Operating loss of approximately 5.8 billion yen! Hair Removal, Nails…Rapidly expanding business “Chocozap” has over 1 million members, but challenges and the future

The training facilities are a bit lacking for those who dare to be “hardcore”…

Everyone knows that a moderate exercise routine is important, but going to the gym can be a hassle.

RIZAP’s “chocoZAP” is a convenience store gym for beginners that is said to be suitable for those who do not have a regular exercise routine or who are not comfortable in the gym.

For about 3,000 yen/month, you can use the entire facility 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and you do not have to change your clothes or shoes. This is a big step forward for me, who used to do nothing but trampoline at home in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.

What is worrisome is that the company’s announcement of its financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, which included the following two items: “membership exceeded 1 million” and “1,160 stores (as of November 14, 2012), opening new stores in 40 prefectures,” which sounded like a good sign, and the company’s operating loss of 5,791 million yen (compared to a profit of 230 million yen in the same period last year) due to its rapid expansion, which was reported in the same period last year. The other is a deficit of 5,791 million yen (compared to a profit of 230 million yen in the same period of the previous year) due to rapid expansion.

Because of the convenience of using RIZ, we are concerned that the rapid expansion may lead to a rapid decline. When we asked the RIZAP Group for an interview, Kazuki Murahashi, who is in charge of the “chocoZAP” business, responded.

The first stores were completely different from what they are now.

What I think chocoZAP “invented” is that it eliminated all the hassles that come with gyms – changing clothes, shoes, showers, and dealing with people. It seems like a service that is well aware of the negative mindset of people who don’t like to exercise or hang out with others, but where did the idea come from? When I first asked this question, Murahashi replied, “Actually, it was originally called chocoZAP.

Actually, it was not originally called chocoZAP, but we had been developing several services under different trade names. We honestly didn’t know what kind of ratio would make our customers happy, in terms of fee structure, machines, and so on.

30 We started two years ago and have continued to test various store patterns to see how we could make the most of the limited space of 30 tsubo (860 square meters).

The first chocoZAP store was completely different from the current one, he said with a laugh.

For 10 years, RIZAP’s method was to help people lose weight through exercise and proper nutrition, with a focus on muscle training.

But while there was a huge line for the treadmills and aerobics, the other machines were skimpy. When I saw that, I felt that this was not what the customers wanted, so I decided to try something different next time.

30 I would adjust the space according to the customer utilization rate and other factors, such as whether it would be better to have more machines or more beauty-related products in a 3.5 square meter space, or whether new services would please customers.