» Canadian Forum 2013 CANADIAN BY DON LONGWELL T
he Canadian fitness busi- ness has developed consider- ably from its beginnings in the mid-20th century to modern
times. During this entire period of re- markable growth, one set of critical measurements has yet to appear. Club owners and managers have been un- able to access answers to questions like the following: • What do other clubs like ours pay their managers, sales staff, instruc- tors and hourly staff?
• What profit centres do they operate? • How do our membership numbers, retention and turnover rates com- pare with clubs of similar size?
• Are our operating expenses too high?
• What are the responsibilities of fit- ness trainers in other clubs?
For the first time in our long history,
answers to these questions are coming. Unfortunately, there is a challenge in obtaining data that is useful for
HEALTH CLUB REPORT Business Measurements That Operators Need to Know
future planning. For example, some club operators
want to know what other clubs are do- ing – but they don’t want to share their own numbers. Fortunately, the most valuable
data to be shared contains averages, percentages, ratios and other group measures that do not require the dis- closure of specific numbers from indi- vidual clubs. It has been a time consuming and
expensive undertaking gathering the data, tabulating results, keeping indi- vidual club data confidential, and pre- senting the results with professional analysis and national coverage. Nevertheless, the first survey of
Canadian health clubs, The 2013 Canadian Health Club Report, has now been completed thanks to a part- nership with IHRSA. IHRSA (International Health,
Racquet and Sportsclub Association) pioneered the first successful club sur- vey with its member clubs across the U.S. In the early days, it was able to overcome concerns that some clubs
had about sharing figures by hiring Industry Insights, an independent orga- nization that specializes in conducting surveys for a wide range of businesses. Additional IHRSA surveys followed
the initial survey, and today they in- clude a Global Report as well as reports specific to Europe and Latin America. Canada has now been added to that list, and we are the first country outside of the U.S. to have its own individual report. The 2013 Canadian Health Club
Report has been made possible by the partnering of IHRSA, Fitness Business Canada, canfitpro and Fitness Industry Canada. IHRSA has contributed the full cost
of Industry Insight’s services including the survey design, tabulation of data, analysis commentary and distribution. FBC has coordinated the partnership
development with IHRSA, authored items within the publication and co- ordinated input from canfitpro and Fitness Industry Canada. Canfitpro has contributed results
from an additional, major survey it completed with fitness professionals across Canada. Selected items from its survey are included in the 2013 Canadian Health Club Report. Fitness Industry Canada has summa-
rized past results and the current status of several major issues (such as music licensing, taxation concerns, consumer protection legislation effecting club op- erations, and more) which are of direct concern to club operators. Clubs that participated by shar-
ing their club data receive the report at no charge. All others may purchase a hard-copy or digital version of the full report online. Watch our website at
www.fitnessbusinesscanada.com for further details. The final report is ex- pected to be available in October. We plan to continue this annual sur-
“The 2013 Canadian Health Club Report has been made possible by the partnering of IHRSA, Fitness Business Canada, canfitpro and Fitness Industry Canada.”
® 62 Fitness Business Canada September/October 2013
vey and to greatly expand the quanti- ty and quality of information provid- ed. The more clubs that participate, the more accurate and extensive will be the value of the content. FBC
Don Longwell is the former publisher and editor of Fitness Business Canada.
AVAILABLE OCTOBER 2013
www.fitnessbusinesscanada.com
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