There is no doubt that the boutique studio market is expanding rapidly. London is leading the way, with the 2018 London Boutique Studio Report showing that the market grew in value by 281 per cent in the last five years alone. There are 278 boutique studios across London, offering over 15k classes each week. One area of growth that is largely untapped, however, is corporate membership, with many boutiques citing lack of time or skills to break into this lucrative area.

Gympass, a leader in corporate fitness sales, is changing that. Holding partnerships with some of the UK’s biggest companies, including Tesco, Aviva and Santander, they are perfectly positioned to increase attendance from a large number of corporate members at boutique studios.

Boutiques appeal to those looking beyond the standard gym environment, providing a high-end, bespoke approach to fitness. Previously they have not been readily available to individuals through corporate benefit packages, which tend to offer access to the more traditional operators. By opening the dialogue between businesses and boutiques, Gympass is successfully helping to raise footfall in boutiques from its corporate partners.

Working in tandem with operators to ensure incremental revenue and growth, Gympass ensures that boutiques will receive market value for each corporate member attending their facility. In studies across all of the Gympass partners, they found that at least 80 per cent of users were new to those facilities.

Gympass has also taken care to develop technology that integrates with leading studio booking systems, such as MindBody, meaning its members can seamlessly book into boutique classes and enjoy quick, easy access to the session of their choice.

“Our brand is built on the premise of defeating inactivity by bringing together operators and corporates in a mutually beneficial relationship where both can thrive,” says Eamon Lloyd, director of Partnerships for UK&IE at Gympass.

“As an industry, we are focused on encouraging the inactive to start exercising, breaking down barriers to participation. There is a huge untapped market out there and we see boutique fitness playing an important part in enticing more people toward a healthy lifestyle. Through our wide network offering of boutique studios, we can help individuals find an activity they love, adding value to corporate partnerships, boosting business for the boutiques and succeeding in our mission to multiply the number of active employees in our corporate clients.”