Pure & Simple
Little did Colin Grant know that a rainy day in Whistler would change his life. Instead of the planned round of golf, a friend suggested that he and future co-founder Bruce Rockowitz limber up for a hot yoga class. “I don’t do yoga, I’m a gym guy” was Grant’s first thought, but nevertheless, along he went—and loved it. Although the rain had stopped the next day, a sturdy driver was once again replaced with a supple downward dog pose. Upon returning to Hong Kong, Grant found himself missing yoga, both “physically and mentally,” and so he and Bruce Rockowitz decided to cofound Pure, opening the first yoga studio in 2002.
Although yoga in Hong Kong was still in a child’s pose of infancy at the turn of the century, there were already three to four yoga studios operating in the city, serving about 50 people. Many naysayers pointed to this as evidence that there wasn’t a demand for classes in Asia’s World City. However, Grant had confidence in his idea as he was solving his own problem: “It didn’t make business sense because, back then, yoga really wasn’t a business. It just felt right.”
Grant was also helped by his successful entrepreneurial experience. At age 12, he was an agent for a West German tennis brand; at 18, he founded the film rental business Movieland; and at 24, he set up Mr. Bean Coffee kiosks throughout Hong Kong. This track record helped Grant convince his friend Bruce Rockowitz (who had found great success as the CEO of global sourcing company Li & Fung) to become his partner, investing £810k while Grant ran Pure. “If things don’t work, the sun will still come up tomorrow. But I don’t want to regret not having tried,” was his sound reasoning.
Pure founder Colin Grant
Even if the venture had not worked, you can be certain he would have learned from his mistakes in the same way he would improve his backhand technique as a semi-pro junior tennis player to overcome a stronger competitor the next time they played. “In my mind, you don’t fail. You learn from your mistakes. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not pushing the envelope, you’re not innovating. Just don’t make the same mistake twice!” Grant’s perspective eliminates the fear of failure and instead sees it as an opportunity: “If I’d been scared of failing, I would never have started Pure Yoga.”
Initially, Pure leased a 6,500 sq ft studio in prime real estate, with Grant having taken a grand total of five yoga classes. At the time, this was the biggest yoga studio in the world, with a capacity of 110 people per class, a welcoming reception area, and lockers in the changing rooms—all of which were revolutionary at the time. Initial competition in Hong Kong came from single yoga instructors teaching small classes of around 20 people in rooms tucked down hidden alleyways. Customers also had to bring their own mats and towels, whereas Pure provided all of this, which was hugely appealing to working professionals.
Pure opened its doors to 67 customers on its first day, and within a month, this had increased to 400 a day with minimal advertising. Within three months, they took out a lease for the rest of the 10,000 sq ft floor. Despite this demand, it took Pure four years to make money. Just like in tennis, Grant suggests you need the right amount of confidence: too much and you’ll be careless, too little and you’ll also lose. Although Pure's financials are private, we know that in 2017 there were plans to sell the group for £405m, and in 2021 the group raised £81m to fund its expansion into China.
Starting with just three employees—Grant himself handing out towels—Pure now has approximately 2,000 employees. This growth has allowed Grant to take a step back and focus on quality. Pure has since branched out from yoga into natural adjacent verticals like gyms and restaurants, with 22 locations spread across Hong Kong, New York, Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai. Pure is keen to cultivate a community so that you don’t just go for a yoga or fitness class but hang out afterward to socialize, with newspapers in abundance and complementary fruit (they spend £150,000 per annum on apples!).
““If things don’t work, the sun will still come up tomorrow. But I don’t want to regret not having tried””
Pure’s restaurants also encourage enjoyment as part of a balanced lifestyle, serving champagne and chocolate pudding—embracing the philosophy of enjoying life alongside looking after your health. The addition of Pure Apparel, Pure Nutrition, and PureCast (which livestreams classes) means they are building a full lifestyle brand with an embedded loyalty scheme aimed at improving retention.
Pure equally invests in its people, creating its own instructor program to identify the best talent. Greater emphasis is placed on personality over experience, as it is harder to teach someone to make each person in a class of 50 feel special. The company also subsidizes instructors to go on two-month retreats abroad to India or the US to further develop their skills. Interestingly, Pure also runs retreats for customers, traveling all over the world, including destinations like New Zealand, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, further fostering a sense of community between instructors and clients alike.
After initially solving his own problem and using his entrepreneurial experience to create a differentiated offering, Colin Grant has relentlessly focused on improving the end customer’s experience, taking risks to expand into adjacent verticals quickly without being afraid of failing. He fully embodies his life philosophy: “Live every day as though it was your last, because one day it will be.”