Fitness franchise opening

Jetts Fitness franchisee Paul Rogers is ready to sign up new customers for the gym, which opens...
Jetts Fitness franchisee Paul Rogers is ready to sign up new customers for the gym, which opens in Filleul St next month. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
Jetts Fitness New Zealand general manager Claire Attard gets "a real kick" every time a new club opens.

The 24-hour fitness franchise, which opens in Filleul St premises on December 17, promotes itself as providing great value at a low cost.

Jetts has been open in Australia for three years, now boasting more than 140 clubs, and arrived in New Zealand 16 months ago. It will have 26 clubs open by next month.

Ms Attard, who joined Jetts in Australia as national operations manager when it had two clubs and had since overseen 80 clubs open, was excited about opening in Dunedin.

It was the first venture into the South Island, with local businessman Paul Rogers the franchisee.

The premises in Filleul St. Photo by Craig Baxter.
The premises in Filleul St. Photo by Craig Baxter.
The club had no contracts, membership was capped and, by being open all hours, it provided flexibility for people to fit in working out with their busy schedules.

"It's just exciting... opening fitness up to a whole range of people. It's all about the ambience and culture we create in the clubs which makes it friendly," she said.

One of the hardest things for people to do was to walk through the front door of a gym, so the aim was to make sure the environment was welcoming and relaxed.

Ms Attard believed there was a market for everybody involved in the fitness industry and "competition makes you strong".

A qualified personal trainer, who had "myriad" businesses before joining Jetts, she said New Zealand was a "great environment" to do business in.

For Ms Attard, her work was not just a job and she enjoyed helping educate people about the benefits of regular exercise.

"It's all about the fact we are helping people. Yes, it's a business, you have to be a viable business... but ultimately it's delivering great facilities that are helping people and bringing fitness to more people.

"We're not all what people see in magazines. We're catering for everybody and anybody in an environment that's got the latest technology."

 

 

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