This blog takes a closer look at how people’s habits are changing and why, if you’re considering taking the plunge with us, 2024 could be the perfect time for you to invest in a new franchise with Swimtime.
1. Changing habits of UK consumers
Many of us have now decided to take active steps to look after ourselves better. This covers everything from eating more sensibly to sleeping longer, and from safeguarding mental health to maintaining a reasonable level of physical fitness.
This viewpoint is supported by the recent Mindbody Research Report, which reveals that wellness is now a top priority for an increasing number of us. With lifestyle changes prompted by the COVID pandemic, 79% of the UK population feel that their health has become a more important consideration over the last three years. This presents a stunning opportunity for anyone involved in this sector.
2. Money might be tight but more of it’s going on health and fitness
The impact of the cost of living crisis can be seen everywhere, but even though most of us have less money to spend, we’re tending to spend more of what we’ve got on personal health and fitness.
Those who don’t have the money to spend on a gym membership are turning to cheaper activities such as jogging, walking, cycling and swimming.
Included in the Mindbody Research Report were findings from a selection of industry reports that have been published in the last year. The Accenture Consumer Pulse Survey 2022 analysed the opinions of over 10,000 consumers in 16 countries. The survey found that even though 66% of survey respondents felt ‘squeezed financially’, 80% of them intended to maintain or even increase the money they spent on health and fitness.
3. Swimming continues to grow in popularity
Over 4 million people in the UK go swimming at least twice a month. To give you another example of the scale of interest in swimming currently, there are over 750,000 searches every year in the UK for “swimming pool near me”.
With the whole health and fitness sector set to boom, and swimming continuing to grow in popularity, now could be the perfect time to set up your own business with Swimtime.
We are the UK’s largest independent swim school and have a flourishing franchise network. Set up over 25 years ago, Swimtime is proud to be setting the highest standards, with all of our teachers highly qualified to ensure swimmers receive a safe, fun and rewarding experience.
Better still, a Swimtime franchise comes with a ready-made business support network that’s always there when you need it.
4. People are now staying active longer
The demographic in the UK is ageing but, contrary to what you might expect, this is not bad news for businesses in the health and fitness sector.
More than half of baby boomers (those now aged between 57-75 years old) are prioritising their wellness. Rather than putting their feet up and taking it easy, these individuals are choosing to stay active. They want to enjoy a good quality of life and they understand that taking regular exercise is an important part of that. After all, what’s the point of living longer if you don’t have the health to be able to enjoy it?
5. Less than 5% of franchises fail
Yes, we are cheating a little bit with this final point in the sense that it’s not exclusively to do with 2024. But, whatever year it is, investing in a franchise increases your odds of surviving as a successful business.
According to a recent survey, around 90% of all franchise businesses were profitable after just two years. That contrasts with approximately 50% of independent businesses that will go under within the same time frame. Your chances of surviving and thriving are quite clearly better if your business is a franchise, particularly if you’re part of a flourishing and well-established organisation like Swimtime.
Let’s take a closer look at some of these all-important financial figures. Franchise territories in the Swimtime network vary in size and you can expect average turnover ranging between £100,000 and £500,000 with net profit at around 20%.
If you’re looking for additional security, it’s always reassuring to know that Swimtime is a British Franchise Association (BFA) accredited operator. That might not mean much to you if you’re not yet familiar with the world of franchising yet, but it lets you know you’ll be joining an ethical organisation that has consistently proved it does things in the right way.
If you’d like to find out more about Swimtime and our successful franchise model, please just follow this link. We’d love to hear from you and we’ll be delighted to answer any questions you might have with no obligation whatsoever.
