Virgin Active has opened its Siam Discovery leisure club in Thailand.
The club is the first of up to 20 new centres planned to open in the next six years. Siam Discovery is Virgin Active’s fourth club in Thailand and will build on the company’s ambitious plans to invest up to 5.2 billion Thai Baht (£115 million) in the country, creating up to 1,500 new jobs.
The company also plans to invest an additional 100 million Singapore dollars (£55m) in Singapore, as the Virgin Active brand expands its presence in Southeast Asia.
Joining its clubs in Empire Tower, EmQuartier and Westgate, Virgin Active Siam Discovery covers more than 5,000sq m, and is one of the largest members-only fitness clubs in Asia.
It offers an air-conditioned 20-metre indoor swimming pool, hydrotherapy pool, an ice room and Himalayan salt inhalation room. Club lounges will serve healthy meals and offer free Wi-Fi and computer stations, as well as business meeting pods and sleep pods.
The club will also boast the largest indoor climbing wall in Thailand, as well as the company’s second Altitude studio set to mimic training conditions at 3,000 metres above sea level - higher than Thailand’s highest point, Doi Inthanon at 2,565 metres. The club also features a multi-sensory mind and body studio where members can take part in hot yoga ‘under the setting sun’, as well as The Grid - a training zone - and a bespoke boxing studio.
Matthew Bucknall, president and founder of Virgin Active, said: “The resounding success of our first three clubs shows that we are creating an unrivalled health and fitness club offering in Thailand. It sets a strong foundation for our ambitious plans to grow the number of clubs we have here and across South East Asia, and we’ve already identified six new sites for 2017.”
Virgin Active’s next club will open in Bangkok’s new Central Festival East Ville. It will feature Asia’s first fully dedicated children’s fitness facilities incorporating the latest junior activities, which will include ‘learn to swim’ programmes from the UK and Australia.
Bucknall is convinced that clubs in Southeast Asia will transform the region’s fitness market, appealing to a new wave of consumers who want more from their workouts and to be part of the brand.
As part of the Siam Discovery opening, the company will also unveil its new logo. The logo will be rolled out as new clubs open in Bangkok, London, Singapore, Sydney, Cape Town and Milan.
Tim Carter, Virgin Active Group brand director said: “Since our first club opened in 1999, we have brought innovation to health and fitness club users the world over, disrupting the status quo as only Virgin brands can.
“With this in mind we are revolutionising our brand and amplifying the Virgin values that sit at the heart of our business. We’ll soon start to extend our revamped identity into new territories and across all existing channels. It’s the next step in our growth, with a lot more surprises to come.
“As one of the world’s most exciting fitness hubs, Bangkok was the obvious choice for this unveiling and signals our exciting growth plans in the region.”
