Migros expands in the German gym market
The Migros Zürich Cooperative (GMZ) is acquiring 100 percent of the shares in the German company INLINE Unternehmensberatung für Fitness- und Wellnessanlagen GmbH through its German subsidiary Migros Freizeit Deutschland GmbH. INLINE offers INJOY, a franchise system with over 200 fitness studios in Europe, and also provides consulting and training services in the fitness and wellness sector.
Migros has been represented in Germany since 2012 with the premium fitness format ELEMENTS. ELEMENTS has been working with INLINE since its inception, and Migros already acquired 30 percent of the shares in INLINE at the beginning of 2014. Together, the two companies want to position themselves even more strongly in the market and exploit synergies.
Migros Zurich operates six Migros Fitness Parks and 36 Activ Fitness studios. The first German ELEMENTS studio opened in November 2012 in Munich. Further studios followed in Munich, Eschborn, Frankfurt and Stuttgart, and the seventh ELEMENTS studio is scheduled to open in 2016 in a prime city location in Frankfurt am Main.
INLINE is regarded as the leading management consultancy for the fitness and wellness industry in German-speaking countries. The company includes various holdings; the most important is INJOY Quality Cooperation GmbH. INJOY is the franchisor for over 200 fitness studios in Europe, with the focus on Germany with over 150 studios.
The acquisition is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. (ah)
