Large American supermarket chain Kohl's has announced a partnership with Planet Fitness, a franchisor and operator of fitness centers.
Kohl's representatives told reporters that the change is intended "to improve the customer experience and increase store traffic." From now on, visitors to supermarkets will be able to do not only shopping, but also sports. It is stated that 10 training centers will open in 2019, adjacent to Kohl's stores. They will have an area of about 2000-2500 sq. m. Kohl's will also expand the range of clothes presented, it will add items of large sizes, manufactured by Nike - a very good move, since it is often difficult for people with non-standard figures to find the right things for sports.
All of this is part of Kohl's new marketing strategy. The company begins to actively position itself as a "health center for the whole family." The network has previously introduced a pilot program with WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers), a health and nutrition organization. As part of the agreement, selected Kohl's supermarkets will now sell WW Healthy Kitchen brand products - food, kitchen utensils, etc.
Today, there are about 1,700 Planet Fitness clubs in the US and some neighboring countries. They are mainly aimed at casual and novice visitors and are present in many large and small shopping centers (not without reason it is believed that this contributes well to the growth of attendance of the latter). It is the fastest growing fitness center franchise in the country.