India’s organised fitness industry has produced exactly one national champion.

Cult.fit did what no gym chain had managed: scaled across cities, standardised the experience, and convinced investors that gyms were venture-backable. It now oversees a network of nearly 700 gyms and fitness clubs, and clocks more than Rs 1,200 crore in revenue. But it’s still loss-making. Anytime Fitness India is challenging that.

The Indian franchisee of the American fitness chain is profitable. In FY25, the company claims its profit margin was about 30%........

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