Hip London fitness chain Gymbox is planning to significantly grow its presence across the capital this year, with plans for four new locations.

This week saw the launch of Gymbox Victoria – the chain’s eighth site and its first south of the Thames – and Gymbox brand and product director David Cooper has told Health Club Management that a further three sites are in the pipeline for 2016. He said one site would be in Chancery Lane, another would be south of the river, while a third location will be revealed shortly.

Cooper said the strong pre-sale for the Victoria site – which saw 1,600 memberships (out of a 2,000 capacity) already sold by the launch date – holds Gymbox in good stead for its forthcoming rollout. As part of the pre-sale campaign, Gymbox worked with digital consultancy Kaleidovision to set up digital screens outside of the gym, enabling sales staff to take members of the public on a virtual tour of the new facility, with added clips and content offering a flavour of the fitness proposition.

“We had an outstanding pre-sale for Victoria, which is partly down to the lack of clubs in the area but also down to the strength of the Gymbox brand, which is becoming well-known across London,” said Cooper.

“Whilst retaining the Gymbox DNA, all of our clubs are very different and their design (led by Ben Kelly Design) has evolved organically over time to reflect user preferences.

“Where once we’d try to cram as much kit as possible onto the gym floor, we’re now leaving a lot more open space to facilitate the popularity of functional training. The changing rooms have also become more chic to meet the trend toward urban design.”

The gym floor of the 14,000sq ft (1,300sq m) Victoria site has been kitted out with a range of hand-picked equipment from suppliers such as Woodway, Wattbike, Life Fitness (and Hammer Strength), Technogym and Concept 2.

Cooper added that the chain remains open to a number of other options for its format, including boutique offerings if the right property becomes available.

“We’re always looking at other options and smaller hubs are certainly something we’d consider if there was a good fit,” said Cooper.

“We’ve always tried to embrace the best aspects of boutique clubs and bring all those training types – such as boxing, combat, dance and HIIT – together in a bigger setting.”

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