The 2011 Profiles of Success
which offers mystery shopping services to clubs. “Still, I believe that, as an industry, we need to do a better job of keeping members engaged. Another surprising thing is that club participation is now rather equally distributed across household incomes. It stands at 18% each for the $25,000 to $49,999; $50,000 to $74,999; and $75,000 to $99,999 categories.”
Mattalian also points out that, while independent
centers added 639 new membership accounts during the year, the typical multiclub chain added 919 per facility. “This may indicate that the chains are succeeding due to economies of scale in advertising, or because consumers prefer their well-established brands. It also tells us,” she contin- ues, “that there’s still an incredible number of people in our communities who can benefit from the healthy lifestyles facilitated by our fitness centers. However, clubs need to be unique, differentiated, and innovative in their approaches to attracting prospects in their target markets.” Pete Moore, the managing partner at Integrity Square, a Manhattan-based boutique strategic and advisory firm focused on the active lifestyle, health, and wellness sector, singles out some specific trends identified in the new edition of Profiles for special attention. Some of them, he feels, are surprising or somewhat counter-intuitive.
NET MEMBERSHIP GROWTH (MEDIAN %)
HEALTH CLUB MEMBERSHIP BY ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Source: The IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report
members with disposable income remain willing to pay for such services. “The strong results posted by Life Time Fitness, a public company, and some other privately held, high-end and middle-market operators across the country demonstrate this.” Moore also points out that both the under-18 and
the 18-to-34 age groups now represent the fastest- growing segments of the market—not the Baby Boomers, as many think. “The new-entrant growth is occurring at both the low-cost/high-volume and middle-market clubs that offer affordable member- ships, which appeal to these individuals.” Finally, Moore offers a caveat: “The cost of sales
Clubs All purpose Multi-
Fitness- only
Group
Multi- club
pendent Inde-
20,000 sq. ft.
Less Than
20,000– 34,999 sq. ft.
35,000– 59,999 sq. ft.
60,000+ sq. ft.
“The fact that 33% of clubs are now ‘fitness-only’ is a trend that would have been viewed as highly unlikely 10 years ago,” he explains. “The low-cost/ high-volume model is working at prices none of us thought possible in the past, indicating that having the right business model at the right time can pro- duce profits. At the same time, segmentation has clearly occurred, and there are winners in each of the major categories.” Moore suggests that the data also shows that clubs offering high-quality personal training and fee-based programming are enjoying solid demand, since
and marketing, at $213.28/member, continues to be very high for clubs larger than 60,000 square feet. We believe this is an early warning sign that it’s becoming harder to sell memberships against the low-cost operators. The bigger clubs will need to rethink their pricing strategies. They may want to consider lowering their monthly membership rates to generate more volume, rather than up-selling their ancillary services.”
Considered as a whole, the “face of the industry”
looks surprisingly healthy, economic challenges notwithstanding. However, it’s clear that club operators are dealing with unusual circumstances that are putting them and their businesses to the test. The industry, as a whole, is waiting, expectantly, to see what the coming year will bring—and club owners are wondering what they’ll be reading this time, next year, in the 2012 edition of Profiles of Success. —|
– Patricia Amend,
PAmend@aol.com
Purchasing Profiles of Success The 2011 Profiles of Success report may be purchased at the IHRSA online store,
ihrsa.org/2011-profiles. Prices remain the same as they were last year. The PDF version of the entire report is available for $199.95 for IHRSA members and $399.95 for nonmembers, while individual sections of the report are $69.95 each for members and $139.95 for nonmembers. —|
48 Club Business Internat ional | FEBRUARY 2012 |
ihrsa.org
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142