Gyms provide the feel-good factor, says Zone

The Head of Finance of Zone Fitness, Du Toit Britz, has seen the demand for gyms in shopping malls at first hand. "When we look to expand our footprint, we're always inundated with requests from landlords of shopping centres asking us to consider their location."

But why is this the case? Britz explained: "Gyms are good for business. When people hit the treadmill and lift weights, they immediately feel better afterwards. Walking out of the gym, what do they do? They buy themselves a coffee to unwind, or do some shopping because they are already at the mall. Gyms are stress relievers; they make us feel good, so that we're willing to treat ourselves afterwards."

The Zone Fitness brand has grown to 18 gyms across the country with 100,000 members. "Do the maths and you have, on average, 6,000 members per gym. If they're attending regularly, as our members tend to do, you've got a lot of foot traffic through that particular mall every month."

Regular attendance

Regular attendance is a point that Britz is keen to stress. "We see no value in our members signing up and not using our services. We want people to be coming through the doors, achieving their fitness goals and making the most of their hard-earned money. It might be one of the reasons landlords want us in their malls."

Zone Fitness already enjoys a large footprint in Cape Town and can be found across the width and breadth of the city, including suburbs like Wynberg, Rondebosch, Cape Town CBD, Tyger Valley and, to the south-east, Mitchell's Plain. The brand has big plans for expansion in Gauteng, where it currently operates gyms in Lenasia's Trade Route Mall, Bruma Lake, the Life Centre Building in Johannesburg CBD and Sancardia Shopping Centre in Pretoria.

"We started in Cape Town and we've done well in Cape Town," Britz said, "but now we're interested in exploring Gauteng more. The market is massive, with more opportunities than we, as a private company, can take advantage of. We use a very stringent process and would work with up to 30 sites at any time to make sure we get to the four or five clubs we want to open each year."

Growth has been quick, and the Zone Fitness team has grown from a single gym in 2002 to 18 gyms in 2015. More are coming, and Britz believes the public's appetite for fitness is still growing strongly.

"There's no doubt about it; fitness is a good industry to be associated with. Who doesn't want to look good and feel good about themselves? Malls are the perfect meeting place for consumers and fitness enthusiasts alike."

And, as they say, location matters. "Look out for us in Gauteng. We have big plans for the future," Britz concluded.

Visit Zone Fitness at www.zonefitness.co.za or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter @zonefitness_sa.