EDITOR’S LETTER
Cover image Photographer: Jon Enoch
Subscriptions Denise Gildea +44 (0)1462 471930
Circulation Manager Michael Emmerson +44 (0)1462 471932
Editor
Kate Cracknell +44 (0)1462 471906
Editorial Director Liz Terry
+44 (0)1462 431385
Assistant Editor Katie Barnes
+44 (0)1462 471925
News Editor Tom Walker
+44 (0)1462 471934
Product Editor Kate Corney
+44 (0)1462 471927
Designer Clara Nicoll
+44 (0)1462 471910
Website Team Dean Fox
+44 (0)1462 471900 Emma Harris
+44 (0)1462 471921 Tim Nash
+44 (0)1462 471917
Michael Paramore +44 (0)1462 471926
Publisher Jan Williams
+44 (0)1462 471909
Sales John Challinor +44 (0)1202 742968
Astrid Ros +44 (0)1462 471911
Stephanie Rogers +44 (0)1462 471903 Julie Badrick
+44 (0)1462 471919
Financial Administrator Denise Gildea +44 (0)1462 471930
Credit Controller Rebekah Scott +44 (0)1462 733477
The Leisure Media Company Ltd, Portmill House, Portmill Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG5 1DJ UK
May 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
NEWS AND JOBS UPDATED DAILY ON THE INTERNET
leisureopportunities.co.uk CONTACT US TEL +44 (0)1462 471915 EMAIL:
theteam@leisuremedia.com
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 3 Social responsibility
Why do health clubs – operations that pivot around the idea of doing people good – have to work so hard, and spend so much money, to engage customers? That was the question posed by Ray Algar, MD of Oxygen Consulting, who spotted a discrepancy between the way in which gyms perceive themselves – as socially- minded operations that help people live healthier, happier lives – and the way the public sees them: as contract-wielding enterprises that take your money and then leave you to fend for yourself, not caring if you attend or not. Was there something that could be done to shift public perceptions, wondered Algar, encouraging
people to see gyms as businesses with a social agenda – businesses they would therefore be proud to be associated with? And could this social agenda be delivered without ignoring commercial realities? Algar was inspired by the story of TOMS Shoes, a for-profit company with a strong ethos of corporate
social responsibility (CSR). When TOMS sells a pair of shoes, another pair is given to an impoverished child. When it sells a pair of glasses, part of the profit is used to save or restore the eyesight of people in developing countries. The model allows TOMS to be profit-making, but at the same time benefit from the huge goodwill of a public keen to buy from a company that makes them feel good about their purchase. Recognising the huge impact of this on
Putting social impact initiatives at the heart of the business will help gyms create a true sense of community, allowing members to feel part of something and driving engagement
customer loyalty – an area in which the fitness industry has always struggled – Algar set about tracking down examples of positive social impact from within the fitness sector. A new website, Gymtopia, was born to share these stories – “to curate the social good that gyms
and suppliers are doing around the world,” says Algar. Its intention is to showcase best practice and encourage other clubs to follow suit, putting social impact initiatives at the very heart of what they do: less the one-off charity event, more an integral part of the business. Algar believes this will create a true sense of community, allowing members to feel part of something, driving engagement and reconnecting with those who are disengaging from their club – not to mention acting as a selling point for prospective members and partners. “If a health club cares about its community, the community will care about the club,” he adds. Due for imminent launch, Gymtopia has already gathered a number of inspiring examples: Cia Athletica
in Brazil, for example, which asks members to donate old trainers whenever they’re trading up to a new pair. These are laundered and donated to a local charity that gets under-privileged kids into sport. Vivafit in Portugal asked members to bring in a tin of food whenever they came to work out during April 2009: more than 60,000 items of food were collected and donated to a charity supporting young mothers and their babies. And in the UK, The Gym Group has added a simple question to its sign-up process, asking if people want to make a one-off donation to charity; over £60,000 is now raised each year. Such initiatives are win-wins for clubs: quite aside from the feelgood factor for staff and members, they
are likely to boost retention and, with it, income. If clubs can be creative, it can also be done at minimal cost to the business. I’m excited by Gymtopia and hope it leads to a new CSR movement in the sector. If you have a case study for Gymtopia, please contact
Ray@Gymtopia.org
Kate Cracknell, editor -
katecracknell@leisuremedia.com / twitter: @HealthClubKate To share your thoughts on this topic, visit
www.healthclubmanagement.co.uk/blog
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