| CBI Interview | Alejandro Martí
The honorary president of Grupo Martí, the corporate parent of Sport City, earns the Woodrow Wilson Award for his crusade against crime
By Patricia Amend
CBI: First, please update us on the current status of Sport City. How many clubs do you have now, and where are they located? What are their target market and average dues?
ALEJANDRO MARTI: We have 46 premium family-oriented clubs that are targeted toward affluent individuals. They offer state-of-the-art cardio and strength-training equipment, squash, tennis, paddle tennis, swimming, and a long list of classes that include yoga, Pilates, and Spinning. The clubs are located in major cities throughout Mexico, including Mexico City,
Monterrey, Puebla, Cancun, Leon, Guadalajara, and Villahermosa. Their average monthly dues are approximately $120.
CBI: What initially prompted you to create Sport City? Were you an athlete yourself?
AM: While I’ve never been an “athlete,” I have always included a sport or a workout in my daily routine. My father and grandfather were sporting-goods merchants, and my life as a sporting-goods retailer was always closely involved with sports and fitness. We founded our first Sport City Health and Fitness Club in 1995—before the fitness and wellness industry really got started in Mexico. At that time, the only gyms in existence were small studios and low-quality or “pumping-iron” gyms. There were no big players.
CBI: So you were the first in Mexico to open a large multifaceted facility?
AM: Yes. A large, multipurpose, sophisticated, high-end facility like Sport City was a revolutionary concept; there was nothing else like it. My goal was to offer “the world’s finest fitness clubs”—that is, high-quality 75,000-square-foot facilities with experi- enced staff, offering the latest workout programs to all consumers, including athletes.
CBI: Briefly, how would you describe the Mexican health club market today?
AM: It is very fragmented. There are a couple of chains, many mom-and-pop clubs, and a number of U.S. franchises, including Curves, Bally Total Fitness, Anytime Fitness, Snap Fitness, and Hard Candy. I think your readers might be surprised to know that the competition here is fierce. There are a lot of newcomers in the Mexican marketplace, including the franchisors I just mentioned. Also, our culture is still coming to grips with the concepts of exercise and wellness.
In the U.S., Europe, and even in South America, people are much more comfortable with the idea of regular exercise. I would say that, at this point, our biggest “challenge” is that Mexicans are unwilling to commit to exercise.
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Highlights » Building a Sport City » The Mexican marketplace » Life-changing challenges » Woodrow Wilson Award
Alejandro Joaquín Martí García, 61, is descended from José Martí, the 19th-century Cuban liberator. His father and grandfather, sporting- goods merchants, embarked on business in Mexico City in 1936. In 1968, Martí and his father founded Deportes Martí, the first sporting-goods chain in Mexico, to celebrate the Mexico City Olympics. Four years later, Martí com- pleted his BA in business administration at Universidad La Salle. In 1995, as president and cofounder of Fondo Opción, a real estate firm, he launched Sport City, the first high-end, family-oriented club chain in Mexico. It now has locations in major cities throughout the country. Martí served as the chairman of Grupo Martí, S. A., the holding company for more than 100 Deportes Martí sports stores and 46 Sport City clubs. In 2008, after the tragic kidnapping and death of his son, Fernando, Martí sold Grupo Martí and launched a national crusade against violence in Mexico. —|
ihrsa.org | NOVEMBER 2011 | Club Business Internat ional 39
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