Exclusive | Fitness Studio to share 'Fit for Life' idea: Reebok's Basu

Over the years, Reebok as a brand has gradually been synonymous to sports and it's peripherals. With an aim of strengthening its focus towards becoming the most desirable premium fitness brand in the country, Reebok announced the launch of its first-ever Reebok Fitness Studio, an innovative format situated within the Fit-Hub store. The first Reebok ‘store and studio’ concept launched at Mumbai’s Linking Road has been conceptualized to meet the fitness needs of Indian consumers and will enable them to engage in exciting studio fitness activities such as Dance, Aerobics and Yoga.

Adgully caught up with Somdeb Basu, Brand Director, Reebok India to get an overview of Reebok’s retail strategy and the inception of Reebok’s first-ever fitness studio in the world. Inaugurated by popular Bollywood actors and brand ambassadors – John Abraham and Nargis Fakhri, Reebok officially opened its doors to the Fit Hub store and studio, for the city’s fitness enthusiasts.

Speaking about the rationale behind taking the step, Basu said, “With an aim of being the #1 Fitness and Training brand and providing consumers with the right experiences, products and the inspiration to be fit for life, we have taken several important steps towards the same. And this is an extension to our philosophy of giving authentic fitness concept and studio to our audiences.”

Underlining its commitment to fitness and ‘Fit for Life’, these studios will enable fitness enthusiasts to engage in fun and exciting sessions of Studio activities such as Aerobics, Dance and Yoga conducted by Reebok certified expert trainers. Leading the way for other global Reebok markets, India will be the first country to launch the Reebok Fitness Studio.

The brand has taken a three-pronged strategy to growth in India - continuous innovation through products in the Running, Training and Studio category. The new Fit Hub concept stores are based on a global initiative by the brand to inspire people to move, train, get fit and have fun doing it. Like a gym, the environment in the Fit Hub stores is raw, creative and innovative immersing customers into fitness as soon as they enter the store till the very end. Each store is divided into 3 key zones: The interactive storefront, a story floor, and fitting studio with cross-fit -inspired displays.

Explaining the retail strategy of the brand, Basu said, “We focus the retail space on activity and community, and tell clear, inspiring stories about fitness and personal potential. Hence with all our innitiaves like Fit-Hub, Fitness Studio, Running Squads, etc, the aim is to guide customers on their fitness journey and provide a flexible and appealing retail space that helps people discover the right exercise apparel, footwear and equipment to meet their fitness goals.”

The design at Reebok Fit Hub stores took inspiration from CrossFit boxes and the gym environment including, fixtures that replicate gym equipment, audio tracks specially selected for workouts, genuine gym flooring construction and functioning plyometric jump boxes as seating, and aims to provide a complete fitness experience to customers whereas the Reebok Fitness Studio is conceptualized to meet the fitness needs of Indian consumers and will enable customers to engage in exciting studio fitness activities such as Dance, Aerobics and Yoga.

At all the Reebok Fitness Studio consumers can expect best in the line fitness products from running, training to yoga, dance & aerobics & more. In addition to this, consumers can get fitness tips from trained instructors who visit the stores at select intervals.

Well, undoubtedly the concept of launching a Fitness Studio seems quite an interesting and innovative one, so when asked about the number of stores and key markets that Reebok is targeting at, Basu told us that India presently has 103 Fit Hub stores and the team will looking at expanding its footprints in a lot more countries and cities with Fitness Studios too. Leading the way for other global Reebok markets, India is the first country to launch the Reebok Fitness Studio and apart from India, the Fitness Studio are also present in markets like US, Russia, Middle East, Korea etc.

When asked about key markets that have given best results, Basu said, “If we go by market share size wise Delhi is the biggest market followed by Mumbai and Bangalore whereas if we go by growth wise, Calcutta and some more tier II and III cities have been emerging markets for our brand. India as market alond stands as a majority contributor for our brand.”

Apart from Fitness Studio and Fit Hub stores, Reebok has two more concepts which are Reebok Fitness Avenue and Boks powered by Reebok. Reebok Fitness Avenue is a unique fitness movement aimed at inspiring people to move, train and get fit. As a part of this unique format, consumers can not only attend high energy and fun workout sessions, but will also have access to Reebok’s fitness experts and trainers for personalized tips and customized fitness routines.

Each workout session is especially designed keeping in mind the requirements of today’s fitness enthusiast and will comprise of Dance, Aerobics and CrossFit sessions for all age-groups

The Reebok Fitness Avenue was originated a year ago through an association with the popular ‘Raahgiri’* concept in Gurgaon and was soon introduced in the heart of Delhi – Connaught Place.

Not only in India but Reebok also has plans for international markets; Boks Powered by Reebok. BOKS, which stands for Build Our Kids’ Success, is a before school physical activity program designed for elementary school children to jump start their brains to better equip them for a day of learning. In Boks Powered by Reebok, they go to various schools and help the children become fit for their future right from the start.

On the marketing front, Basu stressed upon the fact that though Television and Print would not be focused much but there will be a huge push on the digital and also there will be a lot of focus in the smaller markets. Basu said, “Yes, we will be going to smaller markets as well and implementing the learnings from larger markets and tailor making it to the needs of the consumers in those markets.” 

Initiated in 2013 in India, Reebok’s innovative ‘Fit Hub’ stores have become popular amongst the consumer and have seen tremendous success across important markets including Delhi, Mumbai Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai amongst others, reaching a landmark of 100 stores in 50 cities.