The Little Gym USA Signs Master Franchise Agreement For Middle East

19 Jan 2010 - The Little Gym International, franchisor of gyms providing curriculum-based, non-competitive motor skills development programs to children aged 4 months to 12 years old, has entered into a master franchise agreement with an existing franchise owner in Kuwait City, Kuwait, to develop at least 15 and as many as 50 locations in the Middle East over the next decade.

Husband-and-wife team Adel Al-Bader and Khaldah Al-Ghanim, who opened their first The Little Gym in Kuwait City in 2003, will continue operating that location and developing more sites throughout Kuwait. In addition, they will now seek prospective single- and multi-unit franchise owners to develop The Little Gym locations in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, Oman, Qatar, Iran, Cyprus, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Iraq and Yemen. They will also assist those who join the franchise in opening and operating their locations, providing business training, site-selection and site-design assistance, operational consulting, market adaptation, marketing support, translation assistance and other ongoing services, with support from The Little Gym International.

Both individuals have significant business and franchising experience. Mr. Al-Bader has a degree in Business Administration and worked in human resources for Kuwait Airways for 14 years and was a branch manager for Quality Tools Franchised Co., a SNAP-ON franchisee, for five years. His wife, Khaldah Al-Ghanim, has a degree in English Literature and taught English at Kuwait University until 2000. Both have been full-time franchisees since joining The Little Gym in 2001.

The Little Gym currently has 301 locations in 19 countries worldwide, including 261 in the United States. Widely recognized as the leading developer of motor skills in young children, the chain was recently named #1 in the children's fitness category for the second consecutive year by Entrepreneur (January 2008), capping off a year of milestones and accolades that included being named a "Hot Retailer" by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and one of Inc. magazine's 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the United States (September 2007). The company also recently opened its 250th U.S. location, 300th worldwide gym and first site in Manhattan.

With a presence in Asia for the past 13 years and a solid foundation throughout Europe, The Little Gym now has a strategic vehicle in place to expand in another key region of the international market, according to Vice President of Franchise Development Ruk Adams.

"This is a very significant development for us on the international stage," said Adams. "It places an experienced entity with a vested interest in growth and a proven success in our system in the Middle East to oversee the selection, recruitment, inauguration and ongoing support of additional franchise owners there, and will allow our development efforts to move forward with full force. In fact, we have already contacted some 20 prospects who previously expressed interest in The Little Gym in Saudi Arabia, Dubai/United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Oman and Cyprus, and we plan to meet with some of them early in 2008."

The Little Gym faces a warm reception throughout the region, said Ms. Al-Ghanim. "The Little Gym is unique in its structure, use of music, individual focus on each child, and the way its themes and fun lead to increased self-esteem. Parents in Kuwait believe in The Little Gym because they noticed a difference in their children, and we're confident that feeling will spread to other locations as we fulfill our development agreement," she said.

The Little Gym Franchise is yet to expand in the Indian subcontinent. Childcare Franchising is on the rise in India, which began initially with preschools like Bachpan and many others. 

Franchising and the Indian Preschool Industry

Though at a nascent stage, the Pre-school industry in India with a current estimated size of Rs 7000 crores, is expected to top $ 1 billion by 2012, clocking a growth of over 28 percent per year. And taking advantage of this huge growth opportunity, most of the players are out to scale up their operations through the franchise route. There is a huge growth opportunity in the sector and most players have scaled up their operations through the franchise route. 

By Priyanka Kapoor

As three-year-old Sanika’s parents shifted from Gurgaon to Bangalore, her mother’s biggest concern was putting the child in a pre-school similar to her last one. Much to her relief she found exactly the same one. With pre-school franchises growing across the country, life has become much easier for young parents with transferable jobs. “My biggest concern was that Sanika should not feel uprooted and alienated,” says Sanika’s mother Nidhi Pandey, a housewife. “Since she was used to the toys, classroom set-up and general ambience in her previous pre-school there was not much issue settling down here.”

Playschools, popularly known as pre-schools cater to children between the age of one and a half and four years, the time when children are too young to start formal education. The concept of pre-schools is relatively new in India, but the trend is fast growing due to increasing awareness about the fact that about 40% of a person’s ability to learn is developed in the first four years of his life. It is an environment which imparts a smooth transition to a child from informal homely atmosphere to a formal schooling set-up and hence passion and care are two most important ingredients of this segment.

The transition, too, has been relatively painless for the operators behind these franchises. In several cases, these franchisees are housewives looking to gain fully utilize their time. Unlike schools that run from nursery to class 12, which largely are mandated by states to be run by non-profi t trusts, pre-schools can be set up as profi t companies. And with increasing awareness among parents about the benefits of a quality preschool education, the school chains and creches, are reportedly turning profi table within the first year—quite uncommon in the franchise model.

Lina Ashar, founder of Brainworks and Kangaroo Kids Education, elaborates,“This is a critical period in a child’s life when specific types of learning take place. The brain is especially receptive to stimulation in the area of language, for example, during the first three years. Therefore, children that are exposed to speech (talking, reading, singing, etc) on a regular basis, exhibit language skills that far exceed those with little verbal stimulation.” Lina, along with many specialists in the educational fi eld are now pitching this concept and stressing towards the importance of pre-schools in a child’s life. Even parents are realizing the signifi - cance of building a foundation for their kids, thanks to tough competition with regards to school admissions.

They no longer go for any neighborhood play school or day care center but are on the lookout for a pre-school with a reputed name and infrastructural facilities for their child’s overall development. Several pre-school chains have already opened up in the past few years to cater to the growing need. But with around 126 million children expected to be in the age group of 0 to 4 by the end of this year, the demand for pre schools in the organized segment may well soar like never before.

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