Opening a new gym - with latest equipment / facilty - Delhi/Gurgaon area

Arvi

I am professional engineer living in Toronto for 10 years. The best thing I have liked in the western part of the world is awareness and commitment towards Fitness. People are so committed that they manage to get time for Gym in spite of their busy life. I have also been involved into fitness and go to Gym on regular basis for many years now and I have benefited a lot.

From the last few weeks I am considering to transfer this good part to India, although, I know that now the awareness in India is much more than it was few years before. People are getting serious about fitness but still there are only very few good facilities available. I am considering opening a good Fitness center/ Gym with the latest equipments/ facilities. Thinking of Delhi/ Gurgaon area. Can someone guide me if I am right in my thinking and what people would expect from such a facility?

chennaichap

Even though i am not from Delhi , ill try to help as much as i can . if you are going to open a gym , open a hardcore gym which has a separate weight training area not just some pinky dumbbells and treadmills . and the price should be lesser than those fitness franchises . tie up with supplement companies . all the best .

Arvi

Thanks a lot for your advise. I am not considering for franchsing at all. Through my fitness clubs where I am /was a regular memeber,I know quite a few Fitness instructors and experts. They have really good ideas but their ideas without exposure to Indian market can not be implemented although these are very helpful for many things. I will need someone from India who has knowledge of Fitness industry.

One thing which I am not sure is about the quality of machines available in India. Because I am considering brands which are really good over here (Canada and US). Bt looks like there is import duty on these equipments and they are quite expensive over here. Can you advise me on this please.

Secondly, how much membership fee is considered reasonable as per Indian standards e.g. a cith like Delhi or nearby , considering it will be good facilty.

Thanks a lot for your advise in advance.

shashank.aggarwal

Gyms are expensive in India...or this is what i have learnt by interaction with other members on the forum. In a City like Delhi a mere 'functional' gym would charge around Rs.1500 per month. I believe over here it will not be about the quality of equipments you have, but more about number of services you offer, like steam, sauna, pool etc..

I go to a gym, in upper middle class area, pay around Rs.1200 (after discount, regular fees is 1500), most of the members including me have no idea about the quality of equipment, they are not aware and do not care about the various functions in the equipments. 95% of the members would not be aware about the Pulse measuring function of Cardio equipment...

For they, its only the time, speed and exercise. Before I started doing it, no one was aware about the Inclination function on the treadmill...

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Arvi

Thanks Shashank for the info. I understand that if it is a high profile Gym they charge anything from 3000 to 8000 per month. There is one GYM in Gurgaon called “Ozone” and thet are in the range of 3000 - 3500 per month and a GYM in Bombay (don’t know the name may be GOLD Gym) charges app. 1 lac per year.

We are debating now that if there is sufficient market to attract people who will be willing to pay say high rate if there are all the facilities. We are thinking to put all type of machines and free weights with change rooms/showers and steam room or Dry Sauna. Swimming pool is difficult to maintain unless it is a real good crowd.

Second point we are debating is to have it only Co-ed Gym or divide it in Co-ed and only women section. The most popular GYM in Canada have a chain of Gyms and they have separate Co-ed Gyms and separate “only for women” sometimes in the same area but totally separate. But we don’t want to open two separate at least not in the beginning. Any SUGGESTIONS PLEASE.

shashank.aggarwal

This is what is the major area of concern, perhaps you need to obtain a list of Gyms in Gurgaon OR Noida and physically inspect the distances between them, level of income of people in locality etc. If I were you, I would have looked for a high income locality without a gym in 6 Km Diameter.

I cannot comment on this, but it has pros and cons, a co-ed gym is what I would go for, as it attracts a lot more men, due to the female population . You have to also take into picture that in Indian context there are lots of housewives, in the gym I attend they have dedicated time of 10AM to 4PM for female members, who want "only for women" status, and rest of time is open to both sexes. I guess this is a very nice of maintaining a right balance.

Arvi

Thanks Shashank! Your feedback is really great.

chennaichap

arvi i don't think you will have any problem getting any equipment . everything right from body line to weider is available in India , you ll have to find the dealers and please don't put separate sections for men and women . you can even offer couple discounts etc . and the price i am not very good at because i go to a street end hardcore lifting gym which costs me just 250 rs , no sauna , no steam bath etc . and make sure that you offer something which others don't . anything more please ask .

crvlvr

I know nothing about gyms in India. But, here in the US (especially LA), only about 20% come to gyms to actually work out. The rest come to see and to be seen, the opposite sex.

Arvi

You all are right about Co-ed v/s only for women. My experience from gyms in Toronto area is same. My Gym is a chain of 150 clubs and few are only for women type. But still you will see more women in the Co-ed facility than men (even the only women is very close by) and many of them are in real attractive outfits.

I wasn't sure about the situation in India now a days.

Can any woman comment on this.......Will really appreciate that. Thank a lot.

Arvi

Which type of GYM facilty would you like to join (considering facilty wise every thing is same):

1. Only for women
2. Co-ed (common)
3. Co-ed with a time slot during the day "Exclusively for women"
4. Two separate sections: “Men” “Women”
5. Only for men
6. Doesn't matter

PeakXV

The Hyatt is co-ed and works fine. However many women prefer a seperate gym arrangement only. It's a tough call and you'll have to do your due diligence to maximize your membership/profit. In Canada the 'women only' gyms with a daycare to drop the kids is really trendy now. My only petpeeve with Indian gyms is that users often neglect (or refuse) to wipe/clean the machines/stations that they have just used - meaning that there is often a big sweat slick waiting for the next user. So you'll find that you have to train them in the wisdom of this hygenic practise and/or have the spotters hopping around like madmen .....

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shashank.aggarwal

In most of the gyms they have attendants take care of that..if you see sweat on the equipment, just call the attendant and he/she will wipe it off for you..

PeakXV

That's true and for the most part, when available, they are very good.

But it often happens that - I have to wait for them to come to do it and some gyms are unattended which further 'clams up' the situation. In Canada it is your responsiblity/duty to police(clean) your own sweat (if you will). In India, if I ask a user kindly to clean the bench/station that they have just used they will not. I don't know if it is considered a lowly job but they don't seem to relish doing it. The gym users seem to think that they are some big daddy maharaja and are not concerned about anybody but themselves. So I often have to wait a bit for the attendant to come and do it - if available .... or usually end up cleaning it off myself.

If I ask the attendants to tell/train the people to clean their sweat - they tell me they can't order them to do that job because they(users) pay money to use the gym.

It really is an unusal & sticky problem.

Arvi

There is still a cultural difference in west and in India. Mostly in west, people will clean it after they have used it and in many good Gyms it is taken for granted that equipment was cleaned by the person who used it earlier and the next person who comes to use it doesn’t bother to clean before use but will definitely clean it after use.

I guess this type of problem may not be there in high end Gyms in India as well e.g. in Hyatt.