Gaia said:

Fitness First hopes for balanced legislation from consumer agency
By Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn
The Nation
Published on March 31, 2011

UK-based Fitness First's growth strategy and investment plan for Thailand could depend heavily on legislation expected to be implemented soon by the Office of the Consumer Protection Board to control local operators of fitness centres.

Mark Buchanan, managing director of Fitness First (Thailand), said yesterday in an exclusive interview with The Nation that the Consumer Protection Board would finalise a draft of the legislation by the end of this week.

"We welcome the legislation as long as it is good for both the business and customers. Our only concern is that it has been designed to reduce complaints from consumers, but that it may not also control bad companies," he said.

Fitness First operates more than 500 fitness centres in 19 countries, with 1.5 million members around the world.

In Thailand, the company was founded in 2001 and its first club opened at Central Pinklao. It now operates 18 fitness clubs with 1,000 staff and 55,000 members.

Buchanan said the company had set a very aggressive growth plan for Thailand with the goal of making the country a fitter place.

He said the Kingdom's fitness club industry was expected to be worth about Bt11 billion last year, according to the International Health & Racquet Sport Association.

There are about 1,011 fitness centres with 546,000 members in Thailand, including those opened in hotels and golf clubs. Between 50 and 60 centres are operated by the big fitness-club chains, and they generated about Bt4 billion in combined revenue last year.

"We [Fitness First] were able to increase our membership by 10 per cent last year, with a 5-per-cent increase in revenue to about Bt1.4 billion. We now have a 15-per-cent market share in the local fitness centre market. However, we have at least a 50-per-cent share among the big club chains operating fitness centres in Thailand," Buchanan said.

Fitness First's goal for this year is to expand its membership by 10 per cent and its revenue by 7 per cent.

"We plan to open at least three new fitness centres in the next year with about Bt285 million of investment. Each centre creates between 50 and 60 new jobs," he said.

The company's first new club this year will be at CentralPlaza Khon Kaen. With an investment of Bt85 million, the club will open in June and occupy about 1,600 square metres. It will be the third Fitness First centre outside Greater Bangkok, after the clubs in Nakhon Ratchasima and Chon Buri. The company is also looking for other upcountry opportunities.

The second Fitness First centre to be opened this year will be at CentralPlaza Rama IX. The centre, which will require Bt100 million of investment and occupy 2,200sqm, will open in the final quarter.

The third centre will be opened next January at the Mega Bangna complex. Costing Bt100 million, it will also occupy 2,200sqm.

"We are also looking for another 10 locations for the opening of our centres here. We are quite ready for aggressive growth and expansion in Thailand in terms of finance, staff development [to the international standard] and property," he said.

The company's expansion plan will also depend on its internal ability to maintain quality standards, especially among staff. About 17 per cent of the company's revenue is spent on staff development, with a total of about 1,600 training sessions per year, or 10 per cent of staff man-hours, Buchanan said.

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