Tiger Fitness has a plan to get its fitness clubs to play an increasingly important role in the lives of UK students, according to new CEO Andrew McWilliams.
Read moreRead moreThe UK’s leading sports equipment maker said it would set up two “club 4” fitness clubs in London and Cambridge to help them build a community of like-minded students.
It would also provide clubs for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, with access to facilities, coaches and training, according the plan released by Tiger Fitness and unveiled in a video on Tuesday.
“We want to build clubs that we know our students and families will love,” McWilliams said in the video.
“We are looking at our students from the bottom up, we want to find the best people to run our clubs.”
Tiger Fitness’ plans are not entirely unique to the UK.
In June, Nike announced it was creating an academy of around 1,000 members in the US.
In the US, clubs are being set up across several states, including California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
The aim of the plans, McWilliams told Business Insider, was to build up the number of clubs in a way that would allow clubs to thrive in their local area.
“It’s about building a culture of like minded people, that wants to participate in the sport,” he said.
“And to have access to the best facilities.
So that they can take their training and do it well.
And to be able to get in and play at the best clubs, and be successful.”
Tigers fitness team are the latest in a string of British sports equipment companies to set up “clubs”.
Nike’s, and Nike’s parent company, UnitedHealthcare, recently announced it would create an academy in the United States, as well as plans to create clubs in Scotland, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates.
McWilliams’ move comes at a time when the UK’s economy is struggling, and he said Tiger Fitness was looking at how to support the company as it prepares to open a new training centre in the city of Bristol.
Tiger’s new club 4 Fitness plans to open the Bristol training centre next year and it will have a capacity of around 50 students.
“So, the future of Bristol is in a very strong position, and we are excited about that,” McWilliam said.
“And to see that growth, I think it’s going to be a really great platform for our company to grow in.”
Tigers plans to launch the Bristol academy next year, which it hopes will bring in around 1 million students over the next two years.
