Stepz Fitness to increase footprint to 50 gyms

Sarah Stowe

 

The 24 hour fitness franchise Stepz Fitness plans to grow from its current six outlets to at least 50 by 2014. Right now the business has five gyms across Brisbane and one in Burwood in Sydney.

Co-directors Quang Tran and Murray Brass opened the first club in Stones Corner in Brisbane in 2009 after researching other 24-hour brands. “There is increasing demand for 24-hour gyms and great potential and room to grow the Stepz Fitness brand across Australia,” Tran said.

“More businesses are moving into the round-the-clock business model as part and parcel of today’s 24-7 world and Stepz Fitness has only just started to scratch the surface of this market.

“Not only are we succeeding in this market but we are taking market share away from the traditional gym chains too. Traditional penetration rates for gyms are about 10 percent but with 24-7 access, no contracts and low membership fees the rate for Stepz Fitness is closer to 15 per cent.”

Stepz Fitness owns three of its clubs while the other three are franchisee-owned. “We love the business so we’ll open as many company-owned stores as we can but we are actively seeking franchisees to come on board to help us expand and grow,” said Tran.

 

Opportunities

 

Franchisees need to invest between $200,000 to $250,000 as well as spend on equipment financing costs.

There are opportunities in the Gold Coast, Townsville, Mackay and Mount Isa in Queensland, and Hornsby, Parramatta, Willoughby and Maroubra in NSW.

The group is also planning to open clubs in Point Cook and Mt Waverley in Victoria, and in South Australia, Western Australia and Darwin.