Intellectual property owners are increasingly looking at gyms and fitness regimens as a viable experiential category, as several recent deals around the world illustrate:
- Tim McGraw is partnering with Snap Fitness for a chain of gyms in the U.S. called Tru Mav Signature Clubs. The name is short for “true maverick,” and the centers will offer workouts based on the country singer’s own fitness routines as well as featuring his music.
- Reebok has paired with Gensler to develop a network of retail and wellness centers called Get Pumped, located at former gas stations and rest stops around the country. The centers, dubbed “fuel stations for the body,” are expected to include healthy foods, fitness areas with a variety of workouts and equipment, charging stations for electric cars, nutrition classes, relaxation programs, and the like.
- HRX, the athletic lifestyle brand of Indian actor Hrithik Roshan, collaborated with Cult gyms for workout regimens available to members of 10 Cult locations in Bengaluru (Bangalore), India. The system is designed for clients at all levels of fitness.
- Extreme, an athletic lifestyle brand, collaborated with Knockout Wellness for a chain of Extreme-branded fitness centers. Like the example above, these gyms will also be located in India, as well as Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, with new centers opening from 2017 through 2022.
A few properties have lent their names to gyms in the past—the UFC mixed martial arts brand being one notable example—but the pace of deal-making in this sector has picked up.
Not all properties are appropriate for fitness centers, of course. That said, there has been a significant amount of activity lately in athleisure and athletic apparel tied to properties outside the sphere of sports and wellness. This is particularly true for musicians, with Beyoncé, Demi Lovato, Carrie Underwood, Selena Gomez, Luke Bryan, Zayn Malik, and many more musical acts having lent their names to athleisure gear.
This suggests that the natural overlap between licensed IP and the workout space is not as narrow as it might seem and that it would not be too much of a leap for some of these names to enter the fitness center space. The Tim McGraw chain of gyms is a case in point. Fitness centers require a much more significant investment and represent a greater risk than workout clothes or yoga mats, however, and the thought process behind the development of any licensed initiative in this sector should reflect that.
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