Singapore’s Spartans Boxing Club enters Vietnam, eyes South-east Asia growth
The boutique boxing brand plans to open a total of 50 gyms globally by 2025
[HO CHI MINH CITY] Spartans Boxing Club (SBC), the fast-growing Singapore-based boxing and fitness brand, has signed a Master Franchise Agreement with experienced financial legal counsel Hai Tran to open 10 locations across Vietnam.
Established in 2015 in Singapore’s East Coast, the boutique boxing brand today boasts 18 centres across five countries, including Dubai, Australia, the Philippines, and Cambodia. It aims to further expand in South-east Asia to realise its goal of having 50 gyms under its brand across the Asia-Pacific region and the Gulf Cooperation Council by 2025.
The team is currently scouting sites for the first gym in Vietnam, which is expected to open in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City in the first quarter of 2025. It is also eyeing the next locations in the capital Hanoi or Vietnam’s central city of Da Nang.
Hai Tran, master franchisee and owner of Spartans Boxing Club Vietnam, has worked in Singapore for the past 10 years as legal counsel for major financial institutions such as Standard Chartered Bank and Barclays Bank, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He tried boxing at SBC for the first time in Joo Chiat in 2020 and was later interested in franchising opportunities that would bring him back to his origins in Vietnam.
With healthy economic growth and a thriving fitness market, the South-east Asian country presents an opportunity for SBC, the brand noted, which aims to attract expatriates, affluent young individuals, entrepreneurial and social media savvy groups, and working professionals.
Russell Harrison, chief executive at SBC, recognised that Vietnam has a vibrant local boxing scene with some outstanding boxers at a national level. He made a trip with Hai Tran to Ho Chi Minh City in July and witnessed optimistic prospects in the country of 100 million people – the third most populated in South-east Asia, behind Indonesia and the Philippines.
Aiming to take boxing to the masses, Harrison added that SBC plans to roll out two other corporate pillars beyond gyms in Vietnam, comprising education through Spartans Boxing Academy and signature events like Spartans White Collar Boxing.
Mordor Intelligence estimated the South-east Asia health and fitness club market size to grow from US$2.45 billion in 2024 to US$3.83 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate of 9.36 per cent during the period.
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