It will invest Bt300 million to Bt350 million to open at least three new branches in Bangkok next year and continue to expand at the same annual rate, he said. The company, which has about 1,000 employees here, will hire 300 more next year, he said.

Fitness First has 12 branches in and around Bangkok and the company's expansion will continue to focus on the capital in the near-term. Buchanan added that he had also surveyed locations for new branches in other major cities in Thailand.

Apart from adding new branches, some existing ones will be renovated and facilities for "hot yoga" will be added to them.

Buchanan said the chain was not seeing any fallout from the sluggish economy and was continuing to sign up new members.

The market has plenty of room for growth as relatively few Thais are members of fitness clubs and healthy living is becoming a bigger concern here, he said.

In Bangkok less than 1 per cent of the population belong to fitness clubs, compared to about 20 per cent in London, Buchanan said

Fitness chains view Thailand as a market with enormous potential for profit, he added.

Buchanan put the value of the fitness industry in Thailand at Bt4.2 billion a year.

Fitness First marketing manager Orawan Kleawpatinon said the chain had more than 50per cent of market share.

Its main competitors, California Wow and True Fitness, have far few branches, she said. The former has six and the latter just one, she said.

Fitness First will allocate 3.5 to 4 per cent of its expected sales for marketing next year. It expects sales growth to rise to 30 per cent next year from its average of 20 to 25 per cent.

It expects to add 7,000 to 10,000 members this year to the 50,000 it already has.

The chain was founded in 1992. It had 440 branches and 1.19 million members globally as of last year. Sales totalled US$1.31 billion (Bt47.68 billion), up $142 million from 2004.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation