While Smart Fit stands as Edgard Corona’s flagship brand, his business vision extends far beyond the budget gym category. Through targeted development and strategic acquisitions, Corona has assembled a diverse brand portfolio that addresses multiple fitness segments, price points, and consumer preferences.
This multi-brand approach begins with Bio Ritmo, Corona’s original gym concept founded in 1996. Rather than abandoning this premium brand when launching Smart Fit, Corona maintained and refined it to serve upscale markets seeking additional amenities and services. This two-tier strategy allows Smart Fit Group to capture both price-sensitive consumers and those willing to pay premium rates for enhanced experiences.
“If I’m going to lose members to low-cost clubs, I’d rather lose them to my own low-cost clubs than to my competitors,” Corona explained in an industry interview. This philosophy—preferring to “cannibalize” his own customer base rather than lose it to competitors—drives his comfort with operating multiple brands at different price points.
The boutique fitness studio category represents Corona’s most significant brand expansion. Smart Fit Group now operates six distinct studio concepts: Race Bootcamp (treadmill-focused interval training), Vidya (hot yoga), One Pilates, Tonus Gym (group strength training), Jab House (boxing workouts), and most recently, Velocity (indoor cycling).
These specialized studios, which Corona sometimes calls “microgyms,” typically occupy 250-300 square meters and focus on specific workout modalities with distinct brand identities. Unlike Smart Fit’s budget-friendly approach, these boutique offerings command premium prices, with monthly fees ranging from 350-490 Brazilian reais (approximately $68-95).
The dono da Smart Fit has assigned strategic importance to this boutique portfolio, with plans for approximately 600 such studios across Latin America—including 500 in Brazil alone. This aggressive target would establish Smart Fit as the dominant boutique fitness provider throughout the region while creating significant revenue diversification.
Corona’s multi-brand strategy extends to digital platforms as well. TotalPass serves as Smart Fit’s corporate wellness solution, competing with services like Wellhub (formerly Gympass) by connecting corporate employees to fitness facilities. The company also acquired the digital fitness platform Queima Diária during the pandemic, adding a pure digital offering to its brand portfolio.
This brand diversity creates operational efficiencies through shared back-office functions, purchasing power, and real estate expertise. While each brand maintains its distinct identity and target audience, all benefit from Smart Fit Group’s scale advantages in areas like equipment purchasing, technology development, and marketing infrastructure.
The multi-brand approach also helps Corona address different stages of market maturity. In developing markets with low gym penetration, Smart Fit’s affordable model serves as the entry point. As markets mature and consumer segments become more defined, specialty brands can be introduced to address evolving preferences for boutique experiences or premium services.
Geographic customization further enhances the multi-brand strategy. While Smart Fit serves as the primary vehicle for Latin American expansion, Corona has announced plans to enter Europe through boutique studio concepts rather than the main Smart Fit brand. This tailored approach recognizes that different markets may require different brand entry points based on competitive conditions and consumer expectations.
Corona’s strategic acquisition of Velocity for R$183 million demonstrates how the multi-brand strategy continues evolving. By adding an established spinning studio chain with 82 locations (77 franchised), Smart Fit instantly gained market leadership in a specialized fitness category without needing to build the brand from scratch.
As fitness consumer preferences become increasingly fragmented—with some seeking budget options, others preferring boutique experiences, and many wanting digital alternatives—Corona’s multi-brand strategy positions Smart Fit Group to capture revenue across diverse segments. This diversified approach creates both defensive protection against changing trends and offensive opportunities to enter emerging fitness categories.
