Future Group’s equal joint venture with the Talwalkars in 2007 to launch ‘Fit & Active’ centres has come to halt due to steep rentals at malls. While the legal status of the entity is uncertain as of now, with the Future Group undergoing a restructuring exercise, there is a slim chance that the group will revive the business with the Mumbai-based health club company.
Prashant Talwalkar, Managing Director, Talwalkars Better Value Fitness, told Business Line , “We are no more with the Future Group and the joint venture has been frozen. There are no Fit & Active Gyms existing now. Rentals were steep at the malls and some of them even closed down when we were with the Future Group. While the company continues, there is no business happening as of now. But with the changes and restructuring with the Group, we may re-look at the business.”
For instance, the gym at the Orchid mall in Central Mumbai was probably one of the last to be closed down after the Future Group vacated the mall (it has formats such as Pantaloons and Big Bazaar) due to differences with the developer.
In 2007, Pantaloon Retail, the flagship company of the Future Group, had forged a 50:50 JV with Talwalkars to launch Talwalkars Pantaloon Fitness Private Ltd. There were plans to invest Rs 100 crore over the next three years to launch 50 Fit & Active Malls across shopping malls in the country.
“There were only six gyms launched since the joint venture was formed. There has to be a different model for a gym in a mall,” says Girish Talwalkar, Director, Talwalkar Better Value Fitness.
Meanwhile, with fresh inflow of funds coming in with the Talwalkars Better Value Fitness getting listed, the company has been able to engage in a franchise model with smaller gyms, under the brand Hi Fi. It is set to penetrate smaller towns and also bigger cities which command steep rentals. Today, it already has 25 franchise-owned gyms under the Hi Fi brand, apart from its 120-odd Talwalkar gyms.
There are also plans to spread operations overseas with West Asia emerging as a likely destination in the future. As Girish Talwalkar says, “We have studied places such as Dubai for our gyms. But these would be company-owned, as we would like to have full control over our international model as and when we enter the overseas market.”
Purvita@thehindu.co.in