Severe weather ahead for small sports studios: “Customers are increasingly paying attention”

“These are strange times indeed.” Susanne Reynaert, yoga studio owner at Zeeburgerdijk in East, expresses herself cautiously. “Since we opened after the corona period, I notice that it is very bumpy. We are currently selling some ride cards, with which you can take five lessons. So that’s nice.”

So much for the good news. Because: the summer months were quiet at Studio Reyn. “Of course that is always the case during the holiday period, but this time it was really extreme.” Suzanne is working hard on a plan to find many customers again this autumn, traditionally a time when many people start exercising more.

Boutique gyms

Small sports and yoga studios like Suzanne’s have become a familiar part of Amsterdam’s street scene in recent years. Sports enthusiasts come to sweat for an hour on the yoga mat, the spinning bike or next to the punching bag in trendy decorated rooms. These ’boutique gyms’, as they are called, are often aimed at consumers who are willing to pay a little more for sports. This is often not just a traditional subscription at one location. Via apps such as OneFit and ClassPass, athletes can choose a sports lesson that meets their wishes. Sometimes that’s a HIIT class at seven in the morning, then another yoga class after work.

And there are quite a few of those boutique gyms in Amsterdam. “In London you have 270 of those boutique studios, and in Amsterdam 220”, counts Mirjam Roos of Urban Gym Group. In addition to large, classic gyms, this company also owns a few smaller sports studios in Amsterdam. “The difference is that about 10 million people live in London. Amsterdam is not even one million.”

Different sports

So it is for entrepreneurs of smaller sports locations to fight for every sports enthusiast. The point is that since corona, that consumer has a preference for traditional fitness, they think at Urban Gym Group. So: large spaces with weights and equipment. Roos: “We see this in our market research and surveys among members. The trend is really towards fitness right now. In September we therefore opened a TrainMore in De Pijp, a gym with weights and equipment for the middle segment.” It’s the thirteenth Trainmore in Amsterdam and if it’s up to Urban Gym Group, it doesn’t stop there. “We are looking for even more locations, especially in and around the city center.”

An entrepreneur who founded several boutique gyms in Amsterdam thinks that the changed demand is also related to the corona pandemic. She wants to remain anonymous, because she doesn’t want to offend other entrepreneurs. “During the pandemic, people found out that you can also do some sports at home, for example via YouTube. If you want to save money, that is of course an attractive option.” Around her, she hears a lot of concerns at smaller boutique gyms and yoga studios.

Gösta van Dam founded Svaha Yoga 24 years ago and knows the market well. “We have since built a loyal customer base, so we are not worried just yet.” It is different for smaller entrepreneurs who started later, he thinks. “If you’ve just opened your own studio on – I name it – the Albert Cuyp, then it will be exciting. Then you have start-up costs and a high rent.” There are also high energy costs: many yoga studios are heated to a comfortable 24 degrees. “And hot yoga studios even go up to 42 degrees. We have now turned down the heating in our studios.”

economies of scale

“Parties such as boutique gyms have a disadvantage compared to fitness chains,” says Stef Driessen. He works as an economist at ABN Amro and conducts research into the leisure economy. “Think of economies of scale, such as renting locations cheaper. But it goes beyond that. They can also experiment more easily. If something works at one location, they roll it out to the other locations.” They can also more easily absorb rising energy and labor costs than small sports studios that have to manage on their own.

On top of that, inflation is likely to make consumers look more critically at spending. “If purchasing power falls, price-quality becomes more important for the consumer,” says Driessen. Possible consequence: fitness chains, which can lower their prices more easily than independent entrepreneurs, are hunting the consumer.

At OneFit, the app that many athletes use to register for a sports class, they see that boutique gyms are struggling to reach the same numbers as before the corona pandemic. Spokesperson Kari Littley: “That is also because with the rise of working from home we have become accustomed to organizing our own time. And so also when we want to exercise, we want to decide for ourselves when we go and not when a studio happens to offer a lesson. .” She thinks boutique studios can win by – just like OneFit itself – focusing strongly on customer loyalty and creating a group feeling.

And that is exactly what Suzanne from Studio Reyn wants to do. “I may be a single person, but I rely on my own strength. Our customers are satisfied, we have very good reviews. So I am looking forward to the future in good spirits.”