Fernwood Fitness has its sights set on expansion to Indonesia as a first step into the South East Asian market.
CEO Belinda Amis told Franchise Executives Indonesia has the largest opportunity for growth in the region.
“There’s very little competition in Indonesia, most health clubs are male dominated. As a female-only chain, it’s exciting to provide a space for women to exercise comfortably. It’s a perfect alignment with the culture and religion,” Amis said.
Fernwood’s strategy is to open the first club in Jakarta as a joint venture with a local partner who within 12 months will take over as master franchisee.
“We have our sights on expanding quickly to build the brand and brand identity,” Amis said. “The sky’s the limit. Once the first club is open and we have proof of concept, it will be much easier to grow.
“We’ve engaged consultants to look for partners and would like to see a partnership agreement by Q2 next year. Then it’s about finding a property for the first club.”
Fernwood’s leadership team will act as the implementation team, heading to Indonesia to support the presale.
The franchisor will maintain a presence on the ground for the first 12 months, empowering the master franchisee to run operations with limited input from Australia.
The 36-year-old Fernwood business had in previous years looked at expansion into the Middle East but found a highly-competitive female-only fitness club marketplace.
Franchise unit profitability
In Australia, profitability at club level has hit record heights, Amis said. She cited the revenue stream mix and franchise support as contributors to the good performance.
“We have multiple revenue streams – floor group training, Reformer, Hypoxi – and great support from franchise office for franchisees – and high calibre franchisees with commercial acumen,” she said.
More than 15 existing franchise partners are waiting to find suitable locations to open further sites.
Fernwood has made changes to the traditional 1000sqm club footprint, offering a model that fits in a 700sqm+ site to broaden opportunities. However, the fitness mix will continue in the smaller footprint models.
“We’re not prepared to budge on the get-it-all model,” Amis said. She believes the business is a good option for landlords.
“We’ve got unique features – we bring an all-female demographic so we are great tenants in a bulky goods or retail environment. We hold the head lease, so that’s a low risk for landlords,” she said.
The business will open its 75th club early next year.
