April 8th, Friday.
Pei Qian followed Assistant Xin to a high-end gym near the company.
The distance wasn’t far, just a five-minute walk from the company, and it wasn’t far from Handu University either.
The gym was located in a street-facing commercial space. The brand name was displayed on the main entrance: Platinum Sand Fitness, Handu University Branch.
These large characters were all in an artistic font, giving a dynamic and fashionable impression. Besides the clean floor-to-ceiling windows on the front of the gym, the sides of the main entrance were decorated with dynamic, abstract artistic paintings of figures in motion—someone jumping for a slam dunk, someone swinging a racket to hit a shuttlecock, someone wearing boxing gloves…
These artistic paintings were separated by lines, giving a comic-like feeling while further emphasizing the dynamic, youthful characteristics.
Pei Qian frowned slightly.
He was quite satisfied with the decoration of this store, which could be put into operation directly after taking over without wasting time. But he was a bit dissatisfied with the flashy entrance.
It was too eye-catching!
Tenda’s businesses should be as low-profile as possible.
But this was easy to fix. After taking over, he could find a construction team to repaint the facade, using a low-key color that wouldn’t attract attention.
These were all minor issues.
Before entering, Assistant Xin briefly explained the current situation.
“Mr. Pei, I had people inquire about several gyms nearby. Three gyms were willing to transfer ownership, and this gym has the best decoration that most closely meets your requirements.”
Platinum Sand Fitness is a national chain fitness brand with several branches in Jingzhou and has been expanding rapidly in recent years. But precisely because of this blind expansion, some problems have emerged.”
“The Handu University branch of Platinum Sand Fitness originally hoped to create a high-end gym near Handu University, targeting students and office workers in nearby buildings, but encountered some problems during operation.”
“There are too many gyms near Handu University. Many small gyms engage in price wars with very cheap annual cards, almost completely dividing up the fitness crowd in the area.”
“Even Platinum Sand Fitness has another branch just over a kilometer away, which severely diverts the customer flow.”
“From the beginning, the manager of this store targeted high-net-worth individuals, setting membership fees higher than other gyms.”
“It was fine at first. The gym’s good environment attracted some high-asset individuals. But as more and more cards were sold, potential users were exhausted. Revenue from new memberships and personal training could no longer cover operating costs. Eventually, it became financially unsustainable and fell into a state of loss.”
“If you’re interested in this location, you have two choices:”
“First, take over everything, including the gym’s members and coaching team. Of course, the manager would be eager for us to do this, but we can use this as a reason to negotiate a better price, perhaps even far below expectations.”
“The downside is that we don’t receive the money from these members’ gym cards; we just use this to negotiate some discounts from the original owner. Of course, we can continue to earn money from personal training for these members.”
“Second, only take over the venue, not the members and coaches, or even the equipment. Have the original owner clear out the store, and we’ll replan. There’s another Platinum Sand Fitness branch just over a kilometer away. We can have the original owner arrange for all these members to transfer their cards to that other branch.”
“Although this seems to lighten the burden, there are only so many people with fitness habits in an area. This might result in us being unable to attract members when we first open.”
Unable to attract members?
That would be perfect!
Pei Qian maintained a neutral expression. “Alright, I understand. I’ll handle the rest; you just take care of the paperwork.”
Assistant Xin nodded. “Yes, Mr. Pei.”
The two stepped into the Platinum Sand Fitness Handu University branch.
As soon as they entered, a man in a suit who looked to be in his thirties came forward to greet them.
“Mr. Pei! Hello, hello, I’m the manager of this store. My surname is Wei.”
Assistant Xin had already revealed Pei Qian’s identity to the manager, which was why he was so attentive.
Even among those looking to take over failing businesses, there were distinctions!
An extremely wealthy buyer was no longer just a takeover candidate, but a golden goose!
When Manager Wei heard that Tenda Group was interested in the store, he was immediately overjoyed.
The store had been consistently losing money. Manager Wei had already planned to transfer all members to the nearby chain store and then close down to stop the bleeding.
Now that Tenda Group was willing to take over, although he would still lose money, he could lose less, which naturally made him happy.
“Mr. Pei, let me give you a quick tour first.”
Under Manager Wei’s guidance, Pei Qian thoroughly examined the entire gym.
It was spacious, well-decorated, and among all the gyms in Jingzhou, the environment was relatively superior.
However, there was no swimming pool, sauna, massage, or other fancy amenities.
Pei Qian knew clearly that for a gym positioned as high-end, this was a moderate disadvantage.
For traditional gyms, the more comprehensive the facilities, the better. Gyms with swimming pools and saunas usually find it easier to attract members than others.
The reason was simple: for many novices, their mentality when choosing a gym was “I might not use it, but you can’t not have it.” They might not know how to swim now, but what if one day they suddenly felt like learning?
So, gyms with complete facilities, even if the membership cards were a bit more expensive, would still attract many buyers.
This was a disadvantage for others, but quite good for Pei Qian.
It further reduced the gym’s appeal!
Manager Wei obviously wouldn’t mention these things to Pei Qian; he just lavishly praised the gym’s large investment and bright prospects.
Pei Qian wasn’t listening, letting it go in one ear and out the other. When it came to price negotiations, he would just let Assistant Xin handle it.