Gold's Gym to open 25 more centres in 2011

International fitness chain, 'Gold's Gym', plans to open 25 more gyms in India at an investment of around Rs 70 crore this year, a senior company executive said.

Presently, the US-based company operates 50 gyms across 28 cities in the country and will add another 25 in 17 cities in this fiscal, Gold's Gym chief operating officer, Istayak Ansari, said.

"The sports and fitness industry in India has not been tapped to its full potential. Therefore, there is huge scope for growth. We will be setting up 25 more gyms in this fiscal at an investment of around Rs 70 crore," Ansari told PTI here.

The fitness market in India is estimated at around $400-million despite the penetration being less than 0.1%.

This is as compared to the US and other developed countries where the penetration is around 12%, he said.

"India is now becoming more and more health conscious and our aim is to grow faster here. Therefore, we have decided not only to expand our business in Tier I cities but also penetrate in the Tier II and III cities where the potential for growth is huge," Ansari said.

The company operates over 700 gyms of which 580 are in the US and its presence in India has been growing fast.

"We expect a 40% growth in revenues from our Indian operations in FY12," he said.

On the source of funding for the projects, he said it would be a combination of internal accruals and equity by promoters.