As commercial centres look to diversify and boost their footfall by offering more services, for which dining provisions were becoming the norm, there is now a leaning towards helping shoppers shake off any extra centimetres they may have added to their waistline as a result, with the emergence of gyms accompanying the offering.

The latest to follow this new retail / health fusion is the L’Aljub Shopping Centre in Elche, where work has begun on a new facility for the fitness and bodybuilding club Fitness Park, another French chain to infiltrate the Spanish market.

The chain markets itself as being dedicated to strength training, fitness and cross training, and which is now offering a pre-opening offer for the first eight weeks, although no opening date has been published yet. It is also known for its competitive prices in rooms that usually have more than a thousand square metres. The Elche club would be its 45th club.

The company highlights that these Fitness Park clubs are “high-end gyms at an affordable price.” From high-intensity fitness to cardio, weight training, group classes to sessions with trainers, they offer a wide range of services.

The company has several establishments in the province of Valencia and in Alicante it is currently only located in San Vicent del Raspeig, with Elche being the second city where it is established. Last year, the franchise invested 30 million to open 13 gyms throughout Spain. Likewise, Fitness Park España plans to open around twenty gyms in the country during 2024.