Brooklyn Fitboxing Debuts in Rome

Brooklyn Fitboxing is all-in on European expansion.

What’s happening: The Spanish fitness boxing chain opened its first club in Rome, bringing its Italian total to 12.

The franchise will also open a new site in Milan next month, one of 30 clubs in pre-opening phase across its international estate.

Packing a punch. Leveraging gamification, the brand’s 47-minute contactless group boxing sessions score users on power and rhythm while connected to a global leaderboard.

Scaling the concept after a €10M raise in 2022, CEO Juan Pablo Nebrera hopes to double club numbers by 2028 – with ~60 pegged to Spain and ~180 for France, where it has two Paris studios.

“Brooklyn Fitboxing aims to lead the specialised fitboxing market in Europe operating around 500 locations around Spain, Italy, France and Germany.”

Member growth and revenue are on the same trajectory, with targets of 60K to 150K and €40M to €80M, respectively.

Italian job. Expansion in Italy won’t be straightforward, though. Despite gains across Europe, the country’s fitness market lags behind. But group fitness sells everywhere, and big-box chains are aiming to beat boutiques to the punch.

• Italy’s largest operator FitActive, offering bootcamp and functional training modalities, added 33 clubs over the last twelve months.
• Adding two clubs this year, Virgin Active’s 43 Italian locations offer grid training, boxing and cycling.
• Providing small group and functional training services, Anytime Fitness opened six Italian sites, bringing its total to 41.

Of note, Italy has thus far failed to attract big-name boutique players. While Barry’s entered via Milan in 2017, it and the likes of TRIB3, BFT, Orangetheory and UBX have focused expansion elsewhere – namely Spain, the US and the MENA region.

Takeaway: Italy is a challenging market to crack. With all-in-one gyms catering to group and boutique interest, it will take a hard push from a proactive operator like Brooklyn Fitness to speed up sector expansion.