Contxto – The Brazilian unicorn Gympass continues to expand beyond Brazil and develop its management strategy. To oversee Mexican operations, Gympass recently named Lucas Melman as the country’s new CEO.
Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Melman has plenty of experience in leadership roles at other Latin American companies such as iFood, SinDelantal and Mensajeros Urbanos. Now, with Gympass Mexico, his objective is clear.
“Mexico is a very important country for our overall global strategy,” he said in a recent press release. “We’re focused on continuing to grow our local operations at a rate above 100 percent per year.”
Back in September, the SoftBank-funded company also increased its number of gyms in Argentina and Chile. This way, users from these countries will be able to enjoy the wide variety of activities Gympass offers.
B2B gym memberships
Motivated to defeat pandemic levels of laziness and obesity, Gympass partners with companies willing to provide extra health and entertainment benefits to their employees.
Gympass currently works hand-in-hand with a network of more than 48,000 gyms worldwide. Big companies including Tesco, Unilever and Activision Blizzard, not to mention over 2,000 smaller firms, reportedly use the service.
In Latin America, there are more than 65,000 gyms that generate over US$6 billion per year, according to a press release.
All things considered, no longer will you have to choose between paying for your boxing gym rather than your spinning classes. You can do both with Gympass, whenever you want. Other classes include CrossFit, yoga, pilates, dance classes, HIIT and obviously, my favorite, the weights.
Gympass provides universal access to employees to various tailored fitness programs. Classes strive to help participants achieve physical goals while assisting companies to improve loyalty and productivity.
New kids on the block
Burnout and anxiety are big issues not only for employees but also for employers. Productivity losses and the well-being of team members are issues that employers should always consider and act upon when necessary.
In fact, The World Health Organization classified burnout as a problem closely related to unemployment. More subjective, discrete and personal than what economic metrics could ever represent. Physical activity and exercise are some of the magic remedies to combat this massive phenomenon.
Keeping this in mind, this is how to new arrangements will pan out in Argentina, Chile and Mexico:
Argentina
Weight problems will continue to be a concern in the country as obesity rates rise. According to a government-issued survey, in 2005, 14.6 percent of the population was obese. Fast forward to 2018 and now more than a quarter of its population (25.4 percent) allegedly falls under this category.
All in all, this means Gympass will continue to have an important role in helping people acquire healthier lifestyles. With 1,800 gyms across 304 Argentine cities, users will be able to browse and choose from a catalog of 405 classes and activities.
Chile
In Chile, there are 700 gyms or sporting facilities on the Gympass platform across 65 cities. Moreover, 80 percent of Chileans reportedly tend to work out less than the recommended amount by the World Health Organization, according to the press release.
Mexico
In 2016, Mexican authorities enacted new legislation (NOM-035-STPS-2018) to tackle workplace-health issues. This new law came into effect as of October 23. Due to this new law, companies will need to monitor and potentially decrease their employees’ stress levels. More than 3,500 joined Gympass as a way to achieve this.
Currently, the Brazilian unicorn has 3,800 gyms distributed among 524 cities throughout the country.
Health issues
Latin America is definitely a troubled region when it comes to health issues. In fact, according to Deloitte’s study The Corporate Wellness Segment, the region shows the most opportunity in terms of market penetration and growth within the fitness industry.
Due to much of the population’s engraved unhealthy eating habits, there is still much to be done. Complicating matters is the little involvement from companies to improve their employees’ health. As a reference, only 40 percent of companies in Latin America offer physical health and activity programs for their team members.
-VC
