Pure Yoga co-founder Colin Grant is taking his successful Hong Kong business model to the US

A premier yoga chain in Hong Kong is set to become a market leader in the global wellness industry with the exporting of its brand of yoga to the US. Pure Yoga opens its first studio in New York this month through a multimillion dollar joint venture with US-based Equinox Fitness.

“Our brand is a new concept in North America,” said Pure Yoga co-founder Colin Grant. The chain markets itself to upscale customers. This caught the eye of Equinox, which first approached the Hong Kong yoga chain with the idea of a partnership a year ago.

Equinox will run the day-to-day operations, while Pure Yoga will provide the expertise, including teacher training. Mr Grant said there is potential for further expansion to other major US cities, including Los Angeles.
 
The long-time entrepreneur, who’s half-British, half New-Zealander, said he had far less lofty ambitions when he first set up Pure Yoga in 2002. With financial backing from business partner Bruce Rockowitz, president of Li & Fung, one of Asia’s largest trading companies, the yoga centre has since grown into a chain of five studios in Hong Kong, with branches in Singapore and Taipei. It employs more than 500 people in Asia, with about 18,000 students in the region.

Mass market appeal

“Yoga for the masses” was the idea behind Pure Yoga, the first yoga studio to operate like a fitness centre minus the cardio machines and thumping music. “Yoga studios back then were not run as a business, said Mr Grant. “They didn’t provide towels, mats and shower and locker facilities. It didn’t appeal to the mass market.”

But Mr Grant’s vision of a yoga studio comes with all the trappings of an upscale gym, complete with a 10,000 square foot studio set in minimalist décor, offering dozens of yoga classes.
 
Mr Grant first got hooked on yoga during a golfing holiday in Vancouver, in 2001. “I missed it so much, I decided to open a studio for businessmen who love yoga.” As a former sportsman (Hong Kong Davis Cup tennis player), he could appreciate the benefits of yoga, which he said you “never get from a gym workout.”

While the Hong Kong venture is expanding across the Pacific into the US, Mr Grant said Asia will remain Pure Yoga’s primary focus. He hopes to eventually open studios in Shanghai. “We’re in it for the long haul by investing in facilities and teachers." Pure Yoga hosts workshops and retreats, and is host to Asia’s largest yoga conference, which is being held 3-6 July at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Evolution, the largest annual yoga conference in the region, expects to draw 2,500 yoga lovers from around the world to practice with renowned yoga masters.

Easy to open a business

Mr Grant credits Hong Kong’s business environment for the success of his current and past business ventures. “It’s very easy to open a business in Hong Kong, where people are willing to do things differently and take risks. They are not afraid of failure,” he said.

He also subscribes to a key business philosophy: Don’t try to do too many things and be a jack of all trades. Keep it simple.

“Everyone thought I was crazy when I told them I was going into the yoga business,” Mr Grant said. Because of recent health scares, including Sars, Hong Kong people are now more aware of the need for a balanced lifestyle, said Mr Grant. "Yoga is now part of that lifestyle."

Related links
Pure Yoga 
Asia Yoga Conference