The énergie group is in the midst of a major rebrand that will see its low-cost and midmarket sub-brands consolidated. Lauretta Ihonor discusses humble beginnings, evolution and floating on the stock market with the man behind the UK’s first fitness franchise hen we launched in 2003, we had nothing other than one club and grand ambitions. We wanted to create the first UK fi tness club franchise but had no idea whether it would actually work,” says Jan Spaticchia. Taking stock of how far the énergie group has since come, he adds: “There were just three of us back then: myself, Steve Philpott and David Beattie. We
worked from my dining room in Milton Keynes. Nobody was getting paid.” Fast forward 14 years and things have certainly changed. Today, the énergie group has a network turnover of over £26m, just over 100 clubs across five countries, and according to its CEO Spaticchia, “we’re growing faster than we’ve ever grown before”. This growth is something the brand is now focused on propelling with a groupwide rebrand of “76 UK clubs over a
Creating a fun and inclusive space for exercise is a priority for the company
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twelve-month period, alongside 35 new site openings”, says Spaticchia. “We currently have Fit4less – our budget operation – and énergie fitness clubs – our mid-market operation. We’re rebranding the entire portfolio under the new énergie fitness brand, under the strapline ‘where you belong’,” he explains. “Effectively we’re on a mission to democratise fitness. Our core purpose is to empower people to transform their lives, and to do that we want to provide a ‘safe’ place where people really feel they belong… at an affordable price!” AN EVOLUTION IN PROGRESS The current rebrand is just the beginning of the wave of change afoot. “We’ve already launched and will be growing our group functional fitness product The Yard, as our new boutique division. We’ll launch a second premium product later this year and will offer alternative streams of franchising that fill a gap that currently exists within the franchise marketplace,” says Spaticchia. “It’s a much smaller investment for a franchisee, and therefore opens up the opportunity to people who can’t afford a full énergie fitness club. The Yard allows them to franchise with us through a smaller format.” So why boutiques, and why now? He explains: “We’ve been watching the market for around 12 months and have done a lot of work to ensure that when we enter the boutique sector, we’re doing it with a product that’s can lead the market. That’s what we’re going to be doing as we roll out The Yard over the next 12 months.” Then there’s the introduction of a new