The Italian fitness market is growing: over 5,000 clubs and more than 5 million members

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«Since the beginning of the year there has been a significant increase in enrollments in fitness centers and if we have not yet reached the pre-covid figures, we are still quite close. Even the emergency due to energy price increases, which has had a significant impact in recent months, effectively penalizing at least half of the season, has now partially subsided and allows us to look ahead with a proactive spirit. The average age of gym goers has even dropped and we like to interpret this figure as a further positive sign for the future». This is the opinion of Luca Bettini (K-Well – Tecnocomponent), President of Assofitness, who has recently taken part with his associated companies in Rimini Wellness.

The spaces of Rimini Wellness

Assofitness brought 26 of its member companies to Rimini Wellness. The Group, born in 2007, under the aegis of Assosport (the National Association of Sporting Goods manufacturers with over 140 companies in Italy, 300 brands and 12,000 employees), representing Italian companies active in the fitness and water sports branch , has considerably increased the weight of its presence at the Fair. «We have worked hard to bring almost all of our associates to Rimini. In fact – explains Bettini – with about 30 companies present, we have practically doubled the participating operators compared to the 2022 edition. This was also possible thanks to the intense relationship of collaboration with IEG and its top management, a partnership that strongly consolidated over the years and has allowed us to attract a large number of companies around this important event. As Assofitness Group we strongly believe in the Fair as an irreplaceable opportunity to relaunch the sector which in recent times and especially in Italy, has suffered a lot and in part continues to suffer, despite the fact that concrete glimmers of recovery can finally be glimpsed».

The road to recovery

«To date, those who are paying the price of returning to normal are the home fitness colleagues – adds the President of Assofitness – who had experienced their golden moment in the two-year period of the covid and now have to deal with a reality diametrically opposite. In fact, it was feared that many people, now accustomed to practicing sports on their own, were reluctant to start going to the facilities again, but it was a fortunately incorrect prediction. The fact that the sector has finally embarked on the road to recovery is more of a sensation than the rest».

The market

This is also confirmed by the results of the annual survey “European Health & Fitness Market Report” by EuropeActive and Deloitte». The analysis, conducted on a European scale, attests that gym memberships increased from 56.2 to 63.1 million between 2021 and 2022 for an overall percentage of revenues of +66% (28 billion euros) and positive development prospects also in 2023. From 2021, however, the Italian market has over 5,000 clubs and more than 5 million members and the forecasts for the next five years speak of a further increase in the industry, which should remain constant, linked to the increasing propensity towards personal care and awareness of the benefits deriving from correct and regular physical activity.

The return of Leo

Among the great returns to which Assofitness has contributed, also that of the historic Leone brand, absent since 2019, which in Rimini presents the latest product innovations within a multi-experiential stand divided into a sales area, training, ring and fit area. boxing. «We re-propose a format that we have already successfully tested in the past with kickboxing workouts, martial arts and boxing internships held by professional instructors, adding the novelty of two boxing champions, Ivan Zucco and Matteo Signani, who will be our guests for sessions of free training – specifies Gian Andrea d’Alberto, Marketing Manager of the brand -. The pandemic represented a very difficult test bench and penalized our entire core business for two years, which has always focused precisely on boxing and martial arts. These are two extremely sectoral segments of the fitness branch that the repeated lockdowns have effectively eliminated. Today we are finally witnessing the long-awaited recovery and we return to Rimini with renewed optimism and with the awareness that. boxing is a growing trend, with a good response in the younger age groups and an ever-increasing interest from the female public, especially as regards self-defense techniques. The Fair is therefore a fundamental meeting point with our community and we hope to help bring as many people as possible. It would be a wonderful sign of relaunch also towards the Region that hosts us, Emilia Romagna so severely hit by the consequences of the recent and disastrous floods ».