How a family of Muscovites created a chain of Levita ballet studios with revenue of 3.6 billion rubles
- Elena Gorelova Forbes Editorial
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Before the opening of ballet studios, Ksenia and Artur Gufranov tried to launch more than a dozen different projects (Photo by Olesya Asanova for Forbes)Levita ballet and stretching studios took first place in the Forbes ranking of the most profitable franchises in the category with investments from 2 million to 5 million rubles. It all started in 2017, when former Gazprom engineer Artur Gufranov and his wife Ksenia, who previously worked as a lawyer, opened a fitness studio in Moscow
This was their 15th startup, and at that time few believed that the adult women they were targeting would become interested in ballet. In 2020, the company launched a franchise: fitness classes combined with ballet found a huge response, and Levita now has more than 108,000 clients with active subscriptions. To motivate them, studios create women's communities, conduct master classes, lectures, photo sessions and reporting performances.
By June 2024, the Levita network had grown to 444 studios, of which 402 operate in Russia, the rest abroad. Arthur and Ksenia Gufranov say that they managed to study the national characteristics of launching ballet schools in 16 countries.
In 2022, they tried to open a studio in Brazil, but encountered difficulties. “We realized that if 32 Brazilians sign up for classes, then zero come, they are very relaxed,” explains Ksenia. “In Russia, with the same appointment, 15 people come.” Then the entrepreneurs came up with an advertising ploy: they posted an advertisement on social networks with a button “Do you want to lose weight?”, and when you clicked on it, a promise popped up that everyone would be treated to cakes after class. After that, the Brazilians came, Ksenia recalls with a smile.
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No jumps and pointe shoes
The Gufranovs were born in Surgut, both graduated from two universities in Moscow, and by 2017 they were disillusioned with hired work. I wanted to have my own business, which would make more sense, explains Ksenia Forbes. “We quit our jobs and did everything we could: we tried to sell bouquets of candy, organized master classes in drawing with a glass of wine, even worked on New Year’s Eve as Father Frost and Snow Maiden,” says Arthur. “It didn’t bring in any money, and the clients were mostly our friends.”
Ksenia studied ballet from the age of three, and she came to her husband with another adventurous idea: to organize a ballet studio for adults. The format of regular fitness is not suitable for many; there were few classical choreography studios adapted for adults, without jumping and complex movements, in Moscow. They decided to take another risk, especially since it did not require large investments.
“We rented a shabby hall on Novokuznetskaya, for which we paid hourly rent from 600 to 1,500 rubles,” says Arthur. The first group of 10 women was recruited unexpectedly quickly, within a week. At first, Arthur worked as an administrator, Ksenia taught classes herself. “Sometimes we had to spend the night in the hall on a rug,” they recall. There were more and more clients, the business expanded. In 2019, entrepreneurs already had a studio of 130 sq. m on Kitay-Gorod, by the end of the year the name Levita appeared. Ballet and stretching brought in 1 million rubles in revenue per month with a profitability of 30%. The Gufranovs hired a teacher-choreographer and administrator.
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At first, they tested different directions – zumba, twerk, dancing in heels, but then they realized that it was better to focus on ballet and stretching, Ksenia clarifies. Clients who choose modern dance and ballet, according to her, are very different. There were even conflicts between them in the locker room: the liberated girls who came to zumba irritated the ballet girls.
“We had children’s groups, but from they had to be quickly abandoned,” says Ksenia. “Women come to the studio to relax, to take a break from their children.” The highlight of the project was small groups and an original program with lightweight training – without traumatic ballet poses, jumps and squats. Muscovites liked the so-called barre fitness – strength training at the machine.
During the pandemic, fitness classes with elements of dance – you don’t need equipment for them, you can practice at home in 2.5 square meters. m, says the head of the National Fitness Community Elena Silina. When Covid restrictions were lifted, in 2021–2022, ballet, Pilates, and stretching studios began to grow explosively in Russian cities.
Lose weight, fulfill your childhood dream and become a ballerina, do the splits, remove tension in the body, find support and communication, form a beautiful figure and get rid of back pain – women from 18 to 80 years old come to the Levita studio with such requests.
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Flexible business
The Gufranovs launched a franchising program in 2020, and since then the network has been developing according to this model. The first partner studio opened in Krasnodar, then, due to Covid restrictions, the creators of the franchise sold it at a discount, the lump sum fee was 140,000 rubles (now – 1.5 million rubles). Due to the pandemic, rental prices then fell: a female franchisee from Tyumen, for example, was able to rent a premises for only 35,000 rubles per month.
From the very beginning, entrepreneurs who want to develop the Levita franchise undergo a strict selection process: those who are not ready to plunge headlong into business and those who are indifferent to ballet are not accepted as partners by the creators of the franchise. According to the terms of the contract, each entrepreneur must work as an administrator for three months in order to understand how the studio and clients live.
Ruslan Goryachkovsky from Vladivostok acquired the Levita franchise in the spring of 2022. According to him, he and his wife Irina used to have a music school, but had to abandon this business due to Levita’s conditions. The studio already brought in revenue of about 2 million rubles in the first month. By the end of 2023, Goryachkovsky had four studios, their total revenue reached 60 million rubles per year.
The basis of this business are teachers, classes are taught by professional choreographers, ballerinas, gymnasts, circus performers, everyone who knows the basics of ballet and stretching, explains Goryachkovsky. Now he already has five points in Vladivostok, and soon he plans to open a studio in the UAE.
The Gufranovs created the Levita Academy, where both partners and teachers are trained. Arthur and Ksenia arrange meetings with franchisees on Zoom every day. They themselves have gone through trial and error, and they have a lot to teach beginners. “For example, at first we didn’t sign a lease agreement and one day we found ourselves on the street: the tenants changed their keys,” says Ksenia. “We had to find a room the day before; Arthur and his brother spent the whole night making repairs so as not to cancel classes.” Now they advise partners to be sure to enter into an agreement and state the condition that the owners of the premises give two months’ notice before eviction.
Another mistake beginners make, according to Artur, is that they are afraid to invest in advertising and increase their budgets for it. “But we have already seen that in our business, every ruble invested in advertising brings in up to 25 rubles in revenue,” he says.
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100,000 ballerinas
In 2023, the total turnover of Russian fitness clubs grew by 11.6% and reached 172 billion rubles, according to the National Fitness Community. This year, experts predict growth of another 18%.
Since the costs of opening a new location increased due to increased prices for equipment and materials, 78% of the total number of clubs opened in 2023 were studio projects – dance, yoga, Pilates, ballet, any group programs, explains Elena Silina. As a rule, these are small areas from 70 to 500 sq. m. m with investments from 1 million rubles.
The amount of starting investment in the Levita studio starts from 2.5 million rubles, of which 1.5 million rubles is a lump sum contribution. Expensive equipment for the halls is not required: you need a machine, mirrors and good floor covering.
Currently, Levita studios employ more than 108,000 people with valid subscriptions. A mandatory condition for franchisees has become the organization of interesting events for clients – master classes are held for them, for example, in acting, drawing, makeup, handicrafts, lectures by doctors, nutritionists, and photo sessions are organized. All this, together with the final concerts that are given in December and May, motivates them not to give up their studies. The reporting concert in Vladivostok, for example, attracted 350 spectators, 70 students performed on stage with 40 numbers. To keep clients from getting bored, they come up with something new for them. “Just like McDonald's has a seasonal burger, we have seasonal programs. This May there was “butt + abs” for those who want to pump up problem areas for the summer,” notes Arthur.
A three-month membership in Moscow costs 22,500 rubles, a trial lesson is free. “At the end of the year, it may be more expensive than a sports club card, but in the long run it is more profitable – many clubs do not sell short memberships,” notes Elena Silina. According to her, classical choreography studios are an intelligent type of fitness, usually chosen by women who do not like to “lift iron.” Daughters often buy memberships for their mothers. “We had a client who started going to classes at 78, did it every other day, and her blood and health indicators improved,” says Ksenia.
Levita points are now operating in 183 cities, from there are 162 of them in Russia. The share of partners who opened two or more studios is 51%. The network’s turnover in 2023 amounted to 3.6 billion rubles, for five months of 2024 – 2 billion rubles, the management company earned 279 million rubles in revenue for the same period of this year.
Ksenia and Arthur plan that by the end of 2024 This year the network will grow to 500 points. The studio fitness format has great potential: in Russia, according to Silina, only 4.5% of the population is involved in the fitness services market, while in some Western European countries this figure is ten times higher.
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Elena Gorelova
Forbes Editorial
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