In today’s fast-pace life, the growing clout of the fitness, health, and wellness industries calls for a plethora of equipment to help them get there
The seventy-five year old stalwart of the Indian fitness industry, Madhukar Talwalkar, gasps, “People are spending crores of rupees buying poison!”
The poison he is referring to is cigarettes, ghutkas, and the other ‘injurious for health’ products. “The companies selling these are becoming billionaires,” he continues, “there is no reason why people like me, the ones who are selling life, should not be multi-billionaires.” The statement is indeed thought-provoking. So, are there business opportunities that can be explored here?
Gymnasiums, spas, health clubs, fitness centers, and other such places are slowly showing an increase in people wanting to devote quality time to their body, mind and soul. It is evident by the fact that Talwalkars, the largest chain of fitness centers, went from 15 branches to 47 branches in the last two-three years. Then, there are other Indian entrepreneurs who are carving a niche of their own in this industry. Surya Vinayak Industries is all geared up for opening the largest chain of day spas in the country—about 300 spas in the next two years. Similarly, Advansys, an upcoming fitness equipment manufacturing company based out of Pune, is in the process of launching India’s biggest chain of fitness and wellness product retail chain. These indicators also hint at opportunities in one of the very basic but very important infrastructure requirement of these businesses—fitness equipment. |
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China is at least 20 years ahead of India as far as the fitness industry is concerned. Many of the big players from United States and Europe are sourcing from China, while undertaking some manufacturing locally. India holds a huge potential because these players are looking at building a secondary base, and that is where the real opportunity lies for Indian companies.
| DARE/target customers |
| Corporate users Gymnasiums, health clubs, fitness centers, hotels, spas, sports academies, military and paramilitary training centers, business schools, corporate companies, and many more. |
| Home users Women looking at weight loss, looking good, feeling young and energetic Middle-aged people looking to prevent and/or control health problems Senior citizens looking for coping with their health problems, rehab Youngsters looking at bodybuilding |
| Biomedical users Hospitals, physiotherapy clinics, rehabilitation centers |
Health and fitness equipment: the importance
As pointed by the fitness industry veteran, Madhukar Talwalkar, “One of the greatest benefits of equipment is motivating the exercisers,” he says. “Besides this, there are movements in certain exercises that one cannot do without equipment. It is an absolute necessity for health clubs and fitness centers to be equipped with as many types of equipment as possible. At home, one can do with less equipment.”
Who is the market?
The international market is divided into two segments – home and commercial. In the commercial segment, equipment that is sold includes the strength-line and weight-training machines. In the last five years, various new technologies in induction motors, pneumatics, hydraulics, hydro-pneumatics et al, have surfaced in the weight-training line of equipment.
The commercial market internationally is widespread. This includes fitness centers, hospitals, hospitality industry, construction industry, and more. Even the home segment internationally holds a phenomenal potential.
As profiled by Talwalkar, “About 90% of the customers today are lifestylers, who want fitness, good looks, mental health and physical energy. These are high-spending customers who typically fall between the ages of 25-30 and 45-50 years. Customers in this age range either want to prevent such problems or control the problems they already have. Besides them, there are many women and men who primarily come in for weight-loss. Then there are the youngsters between 18-25 whose primary interest is that of bodybuilding”
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