| CBI Interview |
Lounge and café at Wellbridge’s new Tabor Center facility
and can understand and perform in all parts of the business. The corporate and regional offices, where we don’t deliver services, took a bit of a hit.
CBI: There’s been a lot of specu- lation that the industry is now dealing with a new type of consumer. In what ways do you think the recession has changed the market for club memberships?
EW: I don’t know. One of the things that I’m struggling with is: How has the buyer changed? Has this downturn really affected the buyer and their decision-making? People used to buy because they wanted something, but now, it seems, they buy because there’s a need. They’re less inclined to indulge in an impulse buy. In the past, they were quicker to sign on the dotted line, but, today, they think about things more. Now, we really have to sell ourselves, sell the value of our clubs. We all have the same treadmills and weights, so we have to spend an extra half-hour explaining why we’re different, and making sure they understand what our unique value-proposition is—our exper- tise and the quality of our service, staff, instruction, and training. The great thing is that we already have all of that. We just have to get better at telling people about it. So it’s not a huge change for us, except on the sales side.
CBI: What are some of the goals that you currently have for Wellbridge?
34 Club Business Internat ional | OCTOBER 2010 |
EW: It’s tough to say. We’ve gotten through a couple of years of an economic downturn, we have our feet planted firmly beneath us, and we’re looking to see what might happen, and to decide how we can grow. And, as you would during any difficult period, we’ve returned to the basics—examining our service levels and making sure they’re everything they should be. You know, “Let’s do the things that we know we do well.” Beyond that, we developed two new properties last year, and we’d like to develop one to two a year going forward. Now we can afford to do so without soliciting outside financing. We’re currently considering a few more locations, here, for our Colorado Athletic Club brand, and we have some opportunities in New Mexico for Sports and Wellness, and, possi- bly, in St. Louis for our Wellbridge Athletic Clubs.
CBI: Will Wellbridge remain a privately-held company, or is there some possibility that, at some point, you might take it public?
EW: Emphatically, no! I’m not sure that the fitness industry, club companies, should be public—I just don’t have a good feeling about it. When we worked with the private-equity firms, we found ourselves having to make short-term, instead of long-term, decisions. It was always, “How many memberships
www.
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are you going to drive?” “How many members do you get from each piece of equipment and furniture?” And that isn’t our industry. Our industry needs to adopt a long-term perspective. When Jay and I bought back the company, we did four or five new locker rooms and lounge areas to ensure we were deliv- ering the service we were charging for, and the private-equity guys just didn’t see the value. But, sometimes, it’s the intangibles and factors you can’t mea- sure that create the real value.
CBI: Finally, what has Wellbridge accomplished over the last few years that you’re most proud of?
EW: We’ve withstood an economic downturn and reacted appropriately by right-sizing our company. At the same time, we’ve made it possible for our employees to grow and mature with the company. We’ve remained true to ourselves, our mission, and our value proposition, and we believe that, with the many new national health and fitness initiatives, and with changes in the mainstream public’s attitude about wellness, our model is going to pay off for us in the future. So what we’re trying to do, always trying to do, is to make what we do relevant to the individual. We’re trying to make sure that we complement their lifestyle and give them the prod- uct they want, which is wellness. —|
– Jean Suffin,
jean@fit-etc.com
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