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Total Gym Video Production spotlights business, acknowledges and motivates employees
> Total Gym, the San Diego–based equipment manufacturer, is as adept at motivating and engaging its employees as it is at converting the users of its namesake equipment into faithful fans. Each year, the company’s marketing team produces a celebratory video that chronicles the firm’s accomplishments, as well as personal milestones.
Business Models
Enter the Classes-Only Studio By Jean Suffin
is based solely on class offerings. “This approach will always be strong and popular because people like to work
W For the most recent installment,
Total Gym’s creative video production manager added a new twist by incorpo- rating a “rap” year-end review by Randy Dominguez, a staffer and recording artist. The video begins with appealing photos of individual employees, followed by a shot of Dominguez climbing out of a cardboard shipping carton, before he embarks on his rap history. There are clips of Total Gym employees at work, at play, at IHRSA’s Annual Trade Show, and at the Total Gym International Summit, held in Paestum, Italy. Among the corporate moments show-
cased: the launching of a new incline trainer product line; an unexpected “booth drenching” at a trade show; and the introduction of the firm’s new name (it was formerly efi Sports Medicine). Personnel highlights included one wedding and the birth of several babies. “This year, our team really outdid
themselves, and Randy, our ‘rapper,’ took it to the next level,” observes Tom Cam- panaro, the company’s founder and CEO. The video was shared on the Total Gym
Inside blog, and in a December e-mail campaign to the company’s customers, business partners, and trainers. —|
internet extra! Video at
ihrsa.org/cbidigital 26 Club Business Internat ional | APRIL 2012 |
ihrsa.org
out in groups. A lot of people simply aren’t designed to exercise on their own,” maintains Lisa Welko, the founder of Ellipse Fitness Mayflower, a 2,500-square- foot operation in Appleton, Wisconsin. As a longtime fitness enthusiast and former member of a karate studio, Welko found group classes inspiring and enjoyed the environment they provided. Bearing this concept in mind, she opened Ellipse in 2002, and, with the assistance of her fitness director, Matt Wahleithner, developed a proprietary program that has since morphed into a franchise. Now, there are nine Ellipse Fitness locations in Wisconsin, and one in Missouri. What differentiates Ellipse from other studios in the market is the formal, systematic nature of the program. Welko and Wahleithner design all of the classes and format them into a program so clients don’t have to cherry-pick classes, as they would at a typical club. All members have to do is show up for class five days a week; the same class is offered at various times during the day. With so many options, members can pick the time that works best for them. All Ellipse locations are included in the cost of
membership. “Basically, what we wanted to do was eliminate the
excuse of ‘I usually take that class, but now I can’t go,’” explains Welko. “Our answer is, ‘Really? Well there are seven other classes.’” Welko works to distinguish Ellipse from other fran-
Lisa Welko
chises by providing close, personal support to her franchisees. If an owner has a question, she is available to answer it 24/7. And all instructors receive training in the Ellipse program and are provided with class videos. A single franchise fee costs $29,000, while a group of three costs $45,000. Indi-
viduals pay $60-$80 a month for a membership, which includes all of the basic classes, and can pay an additional fee to add boot-camp classes or a diet program. Most members opt for a 12–18-month agreement. Prospects who’d like to sample the club’s offerings can pay $85 a month to attend a boot-camp class. Welko estimates the cost of operating an Ellipse facility at somewhere between $7,000 and $11,000 a month. Overhead is minimal, she points out, because the clubs don’t have any expensive equipment to speak of. “Budgeting for this business model is easier than for a regular gym because Ellipse franchi- sees don’t need to worry about the cost of repairing or replacing hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment,” she says. “With group fitness training, once you break even, it doesn’t cost much more to introduce more people into a class. That’s when your profit margin kicks in, and you go from red to black.” Welko estimates that most Ellipse studios break even with about 120–150 members. “Fitness is always changing, and we have to be able to change with it,” observes Welko. —|
ith the increasing popularity of stand-alone fitness studios, and a growing appreciation of the value of group exercise, the industry is witnessing the emergence of a class of studios whose business model
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