Our August’s vlog was filmed at VIVA, a stunning pilate, wellness and beauty studio located in Sentosa, Singapore. Thank you to Vivian and the team for their hospitality.
Read This Month’s Headlines
BIG HEADLINES
- Self Esteem Brands Breaks Growth Records as both Anytime Fitness, Basecamp expand globally. Huge congrats to Chuck, Dave and the team.
- F45 Training has announced that it will delist from the New York Stock Exchange. We wish all involved a successful outcome.
- Mental health platform Headspace secured a $105M senior debt facility to expand its enterprise well-being division.
- Indonesian telehealth service Halodoc closed a $100M Series D round led by Astra International.
- Canyon Ranch, operator of wellness resorts, spas, and retreats, raised $150M in growth funding from VIVI Properties
- US private equity firm Bain Capital won board approval to acquire Australian at-home aged care provider Estia Health for A$838M.
- Nike is set to unveil Nike Studios, a network of boutique fitness studios opening later this year in the US. There are two studio concepts, Nike Training Studios (NTS) and Nike Running Studios (NRS).
- Lululemon, has formed a new Wellness Advisory Board to promote wellbeing across brand, product, fitness and mental health.
ASIA & THE MIDDLE EAST
- Singapore’s CHOYS received US$1.1M in seed funding to expand its SaaS employee wellbeing platform.
- In the Singapore fitness market, Yoga Movement opens its 10th studio next month on Alexandra Road in a colonial house.
- Ripple Club is opening a new studio at the Novotel on Stevens Road, Singapore. Their first classes launch on the 11th of September.
- Adedance Aerial’s beautiful big studio at Marina One celebrates its first anniversary, congrats Ben and team!
- Elev8 in the Philippines reopened their 3rd studio in Manila. BGC was closed during the pandemic but has now reopened. Well done Janie for your determination in rebuilding your business.
- What’s Up Wellness has raised equity funding of $1.7M in its latest seed funding round leg by its sole new investor, Unilever Ventures
- AI-powered Indian fit tech startup All Is Well landed $250K from Bharat Founders and multiple angels to accelerate wearable integration.
- TriFit Fitness Clubs, the biggest fitness brand in Pakistan is opening its 3rd and 4th club in Karachi in September, 2023. With its 5th, 6th and 7th club expected in Q4.
- Equinox is to enter Saudi Arabia With Luxury Hotel Along the Red Sea Coast
- SHUA Fitness releases their B369 Indoor Exercise Bike and the Dual Therapy SH-M320 Massage Gun.
- LVL Wellbeing, announces the successful completion of their $10 million Series A investment by Multiply Group + UAE-based insurtech.
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
- REVL Training forges an exclusive equipment partnership with MasterKraft.
- Jetts Fitness was announced as the second-best place to work for in Australia. Congratulations Elaine and the entire team! What an achievement against serious competition.
- Life Time has named LSKD, an Australian-owned activewear company, as the exclusive apparel brand for its female coaches, instructors and trainers across its lifestyle and athletic country clubs in North America.
- Fernwood Fitness has seen a 23% increase in Year-on-Year revenue and an amazing 42% in profit compared to their 2019 Financial Year.
- Australian wellness supplement maker PharmaCare bought protein snack brand Bounce out of administration.
- Australia-based, personalised vitamin company Vitable secured A$7.5M in a funding round.
- Stepz Fitness opens 2 gyms in 2 months. With 3 more to open before the end of 2023.
NEWS FROM OUR INDUSTRY & LEADERSHIP CIRCLE PARTNERS
- Les Mills Asia Pacific has released a free global report called “Gen Z Fitness: Cracking the Code” to help clubs gain a comprehensive picture of what Gen Z wants from a workout and how to engage this key demographic.
- On 12th November in Sydney, they will celebrate the 100th Release of RPM – their globally popular indoor cycling workout, with the support of BODY BIKE.
- International Fitness Academy (IFA) are proud to partner with the Philippine Health and Fitness Alliance (PFA) in raising the standard of training and education for fitness professionals and enthusiasts in the country.
- Wexer welcomes MELT Method as a new content provider. This partnership reshapes wellness by highlighting recovery and pain relief as vital components of overall health.
- ISSA has partnered with a new distributor in Mexico who will distribute and teach both the English and Spanish versions of the ISSA Certified Personal Trainer course
- ABC Evo, the leading provided club management solutions in LATAM, proudly announced the launch of integrated CRM and Business Intelligence solutions at IHRSA Brazil
- BFT opened its first Hong Kong franchise this month and recently sold its first two franchises in Malaysia, Madrid and Barcelona, complementing BFT’s 175 Australian studios, and an additional 75 spread across New Zealand, USA, Canada, England, and Singapore.
- STRONG Pilates confirms its way to Toronto with its first-ever Canadian location.
- Accor’s SE Asia & India SVP confirms they will open 10-new-hotels in India.
INSPIRATION
Virgin Active Singapore launched their Better Sundays initiative, a vibrant marketplace to champion and support local businesses. Held weekly across August at Virgin Active Raffles Place, Better Sundays will serve as a dedicated space for a diverse selection of activewear, innovative products and healthy food brands to showcase and sell their products. An excellent example of creating a community for local businesses to meet new customers, fostering a sense of togetherness for people who share a passion for health, wellness and sustainability. Well done Julien and his team.
