It is possible to say that the resumption of Smart Fit () efforts on expansion of the high -level bi -rhythm network of gyms is like a return to the origins. She was the company’s first mark and after years of dedication to products such as TotalPass and the expansion of the supply of studios, the looks turn to the segment dedicated to the highest income audience.
This year, the planning is delivering 10 new units and a retrofit of all the bio rhythm that were already in operation, with an investment of about $ 100 million. All openings and renovations are inspired by the opened store inside Shopping Ibirapuera in August with a cost of $ 10 million. There are 34 stores in operation inside and outside Brazil today.
In the last teleconference of results, the Smart Fit group pointed out that there is demand for academies high-endbut the company’s COO, Diogo Corona, sees a much more strategic than financial business in business. Return on investment (ROE) medium and high standard units are similar, about 20%.
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“There are more than 26,000 academies in TotalPass, a good number, has everywhere. In addition, there are options for the studio lifestyle. The best brands are there, including Velocity, which we bought,” says Smart Fit COO, Diogo Corona in an interview with Infomoney. “In the high end, the bio rhythm had little volume and there was a lack of investment,” he says.
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The resumption of focus on the network high-endFor the highest income audience, it has a lot to do with the mark of corporate welfare benefits launched by Smart Fit to compete with Wellub (former Gympass).
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According to the executive, the company has devoted great effort to increase the participation of TotalPass since 2019, when it entered the well-being benefit market for companies. The last few years have also marked an expansion on the line of studios, especially after the purchase of the Indoor Velocity Bike brand. Modalities like Pilates, Hot Yoga, Fight and Functional Training also enter the projection of 100 openings in 2025.
But the same crown jewel is the Smart Fit brand. The expectation is to open between 340 and 360 gyms of the brand this year alone. Although Bio Rhythm gave rise to the group, in 2009 founder Edgard Corona founded Smart Fit with a lower price proposal and international expansion. There are already about 1,500 gyms in 15 countries, with 4.5 million students.
The 10 high standard units announced for 2025 are located in the cities of Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, Vila Velha, Rio de Janeiro, Niterói, Goiânia, Recife, Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Lima (Peru) and Santiago (Chile).
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Although there is a demand for higher income academies, the pace of openings is quite different from Smart Fit. Next year, Corona believes in a number of inaugurations similar to 2025. “With the base we have, growing in ten gyms is almost 50%. Percentually is a great growth.”
The development of the architectural project of Bio Rhythm at Shopping Ibirapuera, with more residential aesthetics, accelerates new developments, which follow the pattern of the Model Academy. Even challenge is finding spaces to build at the points idealized in group planning.
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In the case of Smart Fit, the approach is more opportune: it wandered a land, no matter where, it is possible to turn into a gym. To open a bio rhythm, the way out is to expect a point in strategic neighborhoods, where there is demand and ability to meet the architectural project. “If we want a gym in neighborhood X, it can take a year or two to have the point,” says Coo.
Corona visualizes that the new moment of bio rhythm can shake the high-end gym market in its stagnant assessment. High-end gyms whose services are boutique. In Bio Rhythm, the structure of the units involves basic bath services, such as hygiene and towels items, Italian brand technogym equipment and a number of teachers per student larger than that of models like Smart Fit itself.
The monthly fee of the entry plan to train exclusively a bio rhythm costs $ 580, while the option to access any other of the network is $ 700.
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By the Infinity Plan, tested in the Ibirapuera Shopping Bio Rhythm, the student has access to periodic evaluations with nutritionists, personal trainer, physiotherapy and even a concierge. In this case, the cost is $ 1.8 thousand per month. “In Ibirapuera, less than 10% of students will have the Infinity plan. We have no vacancy for more than that. It’s not the goal. By operational complexity, demand, care, it’s not a scale plan. It’s very personalized,” says Corona.
