TRIB3 B.I.G – Industry Insights by Jonathan Fisher
TRIB3, the boutique fitness franchise that aims to redefine HIIT, expands into a new vertical – as it launches two “Boutique in Gym” (B.I.G) studios with Urban Gym Group in Amsterdam.
In cooperation with Urban Gym Group, the Amsterdam-based industry pioneer, TRIB3 opened their first “Boutique in Gym” at TrainMore Koninginneweg, followed by a second studio opening in TrainMore Haarlem on the 25th of October, bringing the TRIB3 footprint to a total of four studios in Amsterdam.
With 20 studios open and beginning to growth accelerate in the Spanish and Dutch market, we sat down with Jonathan Fisher, TRIB3’s Executive Chairman and industry veteran from Holmes Place, to hear more about TRIB3’s new B.I.G vertical.
What is a TRIB3 “Boutique in Gym”?
When I started to engage seriously with boutique fitness in 2017/18, I was startled at how different and elevated a boutique group exercise experience is when compared with a great group exercise experience in a gym or top-end health club. Despite coming from the Holmes Place premium background, which had specialized and differentiated itself with its signature group exercise for decades, I nevertheless understood that the boutique’s highly curated experience was going to be very difficult to reproduce in a big-box gym or health club. Boutique-in-Gym or “B.I.G” as we have coined it, is TRIB3´s process driven solution to the problem of big-box operators looking to elevate their group exercise offering.
What are the benefits of taking a license for a TRIB3 B.I.G?
I think it is fair to say that boutique had a shaky re-entry into the fitness market after COVID, however the macro-trends remain robust for the growth of this segment. Increasingly, exercisers are looking for authentic and innovative experiences to embellish or even substitute their standard fitness routine. Operators with group exercise offerings need to compete somehow or pivot into something different in which they can differentiate. A TRIB3 B.I.G provides this differentiation together with the added benefit of convenience and economic value for its members. In addition, it provides a competitive edge and point of differentiation against other big-box offerings.
So whilst the above can help with member numbers, the experience itself and in particular the TRIB3 methodology helps to drive retention and LTV (life time value) of members. This is something that we look forward to empirically showcasing with the data from our first studios launched with TrainMore.
From our perspective, the TRIB3 B.I.G vertical has the potential to dramatically accelerate our own studio growth mainly because big-box operators have already solved three of the challenges that a TRIB3 franchisee faces: finding a property, signing a lease and building it out. Existing operators have all these in place so they can literally open a TRIB3 in an 8-12 week window from having decided to do so.
You've been an operator for 25 years, knowing what you know of the industry, why do you think operators will turn to TRIB3 for a B.I.G and not do it themselves in-house?
I think there are very few organisations that can create, deliver and maintain a boutique fitness experience. Small organisations simply do not have the human and financial resources to do so, and big companies often find themselves needing to focus their executive resources on bigger projects, so if they can outsource the solution to the problem of mediocre undifferentiated group exercise, generally they are delighted to do so.
In the case of UGG with their TrainMore brand, it was a perfect fit. TrainMore´s proposition is Train More – Get More. They are extending this proposition from getting more money back to getting more services and in so doing strengthen their leadership position in their market.