OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
Beyond this lack of clarity, what’s now clear is that a class pack-based model is not the path to business sustainability. Neither can you rely on brand alone to drive custom. This is a big challenge for the boutique sector, which is having to explore recurring membership models to support its commercial success in this new era. As such, we’re seeing more crossover between sectors, with premium gym chains offering club-in-club boutiques and boutiques trying to adopt gym-style memberships. Our multiple brands – Boom Cycle, KOBOX, Barrecore and trigoya – are beneficial here, enabling us to offer the choice between membership of one specific boutique brand, or accessing all our brands and studios through our Studio Pass membership. We’re able to offer variety within one business. Elsewhere, we’re seeing other boutiques trying to achieve this either by expanding into multiple disciplines or by acquiring other boutique brands. Tell us more about your approach. Crucially, while we’ve consolidated our business behind the scenes to create economies of scale, each of our boutique brands remains distinct; from a customer-facing perspective, Boom Cycle, KOBOX, Barrecore and trigoya are separate sister brands. Even where we have multiple brands in one location, each has its own studios and delivers its own specialist boutique experience. We’ll be working on making the brands feel even more distinct moving forward. In Chelsea, for example, where we have two brands – and a third concept coming soon – we’ll be reviewing the entire customer journey to ensure the relevant branded experience is delivered across every touchpoint.
Boutique has become a buzzword and it’s led to a lack of clarity around its definition.
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LONDON BOUTIQUE STUDIO REPORT 2023
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