Migros serves around 60,000 members in Zurich, but had to look beyond Switzerland for its new venture (all images) so as not to compete with other Migros co-operatives


when Kalt and his team were eyeing up opportunities for further expansion, venturing into the territory of another co-operative was not feasible. The Zurich co-operative therefore looked across the border, to Germany, where – under the leadership of Kalt as CEO and André Ehrlich on the ground in Germany as COO – it launched its first club in November 2012. The premium club was launched under a new brand, ELEMENTS, which was created specifically for the German market, and which has as its tagline: ‘Swiss up your life’. So just how compelling is that as an advertising message in Germany, I ask? “To us Swiss, it sounds awful!” admits Kalt. “When the German advertising agency presented the idea to us, our immediate reaction was to say no – we’re very modest in Switzerland and don’t like to go around claiming to be the biggest or the best. But the research suggested it really was the right approach – that for the German market, being Swiss represented high quality, fairness, sincerity. The verdict was that, at least at first, we had to communicate that.” Fairness and sincerity would certainly seem to be strong selling points, as Kalt explains: “I have a lot of respect for other fitness operators – there are some very good clubs out there. But my gut feeling


January 2013 © Cybertrek 2013


Although Migros co-operatives do


have to earn money, it’s not our main objective. Our key goal is to support the health of our customers


is that a number of the big operators are in it more for the money than because they really want to give people health. That’s a problem, because mistakes are made and the public loses confidence in gyms’ way of training. “The good thing about Migros is that, although the co-operatives have to earn money, it’s not our main objective. Our primary goal is to support the health of our customers. If you take that approach, you do also earn money. But if the money comes first, it’s always a problem.”


So how about the perception that Swiss means high quality? How does the ELEMENTS offering deliver against this, and indeed how do the German clubs compare to those in Switzerland? “First of all, we can build slightly bigger clubs in Germany because costs are lower across the board – rent, as well as building costs and salaries,” says Kalt. “But essentially the standards are very similar to our clubs in Switzerland. “Perhaps one key area where we have applied learnings is in the scope


Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 39


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