Tighter belts shape health club industry

The nearly $70-billion-dollar global health club industry is rolling with the punches of a tough economy while seizing the opportunities of globalization, a new report shows.Big health club chains tackled far-flung markets, and value clubs drew budget-minded consumers in 2009, according to the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association) 2010 Global Report on the state of the health club industry.”Clubs doing well in Europe and the United States are either high end or budget clubs, because people want to cut back while still keeping gym memberships,” said IHRSA spokesperson Alison O’Kane. “It’s squeezing the middle market a lot.”In the United States health club chains made more money in 2009 but the number of clubs fell slightly. Club membership in Europe, led by the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands, increased by four percent.”Europe and the United States are the most advanced markets, so the trends will start there,” O’Kane said. “There are more clubs open in Europe but America has more club members on average.”Over 128,000 health clubs served 119 million members around the world in 2009. And despite the weak economy, giant chains were keen to extend their global reach.The Curves franchise of women’s gyms is already in 76 countries and expects to enter Russia, China and India by the fall of 2010. O’Kane added that Gold’s Gym has several facilities in Egypt.And Anytime Fitness, a coed chain with 1300 gyms worldwide, has recently come to a franchise agreement with Japan, which had been among the most insular of markets.”Very few foreign brands have tried to enter the Japanese market,” said O’Kane. “And Japanese chains have stayed in Japan.”O’Kane said that while globalization has lessened the industry differences among countries, some remain.”There are a lot more community centers in Europe, where they’ll have a pool, soccer, workout equipment,” she said. “The big box model is unique to America.”She added that it is one-stop fitness, which is very big in Midwestern suburbs.”The whole family membership price is great, and there’s daycare. Huge clubs exist in Europe but the price point is way up there.”O’Kane said the 40-year-old global industry evolved from regional activities.”Every country has some sort of physical activity origin that the health club industry grew out of. It’s cultural thing,” she said.”The Japanese market developed through swimming pools. That was the center. Then they added a gym. The Netherlands’ health clubs developed out of martial arts, the U.S. clubs out of tennis and racquet ball.”She added that in Asia, the spa is very big and something that they’ve shared with the rest the world.So what’s on the horizon? O’Kane forsees a shift toward wellness.”The industry is trying to reposition itself as a solution to the global obesity problem,” she said. “Countries like Canada are leading in tax incentives for joining a health club. Switzerland and South Africa are also doing well.”O’Kane said it is happening in America, but much more slowly.”We need to find a way to leverage health promotion, working with governments, insurance companies, and doctors. Without branching out to these partnerships we’ll grow at a much smaller pace,” she explained.

Tighter belts shape health club industry

The nearly $70-billion-dollar global health club industry is rolling with the punches of a tough economy while seizing the opportunities of globalization, a new report shows.Big health club chains tackled far-flung markets, and value clubs drew budget-minded consumers in 2009, according to the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association) 2010 Global Report on the state of the health club industry.”Clubs doing well in Europe and the United States are either high end or budget clubs, because people want to cut back while still keeping gym memberships,” said IHRSA spokesperson Alison O’Kane. “It’s squeezing the middle market a lot.”In the United States health club chains made more money in 2009 but the number of clubs fell slightly. Club membership in Europe, led by the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands, increased by four percent.”Europe and the United States are the most advanced markets, so the trends will start there,” O’Kane said. “There are more clubs open in Europe but America has more club members on average.”Over 128,000 health clubs served 119 million members around the world in 2009. And despite the weak economy, giant chains were keen to extend their global reach.The Curves franchise of women’s gyms is already in 76 countries and expects to enter Russia, China and India by the fall of 2010. O’Kane added that Gold’s Gym has several facilities in Egypt.And Anytime Fitness, a coed chain with 1300 gyms worldwide, has recently come to a franchise agreement with Japan, which had been among the most insular of markets.”Very few foreign brands have tried to enter the Japanese market,” said O’Kane. “And Japanese chains have stayed in Japan.”O’Kane said that while globalization has lessened the industry differences among countries, some remain.”There are a lot more community centers in Europe, where they’ll have a pool, soccer, workout equipment,” she said. “The big box model is unique to America.”She added that it is one-stop fitness, which is very big in Midwestern suburbs.”The whole family membership price is great, and there’s daycare. Huge clubs exist in Europe but the price point is way up there.”O’Kane said the 40-year-old global industry evolved from regional activities.”Every country has some sort of physical activity origin that the health club industry grew out of. It’s cultural thing,” she said.”The Japanese market developed through swimming pools. That was the center. Then they added a gym. The Netherlands’ health clubs developed out of martial arts, the U.S. clubs out of tennis and racquet ball.”She added that in Asia, the spa is very big and something that they’ve shared with the rest the world.So what’s on the horizon? O’Kane forsees a shift toward wellness.”The industry is trying to reposition itself as a solution to the global obesity problem,” she said. “Countries like Canada are leading in tax incentives for joining a health club. Switzerland and South Africa are also doing well.”O’Kane said it is happening in America, but much more slowly.”We need to find a way to leverage health promotion, working with governments, insurance companies, and doctors. Without branching out to these partnerships we’ll grow at a much smaller pace,” she explained.

The Myth of the Health-Club Feeder System…Once the $10-per-month virus has entered a member’s system, our experience shows that it can never be cured.

Everyone in the health club industry has heard the idea that low-priced clubs are a “feeder system” to full-service health clubs. The low-priced guys themselves like to trot out this idea when they are trying to deflect the hatred spewed their way from owners of full-service clubs. Their argument is basically, “Don’t hate us, because at some point our members might want more than we can offer, and they’ll come look at your facility.”Except they won’t.Once the $10-per-month virus has entered a member’s system, our experience shows that it can never be cured. There seem to be two causes for this. One, most people really don’t want what our industry is selling, so if they can get it, whatever “it” is, for $10 per month, they are thrilled. Two, most consumers assume that every health club is the same, so why would they ever pay more? Once someone has been a member of a low-priced club, there’s not even an intellectual acknowledgement about why different health clubs might have different prices. They’ll say, “Oh, so you have a pool and classes and childcare and towel service and trainers who can answer my questions? That’s great. But my last club charged me $10 a month.”We’ve been seeing this as people move to our area and call for pricing. They are obviously gym-goers because these are the type of people who look for a new club immediately upon arriving in a new home. Yet, all they care about is price, and they even like to lecture us about how we’d get more members if we charged less. (The part of that suggestion that would cause us to go out of business doesn’t seem to interest them.)Another group that isn’t out there shopping for full-service health clubs is the large population of former members of low-priced clubs who got what they paid for at $10 per month, canceled their memberships, and now will never enter a gym again. With the $10-per-month virus having infected them and the ongoing assumption that all health clubs are the same, we aren’t counting on seeing a lot of these folks.So, let’s stop with the myth that a significant number of people will “graduate” from a low-priced club to a full-service club. They won’t. The key for full-service providers is to win the initial sales battle when a consumer is first shopping for a gym. How to win that battle is a topic for another day, but make no mistake that you have to get these new members first, before the $10-per-month virus infects the patient.

The Myth of the Health-Club Feeder System…Once the $10-per-month virus has entered a member’s system, our experience shows that it can never be cured.

Everyone in the health club industry has heard the idea that low-priced clubs are a “feeder system” to full-service health clubs. The low-priced guys themselves like to trot out this idea when they are trying to deflect the hatred spewed their way from owners of full-service clubs. Their argument is basically, “Don’t hate us, because at some point our members might want more than we can offer, and they’ll come look at your facility.”Except they won’t.Once the $10-per-month virus has entered a member’s system, our experience shows that it can never be cured. There seem to be two causes for this. One, most people really don’t want what our industry is selling, so if they can get it, whatever “it” is, for $10 per month, they are thrilled. Two, most consumers assume that every health club is the same, so why would they ever pay more? Once someone has been a member of a low-priced club, there’s not even an intellectual acknowledgement about why different health clubs might have different prices. They’ll say, “Oh, so you have a pool and classes and childcare and towel service and trainers who can answer my questions? That’s great. But my last club charged me $10 a month.”We’ve been seeing this as people move to our area and call for pricing. They are obviously gym-goers because these are the type of people who look for a new club immediately upon arriving in a new home. Yet, all they care about is price, and they even like to lecture us about how we’d get more members if we charged less. (The part of that suggestion that would cause us to go out of business doesn’t seem to interest them.)Another group that isn’t out there shopping for full-service health clubs is the large population of former members of low-priced clubs who got what they paid for at $10 per month, canceled their memberships, and now will never enter a gym again. With the $10-per-month virus having infected them and the ongoing assumption that all health clubs are the same, we aren’t counting on seeing a lot of these folks.So, let’s stop with the myth that a significant number of people will “graduate” from a low-priced club to a full-service club. They won’t. The key for full-service providers is to win the initial sales battle when a consumer is first shopping for a gym. How to win that battle is a topic for another day, but make no mistake that you have to get these new members first, before the $10-per-month virus infects the patient.

Health Club News…. Miss Texas Pole Dance Competition Heats up Dallas

DALLAS—
The first-ever “Miss Texas Pole Dance” heated up north Texas over the weekend. The competitors say, they’re not dancers, they’re athletes.It takes a lot of strength, and a lot of control, to be able to do what the women were doing.”It’s a cardio workout, it’s strength, endurance, it’s flexibility, it’s technique. So, it’s a total body workout,” said Toy Laster of Choice Training. Laster, along with Rashida Hobbs of Pole’iticians, put the event together.”They’re not really considered ‘pole dancers.’ People need to know there’s a difference between an exotic dancer and a pole dancer. they are truly athletes,” said Hobbs.Sensuality is important. So is performance. “Pole can be, not just fitness, but you can also make it very artistic,” said Laster.What it all comes down to is athleticism.”I’m looking for lines. I’m looking for flexed feet. I’m looking for someone who can bring more of a fitness and an athletic side to the sport,” said judge Nicki Shaw, Miss Georgia. The competition was split into two categories: amateur and professional.Brynn Route competed in the pro competition, because she teaches pole fitness in Austin. She says, before pole dancing, she struggled to find a workout she could stick to. “I hated going to the gym. I hated running. I just could not get behind any form of exercise until I found pole dancing, and I just fell in love,” said Route.Sunday, Route was one of the nearly two dozen women in the competition. Each was expected to perform stunts on two poles: one stationary and one rotating.Each competitor we spoke with agreed on one thing: you’ve got to be fit to perform on the pole. “It is becoming more and more mainstream,” said Hobbs.Hobbs and Laster put the event together to draw more respect for the sport.”I wanted to give women an opportunity to showcase their skills, agility, and training in pole fitness. To really display that this is an art as well as a sport, so people can recognize it as a legit fitness,” said Hobbs.
Doug Magditch doug.magditch@the33tv.com
http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-miss-texas-pole-dance-competition-heats-up-dallas-20110626,0,735755.story

Health Club News…. Miss Texas Pole Dance Competition Heats up Dallas

DALLAS—
The first-ever “Miss Texas Pole Dance” heated up north Texas over the weekend. The competitors say, they’re not dancers, they’re athletes.It takes a lot of strength, and a lot of control, to be able to do what the women were doing.”It’s a cardio workout, it’s strength, endurance, it’s flexibility, it’s technique. So, it’s a total body workout,” said Toy Laster of Choice Training. Laster, along with Rashida Hobbs of Pole’iticians, put the event together.”They’re not really considered ‘pole dancers.’ People need to know there’s a difference between an exotic dancer and a pole dancer. they are truly athletes,” said Hobbs.Sensuality is important. So is performance. “Pole can be, not just fitness, but you can also make it very artistic,” said Laster.What it all comes down to is athleticism.”I’m looking for lines. I’m looking for flexed feet. I’m looking for someone who can bring more of a fitness and an athletic side to the sport,” said judge Nicki Shaw, Miss Georgia. The competition was split into two categories: amateur and professional.Brynn Route competed in the pro competition, because she teaches pole fitness in Austin. She says, before pole dancing, she struggled to find a workout she could stick to. “I hated going to the gym. I hated running. I just could not get behind any form of exercise until I found pole dancing, and I just fell in love,” said Route.Sunday, Route was one of the nearly two dozen women in the competition. Each was expected to perform stunts on two poles: one stationary and one rotating.Each competitor we spoke with agreed on one thing: you’ve got to be fit to perform on the pole. “It is becoming more and more mainstream,” said Hobbs.Hobbs and Laster put the event together to draw more respect for the sport.”I wanted to give women an opportunity to showcase their skills, agility, and training in pole fitness. To really display that this is an art as well as a sport, so people can recognize it as a legit fitness,” said Hobbs.
Doug Magditch doug.magditch@the33tv.com
http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-miss-texas-pole-dance-competition-heats-up-dallas-20110626,0,735755.story

Health Club News…. Miss Texas Pole Dance Competition Heats up Dallas

DALLAS—
The first-ever “Miss Texas Pole Dance” heated up north Texas over the weekend. The competitors say, they’re not dancers, they’re athletes.It takes a lot of strength, and a lot of control, to be able to do what the women were doing.”It’s a cardio workout, it’s strength, endurance, it’s flexibility, it’s technique. So, it’s a total body workout,” said Toy Laster of Choice Training. Laster, along with Rashida Hobbs of Pole’iticians, put the event together.”They’re not really considered ‘pole dancers.’ People need to know there’s a difference between an exotic dancer and a pole dancer. they are truly athletes,” said Hobbs.Sensuality is important. So is performance. “Pole can be, not just fitness, but you can also make it very artistic,” said Laster.What it all comes down to is athleticism.”I’m looking for lines. I’m looking for flexed feet. I’m looking for someone who can bring more of a fitness and an athletic side to the sport,” said judge Nicki Shaw, Miss Georgia. The competition was split into two categories: amateur and professional.Brynn Route competed in the pro competition, because she teaches pole fitness in Austin. She says, before pole dancing, she struggled to find a workout she could stick to. “I hated going to the gym. I hated running. I just could not get behind any form of exercise until I found pole dancing, and I just fell in love,” said Route.Sunday, Route was one of the nearly two dozen women in the competition. Each was expected to perform stunts on two poles: one stationary and one rotating.Each competitor we spoke with agreed on one thing: you’ve got to be fit to perform on the pole. “It is becoming more and more mainstream,” said Hobbs.Hobbs and Laster put the event together to draw more respect for the sport.”I wanted to give women an opportunity to showcase their skills, agility, and training in pole fitness. To really display that this is an art as well as a sport, so people can recognize it as a legit fitness,” said Hobbs.
Doug Magditch doug.magditch@the33tv.com
http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-miss-texas-pole-dance-competition-heats-up-dallas-20110626,0,735755.story

Health Club News…. Miss Texas Pole Dance Competition Heats up Dallas

DALLAS—
The first-ever “Miss Texas Pole Dance” heated up north Texas over the weekend. The competitors say, they’re not dancers, they’re athletes.It takes a lot of strength, and a lot of control, to be able to do what the women were doing.”It’s a cardio workout, it’s strength, endurance, it’s flexibility, it’s technique. So, it’s a total body workout,” said Toy Laster of Choice Training. Laster, along with Rashida Hobbs of Pole’iticians, put the event together.”They’re not really considered ‘pole dancers.’ People need to know there’s a difference between an exotic dancer and a pole dancer. they are truly athletes,” said Hobbs.Sensuality is important. So is performance. “Pole can be, not just fitness, but you can also make it very artistic,” said Laster.What it all comes down to is athleticism.”I’m looking for lines. I’m looking for flexed feet. I’m looking for someone who can bring more of a fitness and an athletic side to the sport,” said judge Nicki Shaw, Miss Georgia. The competition was split into two categories: amateur and professional.Brynn Route competed in the pro competition, because she teaches pole fitness in Austin. She says, before pole dancing, she struggled to find a workout she could stick to. “I hated going to the gym. I hated running. I just could not get behind any form of exercise until I found pole dancing, and I just fell in love,” said Route.Sunday, Route was one of the nearly two dozen women in the competition. Each was expected to perform stunts on two poles: one stationary and one rotating.Each competitor we spoke with agreed on one thing: you’ve got to be fit to perform on the pole. “It is becoming more and more mainstream,” said Hobbs.Hobbs and Laster put the event together to draw more respect for the sport.”I wanted to give women an opportunity to showcase their skills, agility, and training in pole fitness. To really display that this is an art as well as a sport, so people can recognize it as a legit fitness,” said Hobbs.
Doug Magditch doug.magditch@the33tv.com
http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-miss-texas-pole-dance-competition-heats-up-dallas-20110626,0,735755.story

Jon Wright has seen his affordable health club operator Xercise4less expand quickly

THE ALDI phenomenon has seen Britain’s squeezed middle class shoppers abandon their preconceptions and flock to budget supermarkets.
Jon Wright has seen his affordable gym operator Xercise4less expand quickly as people realise it is not necessary to spend £40 or £50 a month to say fit.
The firm has 10,000 members at its Wakefield and Castleford sites and will turn over £2.5m for the year to July, although it wants to increase this tenfold by 2015 as business models change, Mr Wright said.
“Typically 15 per cent of adults use health clubs but that is moving towards 20 per cent. It is opening up our market.”
The growth of Xercise has been based on a low subscription rate, of £14.99 a month, flexibility, with members on monthly, discounted 12 month rates or ongoing contracts, rather than the rigid long-term agreements with high penalty clauses used by some operators, and a focus on costs which means several instructors are self-employed personal trainers rather than on the firm’s payroll.
“The key for us is to be flexible and to meet the members’ requirements,” said Mr Wright, a former Leeds rugby union player.
“We let you freeze fees if you get injured or go on holiday. It is just so much cheaper to run – (changing and freezing memberships) was a longer process but now it is done at the click of a button.”
This model, of lower costs and lower fees, is why Mr Wright describes his firm as the Aldi of the fitness sector, in honour of the German supermarket.
Last month Xercise reached another significant landmark when it appointed business angel Neil Ewin as a non-executive director.
For the firm to keep growing in the long-term, however, it may need a capital injection. The credit crisis which has driven customers to Xercise also means it remains difficult for small businesses to get a loan and owner Mr Wright said it was this, as well as the challenge of finding suitable sites, that could limit its growth.
So would he be willing to sell a stake in the business? “It is a possibility. The way that banks are is that they are not falling over themselves to lend you money. That is just the nature of the climate we are in.
“If the banks are not willing to do it your only alternative is to go to private equity. Clearly, we want to get to a lot bigger before that.”
In the meantime, Xercise, which is profitable, will open a new site in a 32,000 sq ft former retail warehouse in Stockton in September, creating 40 jobs. It also plans to extend its Wakefield site, a former Allied Carpets store, by adding a 2,000 sq ft ladies only extension, although Mr Wright said the firm will not be opening a full size single sex gym.
Instead it will continue to drive up its customer base and find new sites. It wants to have 15 gyms and 150,000 members by 2015 which Mr Wright is confident he can achieve, based on a low rate of churn (the number of members leaving and joining).
Mr Ewin will play a key part in this after joining last month. The SME investor and consultant, from Leeds, is an experienced business angel who sold his legal software group, Visualfiles, to a US company for a multi-million pound sum in 2006.
“It is an advantage to bring somebody on board of that calibre,” Mr Wright said.
“He comes in with that level of insight – (helping improve) customer services ideas and repeat business. The health club industry is a very sales driven industry.”
Mr Ewin will bring the experience of running a business to Xercise, which has been built on Mr Wright’s knowledge of the gym industry. He has been involved with health clubs for 18 years after injury forced him to stop playing rugby union.
He played for Headingley in the early 1990s and in the first year after its merger with Roundhay, when the new club was known as Leeds Tykes (now Leeds Carnegie). He went on to play for Harlequins, before injury cut short his career aged 23.
By Peter Edwards
peter.edwards@ypn.co.uk

Jon Wright has seen his affordable health club operator Xercise4less expand quickly

THE ALDI phenomenon has seen Britain’s squeezed middle class shoppers abandon their preconceptions and flock to budget supermarkets.
Jon Wright has seen his affordable gym operator Xercise4less expand quickly as people realise it is not necessary to spend £40 or £50 a month to say fit.
The firm has 10,000 members at its Wakefield and Castleford sites and will turn over £2.5m for the year to July, although it wants to increase this tenfold by 2015 as business models change, Mr Wright said.
“Typically 15 per cent of adults use health clubs but that is moving towards 20 per cent. It is opening up our market.”
The growth of Xercise has been based on a low subscription rate, of £14.99 a month, flexibility, with members on monthly, discounted 12 month rates or ongoing contracts, rather than the rigid long-term agreements with high penalty clauses used by some operators, and a focus on costs which means several instructors are self-employed personal trainers rather than on the firm’s payroll.
“The key for us is to be flexible and to meet the members’ requirements,” said Mr Wright, a former Leeds rugby union player.
“We let you freeze fees if you get injured or go on holiday. It is just so much cheaper to run – (changing and freezing memberships) was a longer process but now it is done at the click of a button.”
This model, of lower costs and lower fees, is why Mr Wright describes his firm as the Aldi of the fitness sector, in honour of the German supermarket.
Last month Xercise reached another significant landmark when it appointed business angel Neil Ewin as a non-executive director.
For the firm to keep growing in the long-term, however, it may need a capital injection. The credit crisis which has driven customers to Xercise also means it remains difficult for small businesses to get a loan and owner Mr Wright said it was this, as well as the challenge of finding suitable sites, that could limit its growth.
So would he be willing to sell a stake in the business? “It is a possibility. The way that banks are is that they are not falling over themselves to lend you money. That is just the nature of the climate we are in.
“If the banks are not willing to do it your only alternative is to go to private equity. Clearly, we want to get to a lot bigger before that.”
In the meantime, Xercise, which is profitable, will open a new site in a 32,000 sq ft former retail warehouse in Stockton in September, creating 40 jobs. It also plans to extend its Wakefield site, a former Allied Carpets store, by adding a 2,000 sq ft ladies only extension, although Mr Wright said the firm will not be opening a full size single sex gym.
Instead it will continue to drive up its customer base and find new sites. It wants to have 15 gyms and 150,000 members by 2015 which Mr Wright is confident he can achieve, based on a low rate of churn (the number of members leaving and joining).
Mr Ewin will play a key part in this after joining last month. The SME investor and consultant, from Leeds, is an experienced business angel who sold his legal software group, Visualfiles, to a US company for a multi-million pound sum in 2006.
“It is an advantage to bring somebody on board of that calibre,” Mr Wright said.
“He comes in with that level of insight – (helping improve) customer services ideas and repeat business. The health club industry is a very sales driven industry.”
Mr Ewin will bring the experience of running a business to Xercise, which has been built on Mr Wright’s knowledge of the gym industry. He has been involved with health clubs for 18 years after injury forced him to stop playing rugby union.
He played for Headingley in the early 1990s and in the first year after its merger with Roundhay, when the new club was known as Leeds Tykes (now Leeds Carnegie). He went on to play for Harlequins, before injury cut short his career aged 23.
By Peter Edwards
peter.edwards@ypn.co.uk

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