{"id":44383,"date":"2023-10-20T15:35:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/workout-wars-aussie-fitness-startups-partner-to-take-on-us-giant-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:35:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:35:35","slug":"workout-wars-aussie-fitness-startups-partner-to-take-on-us-giant-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/workout-wars-aussie-fitness-startups-partner-to-take-on-us-giant-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Workout wars: Aussie fitness startups partner to take on US giant – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Australian startups are bracing for the imminent launch of large US subscription fitness service ClassPass, with some saying there is only room for a handful of local competitors and the smaller ones will be squeezed out.<\/p>\n

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The prominent US startup allows users to sign up for classes at a range of venues instead of being locked into a single gym contract, and is expected to launch in Australia within a month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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It is currently advertising for a regional general manager to head up operations in Australia.<\/p>\n

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ClassPass\u2019s success in the US, where it has raised $US54 million and is on track to reach $US60 million revenue,  led to many copycat startups trying to offer the same service in Australia.<\/p>\n

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Teaming up to stay alive<\/b><\/p>\n

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One of the biggest local rivals to ClassPass is Malaysian-based KFit, which has just swallowed two smaller startups in the same market, Classhopper and SweatPass in an effort to gain size before the US giant sets up shop.<\/p>\n

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Hoffman, who founded Classhopper and has now joined KFit, says it\u2019s undoubtedly going to be difficult for the Aussie startups.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s very much going to be a case of the big fish being able to drive the market, and the smaller guys will at some point fade out,\u201d Hoffman says. \u201cIt\u2019s about survival in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The recent merger was a way to ensure this survival, she says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe were doing really well and getting a lot of traction, but the local competition was absolutely rife,\u201d Hoffman says. \u201cWe recognised there was probably only room in the market for two or three major competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cAt the time there were ten or so smaller startups trying to do the same thing. It was clear to me that they were the guys to partner with.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a way of streamlining operations,\u201d she says. \u201cIt will definitely be tough for the smaller startups in the same field. There\u2019s a lot to be learned from the bigger players, and the smaller startups can leverage some of the industry learnings.\u201d<\/p>\n

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KFit has enjoyed rapid growth since launching in April, Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.<\/b> and expanding to ten cities in seven countries across the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n

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It now has over 600 partner fitness studios in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Auckland.<\/p>\n

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In a further consolidation of the sector, fitness subscription business BodyPass has acquired Melbourne-based competitor Hello Flexi.<\/p>\n

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A BodyPass spokesperson says having the local knowledge is very important.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve taken what they\u2019ve done and tweaked it for Australian purposes,\u201d the spokesperson says. \u201cWe\u2019re owned and run in Australia, and the founders are industry veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s all about the studios, and we\u2019ve got the studios. Knowing the studios, being there for the studios and having those one-on-one relationships are why we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Going it alone<\/b><\/p>\n

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While these startups are partnering with their competitors to ensure survival, others are going it alone.<\/p>\n

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Sydney-based AnyClass launched in April with the aim of getting the first mover advantage over the packed competition<\/a>.  The nationwide service allows users to book casual group fitness classes online, and charges $25 per week to attend up to three classes at any one studio per month.<\/p>\n

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AnyClass co-founder Elena Torriani says she isn\u2019t concerned at all about the ClassPass expansion.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey are a bit late, they\u2019ll have to catch up,\u201d Torriani says. \u201cWe\u2019re an Australian company run by Australians; we understand the local market.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The AnyClass team has actually travelled to the US and met with ClassPass, Torriani says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen we were first exploring the market, our team went to the US and spoke to ClassPass itself,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have a good understanding of what the model is, and an understanding that plunging a US model into Australia wouldn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The fitness subscription model has become increasingly popular in Australia of late, and the startup market is looking oversaturated.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s booming, and it happened quickly,\u201d Torriani says. \u201cIt was about time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The \u2018next Uber\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

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Startups like BodyPass, FitSessions, FitnessCalendar and Classium are all delivering very similar offerings around this disruptive model, and things are about to get much more competitive once Classpass arrives.<\/p>\n

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The US startup has been called the \u201cnext Uber\u201d by some, and now has over 7000 partnerships with fitness studios in North America and the UK.<\/p>\n

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Hoffman says KFit isn\u2019t concerned about the international startup\u2019s imminent arrival.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s definitely not something we\u2019re afraid of,\u201d she says. \u201cHaving healthy competition in the market is the best thing, and there\u2019s definitely room in the market for two or three major companies.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019ll be exciting to have them here. There\u2019s an element of consumer education. There\u2019ll be another voice in Australia that will help us communicate what we\u2019re trying to do and make it more acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Although the main offering is near-identical, Hoffman says there are some important differences between the two.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAt the core of it our business model is quite similar, but our message and what our brand stands for is very, very different,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cKFit is a mass-market product, we\u2019re for everyone and we\u2019re very, very accessible. There\u2019s a massive variety of different activities available that other companies may not necessarily have or be looking at.\u201d<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s also the matter of pricing, with ClassPass be charging Australian users $99 per month.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBy no means do we want to be seen as low end, but we want to be affordable for everyone,\u201d Hoffman says.<\/p>\n

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KFit charges a $69 monthly fee, compared with a $99 monthly BodyPass subscription for boutique fitness studios in Sydney, and a $100 fee for FitSessions, which focuses on outdoor exercising and boot camps.<\/p>\n

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ClassPass has already shown that it is willing to acquire competing startups, and Hoffman says this hasn\u2019t been ruled out for KFit, however unlikely it might be.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnything is possible, that\u2019s the beauty of the startup industry, there\u2019s so much flexibility,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe certainly wouldn\u2019t rule anything out. We\u2019ll just see what happens. As we continue to grow exponentially anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Want to grow your business with Instagram?\u202fStartupSmart School can help<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australian startups are bracing for the imminent launch of large US subscription fitness service ClassPass, with some saying there is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,11,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44383"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}