We made a clean strategy to reinvest, add more value, then move the price point

Tell us about Everlast Gyms+, the new upgraded concept

We’ve been elevating the estate with gym refurbishments and the addition of Hyrox Performance Centers, Myprotein Kitchens, recovery areas and reformer Pilates studios.

Currently we’ve completed 26 of our 60 gyms and by the end of April we should have another four finished to bring us to the halfway mark. Our target is to get the whole estate elevated within the next two years.

We’ve noticed that people want value and are willing to pay that bit extra for a good product. Our old Everlast and DW sites were more budget-led but we’re continuing to shift away from that. Rather than mid-market, I like the description of full service, best price.

Our memberships range from £35 a month – where members get access to the gym – to £60 for the Champion+ membership, which provides unlimited use of the recovery areas, Hyrox classes and between five and 10 reformer Pilates sessions, depending on location.

We’ve been really careful about increasing the price to ensure the offering justified this – we made a clean strategy to reinvest, add more value with quality products and partners and then move the price points. Going forward, we’ll be monitoring how long people stay on those memberships and whether it extends the member lifespan.

Interest in gyms has never been stronger and people are joining for numerous reasons. Our lifting zones are now full of a really diverse demographic – both sexes, all ages. It’s such a mix and such a wide variety of people which is fantastic to see.

What impact have recovery and reformer Pilates had?

There is a huge amount of interest in both, and they proved to be extremely popular when we first started offering them at the Metrocentre in Gateshead as part of the standard membership.

When we opened Liverpool Central, we had a rethink about how this offering was presented to ensure it could be managed and maintained efficiently. We created a separate area with a herbal sauna and a salt sauna and four ice baths – two are set at seven degrees and two at three degrees. This is offered as part of the upgraded Champion+ membership and a book-in only basis. It has worked really well and members that are paying for it really respect it.

Demand for Reformer Pilates is unbelievable and it adds proper value to the Everlast Gyms+ proposition. People understand it’s an expensive hobby and impossible to get on the cheap, so while we can’t offer unlimited classes, in the way we can to the Hyrox classes, members can purchase additional credits when they use up their session quota, which works well.

Partnerships seem to be the way forward. What is the thinking?

As part of Frasers Group, Everlast has good exposure to brands and now we’ve become more established in the market we’re attracting some fantastic interest. Hyrox and Myprotein felt like the right connections for us and there’s a really nice synergy between all three brands.

Both partnerships are bringing members to the table and attracting a new clientele.

By upgrading our F&B offering to Myprotein Kitchens with its own products on-site, our secondary spend increases, so it’s a very good relationship and one we’ll certainly continue to build on.

These are the right partners for us – Nike with strength, Hyrox with functional and Myprotein from a nutritional point of view

The Hyrox partnership is also doing well, especially at the sites where the team drive it. The Hyrox Performance Center roadshow was a national Everlast Gyms initiative designed to deliver a premium, standardised Hyrox-aligned training across selected clubs. This kicked off at the Liverpool Central site which was packed out, with three workouts and 30 plus people in each.

Our most recent partnership with Nike Strength is also a big one. On top of installing Nike’s signature Grind kit – which is made out of recycled end-of-life trainers and waste materials – into our sites, we’re working with them to build integrated class programming, so for instance the equipment will be used in our iconic Hustle (HIIT) studios and we’re rebranding the lifting areas as Lifting Club powered by Nike Strength. This partnership is about more than just equipment, it’s about bringing two brands with the same values together to create the very best strength offering on the market.

These are the right partners for us, they each make us stronger in different departments – Nike with strength, Hyrox with functional and Myprotein from a nutritional point of view – they all have strategic points and purpose.

What’s in the pipeline?

We’re always looking at how we can expand our national footprint and having launched our flagship Everlast Gym+ in Chiswick, London, in February, and Manchester Trafford in March, we have a few more in the pipeline across the UK.

We’ll be looking at opening a site that includes gym and padel together – we see a lot of potential in this area

Our first European site opens in Dublin in the spring, which will be situated above an all-new Sports Direct flagship store, much like our flagship Liverpool Central location.

We also have exciting plans in the works for padel. We’ve got three Slazenger Padel sites open, with the most recent launch in Blackburn in February and we’re planning 10 more this year. This year we’ll be looking at opening a site that includes gym and padel together – we see a lot of potential in this area.

Going forward, we’ve got a strong ambition to go abroad. Frasers has a lot of retail partners around the world – Europe, Australia and South Africa – so we will be taking advantage of that.