Exclusive, but not expensiveThe mystery of Zurich's best-located fitness studio
Lea Oetiker
3.2.2025
The Activ Fitness at Zurich's Bellevue.
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At Zurich's Bellevue, you can work out with a view over Sechseläutenplatz and Lake Zurich. Despite its prime location, Activ Fitness does not charge premium prices. How does that work?
03.02.2025, 04:30
03.02.2025, 10:59
Lea Oetiker
No time? blue News summarizes for you
Activ Fitness has a studio in a prominent location on Zurich's Bellevue with a view of the lake.
How can a fitness center afford such a location?
Under normal circumstances, this is hardly possible, explains an expert blue News.
Activ Fitness and the building owners do not provide any information on the co-ownership ratio.
The location is exclusive and is one of the most expensive in Switzerland. Large window fronts provide a clear view over Sechseläuten-Platz, across to the opera house and out to Lake Zurich. Here, on the second floor of the Globus building, dozens of people train every day in the Activ Fitness branch. Sweating in the most exclusive location - is it worth it for the operators?
In 2019, the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper estimated that Globus, which is located in the same building as the gym, "quickly pays over three million francs" in rent each year. Nobody wants to reveal exactly how much the rent is. Neither the tenants nor PSP Swiss Property, who are the developers of the building. But one thing seems clear: it is likely to be a pretty expensive sweat.
Hardly possible under normal circumstances
Edy Paul agrees. "Under normal circumstances, a fitness club can't afford this," Paul told blue News. He has been working in the health and fitness industry for over 40 years. With his company, he manages leisure and fitness facilities throughout Europe. Only an exclusive club with correspondingly high membership fees could afford such a location.
Activ Fitness belongs to the Migros Group and is part of Movemi AG, a subsidiary of Migros Zurich. With 123 branches throughout the country, it is the largest fitness chain in Switzerland. The fitness chain has around 200,000 members and its subscription prices are in the mid-range segment.
When asked by blue News, Activ Fitness writes: "We aim to make fitness accessible to everyone. This is also the case at the Bellevue location. The studio is very popular and its location makes it an important location for our studio network." Customers would not pay more for the view.
The fitness studio at Bellevue has been around for several years and the building was renovated last year.
Different price categories
There are three subscription categories at Activ. Category one is the cheapest, category three the most expensive. The studio at Bellevue falls into category two. If you want to train there, you need at least a medium subscription.
A spokesperson for movemi explains to blue News that the studio does not fall into category two because of the view. "There are various reasons why a studio is assigned to a certain category. These include, for example, the range of group fitness classes on offer and the availability of a sauna/steam bath." In the Zurich region, all studios would fall into the middle category.
A studio in the most exclusive location that doesn't even fall into the highest price category - how is that possible? Fitness expert Edy Paul suspects that special circumstances play a role here: special agreements with the landlord or cross-financing within Migros. Paul says: "I think they simply have a special deal. It's not possible otherwise." The "tenant mix" could also be important.
Fitness industry booming in Switzerland
It remains unclear whether the fitness studio in a prime location on Bellevue will pay off. What is clear, however, is that the Swiss fitness landscape has changed significantly in recent years.
A survey by swiss active, the Swiss association for fitness centers, shows that In 2023, there were five percent more fitness centers, 13 percent more members, 18 percent more turnover and chain businesses grew by eight percent compared to the previous year. A total of 1.31 million people - i.e. one in six adults - had a fitness subscription in 2023.
Health aspects such as prevention, pain therapy and staying young are becoming increasingly important. "Fitness has long ceased to be a trend and has become part of everyday life. Like brushing your teeth," says Paul.