• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Port Info

• Ships in Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• The Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

R.Y. Narayanan

Coimbatore , July 2

THE fitness equipment industry in the country is having a boom time with its market size reaching Rs 1,000 crore and the industry clocking an annual growth of 50 per cent.

It is not only the desire by individuals to keep fit but the emerging trend of the corporate sector establishing gyms in work places which are driving the growth of this industry.

According to Mr Vivek Sood, Head (Marketing) Grand Slam, a Rs 100-crore company that imports health and fitness equipments for marketing in India, both public and private sector companies are going for establishment of gyms in work places since they feel that the performance level of the employees would improve if they are trim and fit.

He cited the names of companies such as Wipro, GE, Airtel that have established modern gyms in their work places.

There is also a growing demand from individuals who want to have training equipment installed in their homes.

He said the demand for fitness equipment came not only from metros or big cities but also from tier II cities as well.

Grand Slam has adopted the franchise route to expand its network and has opened a store in Coimbatore, its 31st in the country and plans to open franchisee stores in more tier II cities in Tamil Nadu during the year.

While five showrooms located in New Delhi were company owned, others were franchisee outlets.

The company markets well-known international fitness equipment brands such as OMA fitness, Grand Runner Armotech, Weider, Twinlab and Prorated.

While in the residential segment the product price band is Rs 5,000-Rs 1.50 lakh, in the commercial segment, the products are available in the Rs 1.75 lakh-Rs 5 lakh price range, a company release said.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Table Employment Guarantee Bill in monsoon session: Left

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line