Migros Freizeit Deutschland GmbH acquires 100 percent of the shares in INLINE Unternehmensberatung GmbH
The Migros Cooperative Zurich (GMZ) and its German subsidiary Migros Freizeit Deutschland GmbH acquire 100 percent of the shares in the German company INLINE Unternehmensberatung für Fitness- und Wellnessanlagen GmbH. INLINE will remain an independent company based in Dorsten. Company founder Paul Underberg will also remain on board as Managing Director. INLINE has been offering consulting and training services in the fitness and wellness sector since 1989 and, with INJOY, has a franchise system with over 200 fitness studios in Europe.
Partner for a successful future
Paul Underberg is convinced of this development: "In Migros, we have found a strong and competent partner with whom we will be heading for a successful future together. This new situation will provide enormous support as well as relief, enabling us to continue to grow with INJOY, to further expand INLINE's services for the benefit of all our customers and to create more acceptance and response rates for the fitness market as a whole, including through better political framework conditions and educational work."
Migros is the largest retail company in Switzerland and has been represented in Germany with the ELEMENTS premium fitness format since 2012. ELEMENTS has been working successfully with INLINE's services since it was founded. ELEMENTS and INJOY members have the advantage of multi-training options, allowing members to train at other clubs as well.
Sustainable commitment to the health market
The strategic alliance between the partners was established at the beginning of 2014 when Migros acquired 30% of the shares. The aim is to position the two companies even more strongly on the market and to exploit further synergies. This objective benefits from the fact that both companies have strong overlaps in their strategic orientation, corporate philosophy and values, which can now be further consolidated. INLINE and Migros stand for an economic and sustainable commitment to the healthcare market. Quality, competence, efficient training concepts, service and customer orientation are the absolute focus.
Paul Underberg explained: "The past two years have been used intensively to bring us closer together and pave the way to achieve the greatest possible interaction for both partners without compromising the individual identities of the companies. A joint strategy will be developed together in the coming months."
The takeover is subject to approval by the competition authorities. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price of the stake.
About Migros
Migros is the largest retail company in Switzerland, employs over 83,000 people and has more than two million cooperative members. Migros was founded in 1925 by Gottlieb Duttweiler. It consists of ten regional cooperatives and has, among other things, a total of 550 supermarkets and hypermarkets in Switzerland. In 2014, the Migros Group generated total sales of over 27.3 billion Swiss francs.
Migros Zurich - market leader for fitness and wellness
Migros Zurich has been successfully offering fitness and wellness at a high level in its economic area for over 25 years. Today it operates six Migros fitness parks and 36 active fitness studios. With around 85,000 members - and around 100,000 members together with ELEMENTS - Migros Zurich is the clear market leader in the sector in Switzerland. The company has been present in Germany with the premium fitness brand ELEMENTS since 2012. The first fitness facility was opened in Munich in November 2012. Two more studios followed in 2013 and the seventh ELEMENTS studio opened in a prime city location in Frankfurt am Main in 2016.
www.migros.ch
www.elements.com
www.fitnesspark.ch
www.activfitness.ch
www.golfparks.ch
About INLINE/INJOY
INLINE is the leading management consultancy for the fitness and wellness industry in German-speaking countries and has around 600 clients (mainly fitness studio operators). INLINE Unternehmensberatung GmbH has various holdings: The most important is INJOY Quality Cooperation GmbH. INJOY is a franchisor for over 200 fitness studios in Europe, with a focus on Germany with over 150 studios. The high quality and fully comprehensive support of around 200,000 members by highly trained staff is the core of the brand.
www.injoy.de
www.inlineconsulting.de
www.deutschland-trainiert.de
Source: F&G
Images: Injoy Quality Corporation
Published on: 13 January 2016