eye out for my 2020 vision, an upcoming article which sets out exactly what we might expect to see from fitness in 2020.