COLDSKY.CN – Three top Chinese shared-gyp operators have all finished Series C round financing after Shanghai-based Liking Fit obtained a total of 350 million yuan ($54 million) from several investors.
In Series B, Sigma Square Capital (方和资本) led existing investors Cowin Capital(同创伟业), Zhonglu Capital(中路资本) and Lightspeed China Partners (光速中国) to inject $50 million yuan into Liking Fit.
Guangkong Zhongying Capital (光控众盈) , jointly established by China Everbright and Focus Media in August 2016, along with smart-city IoT solution provider Terminus（特斯联）led two existing investors — Sigma Square Capital and Lightspeed China Partners — to make a Series C investment totaling 300 million yuan, according to the Beijing News.
Liking Fit, founded in Sept. 2014, now operates 24-hour smart gyms through a franchise business model. Following are the costs to open a smart gym according to its website www.likingfit.com
Liking Fit users can use a mobile app or smart watches to access the gym, facilities, storage room and shower and then monitor their health data on the cloud. Franchisees can monitor and manage gyms through mobile devices.
Xu Zhiyan, founder of Liking Fit, said the company will add a new business model – franchise + joint management- following the latest round of fundraising, meaning the franchisees can choose to be guaranteed to break even while accepting the joint operation of the company.
Liking Fit also said it has planned to open 200 gyms in over 100 cities, while 90 now already in operation.
Competitor: Supermonkey
It’s reported in December 2017(http://www.sport.gov.cn/n319/n4832/c839781/content.html), fitness startup Supermonkey completed its C-round financing worth millions of yuan, led by a sports industry fund co-sponsored by Sequoia China (红杉资本中国) and the Chinese Culture Group Holdings (CMC Holdings，华人文化控股集团).
Supermonkey, founded in June 2014, offers two kinds of stores – gym boxes and group class studios. For the indoor or outdoor gym box, a patented product, users can book a time slot with WeChat and use all kinds of fitness equipment. People can also book from 100 kinds of group classes, such as boxing and dancing, yoga, and children potential development.
The company owns 30 facilities in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, among which none is in the red. It plans to expand to 100 gyms in more cities this year.
Hangzhou-based fitness startup Lefit
Lefit, which also adopts the company owned business model, got 300 million yuan in Series C from lead investor Hillhouse Capital(高瓴资本) in last October.
It makes a monthly charge of 99 yuan to users who can use the smart gyms for unlimited times and choose from 300 fitness classes. Users need to pay for one-to-one private instruction. Lefit also runs an online mall to supply three sports production lines.
On Chinese Quora-like website Zhihu.com, the profit-making prospect of Lefit has been in question because the monthly fee seems to be inadequate to run a store.( https://www.zhihu.com/question/38290418) however, supporters believe the fee is just the entry point for tutors, store owners and customs to meet and other business chances will evidently rise online and offline.
Lefit said it operates around 200 fitness gyms and 3,200 exercise instructors in eight major cities.
