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Virgin Active Opens Second Soweto Gym

Virgin Active Opens Second Soweto Gym

This is an updated version of an article that was published July 6, 2015.

Virgin Active has opened a second health club in Soweto after the success of the first one, which opened four years ago at Maponya Mall and became one of its best-performing health clubs, BusinessDayLive reports.

Virgin Active Red opened in Jabulani Mall, Soweto, over the weekend, catering to a South Africans wanting a gym experience that costs less than other gyms, according to Ross Faragher-Thomas, managing director of Virgin Active South Africa.

Virgin Active Red gyms have fewer features than full-service gyms and are designed to attract people who want to join a gym for less than the cost of full-service gyms.

“Soweto is ready for a new and contemporary concept in health clubs especially geared towards a young, energetic and fitness-conscious generation. We expect to see strong growth from the rollout of further Red clubs across South Africa,” Faragher-Thomas told BusinessDayLive.

Virgin Active is one of the world’s largest gym chains, CityA.M. reports. In addition to expansion plans in South Africa, it plans to expand into new African markets including Kenya and to add locations in Namibia over the next 12 months, completely overhauling its digital operations.

South African billionaire Christo Wiese and his company, Brait, paid £682 million ($1.052 billion) for an 80-percent stake in Virgin Active in April. The fitness group was on course for a listing on the Johannesburg stock market at the time.

The company plans to build eight to 10 new clubs per year in South Africa for the medium term, BusinessDayLive reports.

A number of smaller gym chains such as Go Health, Viva Gym and City Rock are opening up in South Africa as more consumers buy health foods and commit to exercise.

Virgin’s Red series competes with some of the lower-cost offerings of these new gyms, BusinessdayLive reports.

Club fees for Jabulani will range from 179 rand ($14.45)  to 1,750 rand ($141.35).

Virgin Active has 146 clubs in Europe including 101 in the U.K.; and 115 clubs in South Africa and Namibia.

Virgin spent £82.2 million ($126.8 million) in 2014 revamping existing sites and launching 11 sites including its first in Thailand, CityA.M. reports.

The group said it will accelerate expansion by launching in new countries including Kenya, with more sites also due to open in Namibia, Bangkok and Singapore in the next year.