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Skating has been a passion for many of us since childhood. We all have seen this sport being enjoyed by many but now this sport has zillion investment opportunities too. With India winning medals in this sport, entrepreneurs are waiting to invest in this sport. We tell you more about the avenues this sport offers and how you can buy franchise rights for one of the best skating academies in India.
The Skate Academy, founded by Ajay Shivlani in 2015 is a training academy provides a professional skating experience for kids in a fun and safe environment, also promoting fitness and productivity for young kids, adults and families. The Skate Academy takes pride in being Mumbai's only academy that has created the maximum number of International, National (India), State and District Level Champions, with their world class training facilities. The brand has 9 branches in Mumbai. Pondicherry is known to have one of the best skating academies in the country. One of them is Michael Skating Academy started by Michael Amirthalingam in 2012. The academy has around 120 students and this year one of their students made a world record in blindfolded skating 5000 mts in 12.5 sec. Another academy is Jodhpur based Shivam Skating Academy that was established in 2007 by Manjeet Singh Chouhan and Praveen Nath. Each year this academy trains about 1000 to 1500 players and such trainings are also provided at Pali, Nagor, Udaipur, Bhilwara.
Franchising- a right move
Shivlani is himself an Internationally Certified Trainer and Examiner. He has more than 25 years of skate training experience working in association with schools and clubs. On growing via franchisees he says: ‘We are open to expand and extend our branches in India via franchising. A minimum of 2000 square feet space is required for the same. A basketball or even a tennis size multiple activity smooth surface will be required to conduct the skating class. It could be rented from educational or sports institutions or even from any other space providers. Training can be imparted in basic and advanced forms of skating such as speed, artistic, freestyle, roller hockey, roll ball etc. Some forms of skating may require specialized and professional sizes and surfaces at the advanced level.’
For taking the sport ahead, the brand has even tied up with brands for exclusive products rights. The Skate Academy has tied up with LAZERXTECH from Pune, the only skating training company with their own international size bank track and product line up. It also deals exclusively with Cougar from China (through LAZERXTECH). Manjeet of Shivam Skating Academy says: ‘We are ready to expand in different tier II cities but we lack investors. Franchising is an excellent way to grow fast provided there are entrepreneurs ready with such big chunk of land and money.’
A lucrative opportunity
Michael skating Academy is firstly looking for an investor in Pondicherry who can invest to build a private track in Pondicherry and then it plans more academies in India. Minimum 100 mts (synthetic) is needed with a space of 12000 square ft. For maximum 200 mts (synthetic) a space of 18000 square ft is required. Michael says: ‘We are running out of skating tracks in India. If people are ready to invest in skating then this field will be a booming industry. In terms of money, a minimum of Rs 45 lakh to Max 1 Crore is needed for opening a skating academy’
As per Shivlani, the growing population in India and rising capacity to provide the best experience for one’s own children is the biggest driving force. More and More parents are making sure to expose their kids to healthy activities. A good skating training company with correct leadership is a great investment opportunity.
Pavan Kumar Akula, a national level skating coach who has his skating academy in Vizag also sees franchising as a good move for the growth of the skating academies. He travels to different cities across India to train students of national and international capacity. He tells us: ‘Due to inadequate infrastructure and expensive equipments many students are unable to go ahead with skating as a career. But growth of this industry will be better and faster with good investments and better support structure.’
Before you buy franchise of a skating rink/Academy
- Prior to opening a skating rink in your city, it's always better to know how strong the competition is.
- Many experienced entrepreneurs can guide you before opening any academy. Do not hesitate to take their expert advice.
- Before going ahead, think twice as it involves a lot of investment and space too.
- Franchising can be the best model to go ahead. So, always consult an expert before you decide to invest via franchise model.
