IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN FRANCHISED FITNESS CLUBS AS A STRATEGY FOR SMEs DEVELOPMENT

The article examines the strategic challenges of small and medium-sized enterprise

(SME) development in the service sector under conditions of economic instability and

military conflict. The preconditions for the stagnation of traditional franchise models were

studied, particularly in the context of the strengthening economic crisis and the “digital divide” between SMEs and market leaders. The component indicators of the financial and economic

activity of the “Atletico” fitness club network were analyzed for the period 2022–2024. The

monitoring revealed a critical contraction in business scale, characterized by a 30.6% decrease

in net income and a 76.7% reduction in personnel. The paper also estimates the level of

digital maturity of the enterprise compared to key competitors, identifying a critical lag in

the implementation of mobile applications and automated management systems. The authors

considered the key directions for the transformation of the network’s operational model. It was

found that the main goal of the proposed strategy is the unification of operational processes

through the implementation of a centralized digital ecosystem. This ecosystem includes

modules for customer relationship management (CRM) and a client mobile application

designed to increase retention. The economic feasibility of the proposed investments was

examined using the discounted cash flow (DCF) method. The calculated economic model

demonstrates that the implementation of the unified system will generate an annual economic

effect of UAH 2.518 million. The result of the authors’ scientific research is the confirmation

of the investment attractiveness of the project: the Net Present Value (NPV) is UAH 1.075

million and the payback period is within 3.6 years.