• Cult.fit strengthens its position as a house of brands with multiple fitness options for the customers adding to portfolio brands: Cult and Fitness First
• Cult.fit will focus on independently growing the Gold’s Gym brand, scaling revenues of existing Gold’s Gym centres, and enabling further expansion using the franchise model
• Cult.fit currently operates 350+ owned and partnered centres in 25+ cities in India; this strategic partnership with Gold’s Gym will significantly expand its footprint and offering across India and further strengthen its leadership position

New Delhi : Cult.fit, India’s largest health and wellness platform, has picked up a majority stake in F2 Fun & Fitness India Pvt Ltd, thereby becoming the master franchise partner for Gold’s Gym in India. This investment by Cult.fit will be instrumental in reinforcing the company’s strong commitment to building the largest fitness & wellness ecosystem in India.

Going into 2022, Cult.fit endeavours to continue scaling its business nationally, across non-metro cities and towns, as well as house brands like Gold’s Gym into its network to further propel their growth in the coming years.

The second largest player in fitness with 140+ outlets in 90+ cities, Gold’s Gym, like Cult.fit, is an immensely popular fitness chain enjoying high brand recall. It also has proven success across metros, as well as Tier 1, 2 and 3 markets, along with multiple long-term franchise partnerships. As part of this strategic partnership, Cult.fit will be investing in scaling the revenue of existing Gold’s Gym centres through top-of-the-line marketing endeavours, and facilitating centre expansion via franchisees in coming years. Cult.fit will also be enabling all the Gold’s Gym centres with its industry leading centre-tech suite and customer app.

Cult.fit with this partnership will also look to expand the Gold’s Gym brand across key geographies such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal & Bhutan.

This investment will additionally help augment cult’s single access pass – cultpass – further making access to premium fitness services easier and affordable.

Commenting on the partnership, Naresh Krishnaswamy, Growth and Marketing Head, Cult.fit, said: “Cult.fit has been at the forefront of innovation in fitness with our expertise now spanning multiple offerings both online and offline. Partnering with Gold’s Gym, we will be able to strengthen our network further and offer the best of everything in fitness in one place. Gold’s Gym’s significant experience and sizeable footprint via multiple franchise partnerships paired with our deep-tech expertise and process innovation creates a winning formula for our customers and potential franchise partners. Together, we aim to build immense value into the fitness ecosystem generating top-notch tech advancement, great business opportunities, and better returns for our partners in the long run.”

Nikhil Kakkar, Chief Operating Officer, Gold’s Gym, said: “We are super excited to join hands with Cult.fit to fuel the next phase of growth for Gold’s Gym in India. We have a mission to touch 200 clubs in 24 months. Over the last 19 years, we have been privileged to work with the best partners in the fitness industry to successfully build the Gold’s Gym brand in India. With this partnership, we can now leverage Cult.fit’s strong technology, operations and demand generation capabilities to further empower and enable our high-quality supply to scale. We see this partnership as a great win-win for our passionate franchise partners, enabling faster recovery out of the pandemic and being their partner in growth for the long run. This also allows us to give our loyal customers access to the best of fitness services across the country.”

Bishnu Hazari, Chief Financial Officer at Cult.fit, said: “Our transaction with Gold’s Gym in India comes at a critical juncture for the fitness ecosystem which is just gearing up for recovery following the pandemic. This acquisition greatly reinforces Cult.fit’s leadership position in the Indian fitness space. It also provides stronger impetus to our growth going into 2023, and enables us to seriously think about going public.”

Cult.fit is the biggest fitness services provider in India focusing on high-quality and differentiated customer experiences in fitness and wellness. It is also the largest at-home fitness equipment player and has recently acquired RPM fitness, Fitkit, Onefitplus, and Urban Terrain. Cult.fit also recently completed a USD 150 Mn Series F fundraise and entered the coveted ‘unicorn club’.