Elderly Gym Franchise Store

The current average payback period in the industry is 24-36 months. 90% of stores that copy the pre-sales and cutting-leeks model of ordinary gyms will not last more than half a year. Stores that take the asset-light service route and take root in the community to do acquaintance business generally have a single store's annual net profit in the range of 150,000 to 350,000, and the top high-end stores can even exceed 600,000.

Last year I visited 17 elderly fitness franchise stores in Hubei, Henan and Shanghai. I saw all kinds of stores, many fell into traps and some made money. The owner of the restaurant in the old community in Wuhan's Wuchang District used to do tourism for the elderly. At first, he chose an Internet celebrity franchise brand that focused on "smart health care + big data monitoring". He spent more than 400,000 on it and offered a free trial in the first three months. There were more eggs and noodles piled at the door than on the shelves. Every morning when the door opened, a group of old men and women came in. They took the gifts and walked around without touching any equipment. At that time, he squatted in front of the store and smoked every day. He almost left the store and ran away. Later, he simply broke the pot. Following the advice of Aunt Zhang, who often came to use the air conditioner, he changed half of the equipment area into a chess and card room and a moxibustion experience area. The original strength classes and spinning bicycles were all replaced by Baduanjin and Taiyuan. It also actively engages with the community and organizes cultural and sports competitions for the elderly in the street. Now it has more than 200 active members every month. Each person pays a monthly membership fee of 199. By the way, it sells rehabilitation protective gear and customized low-sugar meals. The extra income is almost worth the membership fee.

There are basically two franchise brands on the market today, and they are so different that you might think they are not doing the same business. One group started out as an ordinary fitness franchise, but they changed their appearance to "senior fitness" and came out to charge hundreds of thousands in franchise fees. They will tell you "6 months to pay back the cost and open three branches a year." If you ask them carefully about their store operation model, they still calculate the conversion rate of young people's gyms. They have not considered the consumption habits of the elderly who are slow to make decisions when applying for a card and are reluctant to spend a lot of money. If you follow this kind of brand, you will most likely pay IQ tax. The other group is from community health care. They basically do not charge high franchise fees, but only charge an annual operating service fee of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. They can connect you with community activity resources, professional teachers for chronic disease treatment, and even qualify for designated medical insurance to help you run. What these brands make is not the quick money of joining, but a share of the subsequent supply chain. Instead, they are more willing to stay with you for a long time.

As for pricing and customer base, the industry has been arguing for several years with no conclusion. Some people say that the unit price should be higher, targeting retired intellectuals and senior executives. There is such a franchise store in Pudong, Shanghai. It is opened at the entrance of a high-end community with an average price of 120,000 yuan. The annual membership fee is 8,800 yuan, with one-on-one personal trainers and nutritionists, and regular hiking and golf experience activities are organized. The boss said that his members have to drive to imported supermarkets even to buy groceries. They don’t care about the 18,000 yuan membership fee. Last year, the net profit was more than 600,000 yuan. But the problem with this model is that it is not very replicable. If you try it in second- and third-tier cities, the retirement salary of most retirees is only three to four thousand. If you ask them to spend several thousand yuan to apply for a fitness card, there is no way. I have seen the best stores in third- and fourth-tier cities, all of which charge a monthly fee of about 200 yuan, which only costs six or seven yuan a day, which is cheaper than playing mahjong, and even the elderly are willing to pay.

To be honest, many franchisees feel that the cost of elderly gyms is low when they first start using them. In fact, they can’t save even a cent of the money they should spend. There is a franchisee in Zhoukou, Henan, who bought a batch of second-hand treadmills sold by ordinary gyms that went out of business. They did not have special safety ropes or extra handrails. A 72-year-old man slipped while running that day and broke his femoral head. He lost nearly 80,000 yuan. He didn’t have much start-up capital, so he closed the store and left. Fitness equipment for the elderly must be adapted for aging. Dumbbells must be covered with soft rubber. The corners of all equipment must be covered with anti-collision strips. Public areas must be paved with non-slip rubber. Free blood pressure monitors and heart rate monitors must be provided at the door. If you save these money, you can be repaired in the event of an accident.

I talked to several bosses who have been working for more than three years, and they said that the core competitiveness is not the intelligent system provided by the brand at all, but whether you can get along with the old man and the old lady. For example, you have to remember that Aunt Zhang has diabetes and remind her not to eat the ice cream from the convenience store next to her every time she comes; Uncle Li has a bad waist, so he goes over to adjust his posture when practicing Baduanjin; occasionally the family makes dumplings and brings some to share with everyone, which is more useful than handing out 1,000 flyers. Another little trick is to cooperate with community hospitals to measure blood sugar and blood pressure for the elderly for free every Tuesday and Thursday. The drainage effect is particularly good. Many elderly people are willing to stay for half an hour after the test and they are fine. They apply for a card as soon as they come and go, and even drag their old friends over.

A while ago, a friend who wanted to join asked me if this business was possible. I didn’t give him a direct answer, so I asked him if he could accept not making any money the previous year and dealing with people over sixty years old every day. The parents listened patiently. If you can, do it. After all, young people can go to the gym wherever they want. Old people live nearby. As long as you are reliable, they can bring you guests from half the neighborhood. If you want to make money back and open a branch in half a year, try other businesses as soon as possible. After all, it’s hard to make any money, especially if you want to make money from the elderly, you have to be sincere first.