Bally Total Fitness Expands Global Reach With New Health Clubs in Korea

Bally Total Fitness announced the opening of the first Bally Total Fitness Franchise in South Korea, located in the Seoul suburb of Bundang. The company will launch a second facility in Pungchung, South Korea, later next month.

"Bringing the Bally brand to Korea is a tremendous step for our company," said Lee Hillman, chairman and CEO, Bally Total Fitness. "With most of the country's health centers catering to the very wealthy, Bally will answer the much-needed call for affordable and reasonably-priced fitness solutions for the people of Korea."

The Bundang Bally Total Fitness is a 35,000 square foot location that provides members with state-of-the-art equipment, as well as over 120 popular group exercise classes, including Yoga and Spinning™. In addition, the club will offer a retail store, a rehabilitation center, an indoor golf range, as well as a Child Care area.

"We're entering the Korean market at the perfect time," said John Wilson, who heads up Franchising for Bally Total Fitness. "The country's focus on health and fitness is booming as most consumers are now focused on staying fit and improving their physical well-being. By leveraging our unsurpassed expertise in fitness and nutrition, we will help lead the way."

In May 2002, Bally Total Fitness launched its first club in Beijing, China through a joint venture agreement with China Sports Industries Co., Ltd. (CSI), the country's largest publicly traded company related to sports and fitness.

Through its joint partnership with Holmes Place, the leading operator of premium health and fitness clubs in Europe, Bally Total Fitness plans to introduce the Bally brand throughout Western Europe in 2003.

Last year, the company debuted its first Bally branded facility in Nassau, Bahamas through a Franchise arrangement with Doctor's Hospital, the leading for-profit medical institution in the Caribbean region.

Bally Total Fitness is the largest and only nationwide, commercial operator of fitness centers, with approximately four million members and nearly 430 facilities located in 29 states and Canada under the Bally Total Fitness, Crunch Fitness, Sports Clubs of Canada, Gorilla Sports, Pinnacle Fitness and Bally Sports Club brands. With more than 150 million annual visits to its clubs, Bally offers a unique platform for distribution of a wide range of products and services targeted to active, fitness-conscious adult consumers.