» Buying Equipment
Different Clubs, Different Strategies
Three thriving clubs take three unique approaches to equipping their gym floors. BY BARB GORMLEY
The Big Chain Life Time Fitness Mississauga, Ont.
W
hen you’re mega-fitness- chain Life Time Fitness, exer- cise equipment–researching,
24 Fitness Business Canada July/August 2012
buying and upgrading it–is on your purchasing department’s daily to-do list. “It’s a pretty robust division,” says Pat Regan, who leads the large depart- ment with his 34 years of experience. “We’re tasked with many duties, but the equipment part of our job is prob- ably the most visible.” The 97-club American company
is typically building three new clubs and remodelling 50 others on an on- going basis. Its first Canadian club– 147,000-square-feet and three-stories
Pat Regan
Director of Purchasing Life Time Fitness
tall–opened this year in Mississauga, just outside of Toronto. Equipping its locations is a fine-
ly-tuned process that the company has honed over its 20 years in busi- ness. Because Life Time is constantly launching and renovating clubs (its equipment budget for a new club is about $1.2 million), it enjoys perks that smaller chains and clubs don’t. “We get early peaks under the hood
of a lot of new equipment,” says Regan, who says the company works closely with several manufacturers. (After one recent exceptionally-exciting sneak peak, the company bought every piece available; other clubs will have to wait several months to experience it.)
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