Industrial Reporter

THE first Virgin Active Classic health club, opened a month ago at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, is performing well.

Virgin Active SA MD Hans Hawinkels said the club already had about 1000 members, and the group would probably open another one in Gauteng next year.

The club, which offered more features than other Virgin Active clubs, was being used as a test case for the group. If successful in SA, Virgin Active would probably roll it out in its other operations across the globe.

The Virgin Active Classic was a high-margin, low-volume business there would be a restriction on the number of members.

Hawinkels said the group was still deciding at what number to cap club membership at Melrose Arch. He said this hinged on how often members used the club.

So far the group has seen the average members of this club visiting it more often than members at the other clubs.

Virgin Active SA spent R40m on Melrose Arch, the group's first property investment since it launched in SA just more than two years ago. It runs 77 clubs, with more than 390000 monthly paying members.

Dec 08 2003 07:12:07:000AM Larry Claasen Business Day 1st Edition