As a chain of fitness clubs Snap able to grow, while the competitors are going bankrupt .

Weekday evening in the club Snap Fitness, located in the town of Pine Brook , New Jersey , you can see dozens of men aged 30-40 years , pedaling exercise bikes, and raises the bar. These men have come to the club in tracksuits and go straight home , without taking a shower . According to Richard Prohova , in this club, no queues , and the prices are low . You can just come and do it.

The network includes 910 Snap Fitness clubs , 60 of which were opened in December last year. Even during the recession club network continues to grow, while Bally’s Total Fitness, one of the most popular in the U.S. chain of fitness clubs , recently sought protection from creditors under the Bankruptcy Law . How do they do it ? Snap Fitness clubs are working around the clock and are easy and low cost. Monthly membership fee is only $ 35 , and you can always suspend or cancel the membership without paying any fines. To date, visit the clubs 400,000 members.

Gyms at Snap Fitness clubs are small, only 230 square meters. m, with a minimum of equipment. In each room there are five treadmills and cardio equipment , a few bikes , as well as shells for strength training . In the clubs, no spas , rooms for children and bars with fresh juices . And the showers have only a few clubs. Most clubs workweek staff consists of 25-40 hours per week. According to Peter Taunton , Snap Fitness Network offers customers a low-cost and convenient training.

Snap Fitness is working on franchising . Of the 820 most of the owners invested in the business of just $ 175,000 , most owners are working in rented premises. The greatest expenditure of $ 120,000 required equipment , the system passes the card , TVs , video surveillance system , as well as one-time fee for the license, which is $ 15,000 . In addition , every month franchisee owner pays $ 400 and 50 cents for each new customer . Also, the owner receives $ 5 for every new card for the customer and for the installation of the billing system . ( For comparison, the cost of the license in the chain of fitness clubs for women Curves is $ 30,000 and the $ 800 monthly payment . ) Franchise pays for itself in three months , if the number of members is 275 or more people. After the conclusion of the lease is for 10 days , you can open and equip a room. According to Taunton , each franchisee receives from the owner of the trailer , which already has all the necessary equipment , we can only extract .

For many franchisees gym – it is an additional business , the majority of them do not participate in the management and tend to have most of the work . The owners of the franchise always have access to the records for each club on the Internet. They can even keep track of what is happening in the club with a video surveillance system. According to Taunton to own such a business , you need to have a web browser.

Most of the club members – people aged 35-55 years , who already have a family , so the time trying to have a cup of coffee or flirt girl in a nearby trainer , they do not. Many live near the hall. Taunton recognizes that potential franchisees and women are often interested in the safety of gyms, for which he can guarantee. Enter the club can only be with the card . All the walls are equipped with panic buttons . Taunton recalls only one case in the history of the network : Teens broke into one of the clubs hoping to steal a TV. In addition, each franchisee owner pays a monthly fee for insurance in the amount of $ 255.

The concept of a network of such clubs appeared at Taunton in 2003 , and today it brings success. In 2008, the chain of fitness clubs Snap earned operating income of $ 10 million, which was almost two times more than in 2007 , and the amount of revenue increased by 67 % to $ 30 million , while in the period from January to November, the company managed attract another 483 franchisees. Snap clubs have in Mexico , Australia and New Zealand. In May last year sold a stake in Taunton Boston investment group Summit Partners, which allowed him to cover the cost of development of the network abroad. Taunton now owns only 60 % of the shares. In his plans for the next five years, opening 5,000 clubs worldwide .

Prior to Taunton were other entrepreneurs who have discovered in the United States around the clock showed a minimal amount of equipment. Co-owner of Anytime Fitness club chain Chuck Runyon once said that Taunton can earn money for their idea. But , unlike many competitors, Snap club members have more options . They alone can count the number of visits , prepare lesson plans or diets undergo a medical service online.

Snap network of clubs has become the embodiment of all the ideas that have appeared in Taunton for over 20 years in this field. When Taunton dropped out of college , he decided to take up a professional game of racquetball . But after a while found himself without a job. Then he returned to his native Wilmar , Minnesota, where he was offered a management unprofitable at the time the club Kandi Kourts for $ 16,000 a year. During the first year on revenue of $ 340,000 loss amounted to $ 40,000 . Taunton recalls that worked but then it’s not hard. Six years later he bought out Kandi Kourts from owners for $ 450,000 . In 1990, he gave the club the name America’s Fitness and laid it in the bank , having received credit for the discovery of several establishments near the big city of Minneapolis, Minnesota .

Taunton led America’s Fitness for 20 years , but due to the ever-increasing costs that exceed $ 1.5 million and liabilities in 2002 he sold five rooms, which earned them $ 3 million then he began to think about their own business. Then there was Snap Fitness.Who is the owner of the chain of fitness clubs ‘m sure will be able to attract an even greater number of franchisees , as many are now looking for a job. In addition, he is willing to bet that another 300 000 new clients come to clubs this year , abandoning the expensive gyms . According to him , they have people get what they need, and therefore keep returning to Snap.