Sport Life group to expand fitness club chain to 25 in Ukraine by 2013
Kyiv, December 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The Sport Life group of companies, which manages the Sport Life fitness club chain as well as the chain of Eurasia restaurants and sushi bars in Russia and Ukraine, plans to open 21 fitness clubs in Ukraine in 2011-2012, expanding its chain to 25 clubs, Sport Life founder Dmytro Yekimov has said.
"By late 2012, there will be 25 Sport Life fitness clubs in Ukraine. We're in talks in almost all [of the country's] large cities, and I hope that by the middle of next year we'll sign agreements on between one and three clubs in each city with a population of over one million people in Ukraine. Our plan for Kyiv by the Euro 2012 [European football championship] is to open around ten clubs," he told journalists at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine last week.
He said the total investment in the construction of a fitness club from the ground up costs around $5-6 million.
Yekimov added that for example, in Odesa the group plans to open three fitness clubs: In particular, in two months the club in the Korona residential complex (5,500 square meters) is to be opened. He also said that the group plans to build three clubs in Kharkiv by the Euro 2012: One contract has been signed and another one is at the stage of signing.
The founder of the group also said that the group intends to invest around $2.5 million in the reconstruction of its operating fitness club in Kyiv in the Plazma trade center in Petrivka district.
He said that it is planned to expand its space by some 1,500-2,000 square meters, to 6,500-7,000 square meters, an eight-lane swimming pool would be built, a boxing gymnasium and a separate women's club would be opened, and all fitness equipment would be replaced.
Yekimov said the club would continue functioning while the reconstruction work is carried out, although the reconstruction plan does foresee the club closing for two weeks in May 2011.
"The swimming pool's construction will be finished by September 1. The main work will be done by the end of the May holidays," he said.
Sport Life manages a chain of fitness clubs, health food restaurants and sushi bars, sports clothes and equipment stores, and tanning salons. The group also imports the Hammer Strength, Precor, TechnoGym, BodyCraft and StrongMan sports equipment brands to the CIS countries.
The first Sport Life fitness club opened in Kyiv in March 2007. The chain now consists of five clubs in Ukraine – four in Kyiv and one in Kryvy Rih.