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A combination of market globalisation and adverse economic circumstances has turned the market towards cheaper, more fl exible neighbourhood provision


Pure Gym offers 24 hour gym membership with no contract from £10.99 a month


The Gym Group, which already has 20 clubs, has funding to open 20 new clubs a year for the next four years


The economic uncertainty in Europe has reversed plans to expand by one of the most important UK opera- tors – Fitness First, which is curently restructuring its debt and considering cutting staffi ng levels. The company announced last September that it had abandoned plans for a fl otation on the Singapore stock exchange. Globally, Fitness First has 550 clubs; a quar- ter of which are located in Southeast Asia, Australia and Hong Kong.


FLEXIBLE FUTURE US operators have been attracted


by the possibilities for growth in the low-cost sector. For example, Anytime Fitness is planning to open 50 clubs in the UK and Ireland by the end of 2012. The company operates small neighbourhood clubs on a low-cost basis and offers 24-hour access to its facilities. Its business plan has identi- fi ed small cities without any health and fi tness facilities. So far four clubs have opened in the UK; two in Bristol and one each in Hemel Hempstead and London's King's Cross. Finally, in the spirit of the much


more fl exible neighbourhood serv- ice provision outlined above, a new service called PayasUGym launched in 2011, utilising smartphone tech-


ISSUE 2 2012 © cybertrek 2012


nology to locate gyms within an expanding network of clubs, where consumers can book and pay per visit without membership requirements. The service was launched in London and is now operational in Manchester, with further plans underway to expand across the UK during 2012 and onwards from there. Similarly Tone Leisure – a not for


profi t social enterprise – is rolling out Shapemaster's Feel Good Factory con- cept across its existing clubs in the UK, following a successful pilot period. The concept targets overweight and limited mobility customers. Leisure trust BH Live also opened a Feel Good Factory at Pelhams Park Leisure Centre, Bournemouth in March.


A combination of globalisation and adverse economic circumstances has turned the market towards cheaper, more fl exible neighbourhood provision. Monthly rolling contracts are likely


to become far more mainstream. Indeed, the involvement of US fi tness clubs expanding in the UK is likely to have an effect akin to that of the 24-hour supermarkets. Focusing on areas with a lack of health and fi tness provision will bring about a signifi cant rise in the number of fi rst-time gym users. As a study pub- lished by YouGov Sixth Sense titled Gyms and Health Clubs emphasised, location is the most pressing issue affecting consumers in their choice of gyms. If this can be addressed by cur- rent neighbourhood-based programmes, the rewards could be signifi cant. ●


Read Leisure Management online leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 67


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