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KOKO FITCLUB'S INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION BEGINS IN CANADA
Company Signs Multi-Unit Agreement for Ontario
ROCKLAND, MA – October 21, 2009 – The future of fitness will arrive soon in Ontario Canada. Hailed by Club Business International as "The next big thing in fitness," and by BusinessWeek as "Just what the fitness industry needs," Koko FitClub LLC, the technology company that is reinventing the fitness franchise business, today announced a multi-unit deal that marks the beginning of the company's international expansion. RosKo Fitness, Inc. will operate Koko FitClubs in the Ontario area with its first Club planned to open outside Toronto in Oakville by the end of this year.
Through its patented Koko Smartraining System™ Koko FitClub replaces expensive personal trainers with technology that precisely analyzes each member's unique fitness level, designs a customized training plan based on individual fitness goals and ability, and guides members through every workout using Koko's interactive video screen on its proprietary strength and cardio equipment. The system packs all the benefits of a 60-90 minute personal training session into just 30 minutes or less.
The Smartraining technology also enables club owners to offer a high level of service to their members without the burden of keeping expensive personal trainers on staff. This technology allows Koko FitClubs to be run by one person during daytime hours and can operate in no-staff, self-service mode during off-peak hours without any difference in service levels to its members.
"International expansion was not an immediate focus for us," said Mike Lannon, cofounder of Koko FitClub. "But Tony Rossi and Chris Kotsos, the RosKo partners, understood the incredible opportunity we offer both consumers and franchisees and aggressively pursued the rights to open Koko FitClubs to Canada. Together they bring such an unparalleled set of skills, experience and passion for fitness, that we accelerated our entry into the international fitness arena."
Rossi and Kotsos have been business partners for nearly a decade, currently at their company SpinCycle Marketing Solutions. Both have extensive sales and marketing backgrounds as well as experience and expertise in management and operations. Tony Rossi has more than twenty years experience in corporate Canada including positions as VP Sales and Marketing, Konica Minolta, GM of Epson Canada and Director of Retail Sales for Rogers Communications. For more than twenty years, Chris Kotsos owned and operated his own sales and marketing company.
"We were looking for a retail business and were intrigued by Koko FitClub's potential to be a game-changing fitness industry leader for millions of Canadians," said Tony Rossi, RosKo partner.
"We relentlessly pursued the opportunity because no other fitness franchise offers anything akin to the Smartraining System," added Chris Kotsos. Koko FitClub has invested nearly US$10,000,000 in developing the one-of-kind technology since 2003, which provides Koko FitClub's co-ed membership with world-class personal strength and cardio training for at a fraction of the cost of traditional gyms.
About Koko FitClub
Koko FitClub, a technology company that is completely reinventing the fitness franchise business, is designed for franchisees that want to be at the forefront of an entirely new concept of fitness, health and technology. Its patented Smartraining System technology, developed by founders Mike Lannon and Mary Obana with assistance from the Director of the MIT Center for Sport Innovation, enables Koko to provide consumers with unlimited personal training at a remarkably low cost and provides franchisees with an end-to-end system to run the operation. Today, after more than 100,000 exercise sessions completed and millions of calories burned, the Koko Smartraining System is recognized as the most dynamic automated strength and cardio personal training system in fitness. In 2008, the company received the coveted Nova7 award for industry innovation in the fitness industry. Koko FitClub is the exclusive fitness franchisor to offer the Smartraining System. For additional information visit http://www.kokofitclub.com.
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