INTERVIEW
Signs placed around the
clubs reinforce the ‘feelgood’ rules and encourage members to be considerate
“We don’t over-promise, there are
no ‘get fit guarantees’, and we’re not trying to be the centre of our members’ universe. We just do what we do well. We focus as much on what we don’t do as what we do do – we have no childcare and no group exercise, for example, as it just wouldn’t be cost-effective in our model, which focuses on driving as high a yield as possible per square metre. “We’re flexible too: members can
cancel at any point, even the last day of the month, effective from the following month. We don’t make it hard for them to leave because we know they could well come back to us at some point: in our exit survey, 90 per cent of departing members rate us between four and six out of six for overall satisfaction.”
USP #2: PT Although IT does much of the work that gym staff would normally do, Evo clubs aren’t entirely unmanned: PTs must commit to certain shifts to ensure there’s someone at the club most of the time, although they can then do as many additional hours as they want. PTs also have to take responsibility
for the club, which isn’t something they might normally expect in their job description. They must ensure the club is clean at all times (cleaners also come in twice a day), the air conditioning doesn’t smell, the sound is at a comfortable level, equipment is working, and there aren’t bottlenecks or queues for the kit. “We compare it to chefs looking after their kitchen,” says Windingstad. “If everything in the gym is in order, the PTs will be able to run better sessions and be more successful.” In return, PTs are entitled to hold
on to a significantly higher proportion of their income than is the norm. And the member profile means there’s a good uptake of personal training: in 2013, the top-performing clubs are expected to bring in PT revenues that
equate to as much as 80 per cent of the membership-based income. “PT is booming in Norway at the moment, while group exercise is falling. If PTs put in the hours, they can make very good money indeed,” says Windingstad. “Because of this, we can be very
selective with our PT recruitment. We want PTs with great people skills who will happily talk to members, even if they’re not their clients.” And from a business perspective, as
well as manning the club, the PTs also help drive loyalty. In mid-2012, Evo Fitness profiled its members to identify likely lapsers. It then ran a lottery, offering prizes of six PT sessions to be taken over the course of two months, with many of the possible lapsers among the winners.
“By the end of the two months, winners previously identified as possible lapsers were half as likely to churn as those in lower-risk groups,” says Windingstad.
“This reinforces our exit survey data: people do mostly leave because they’re not getting results, or don’t know what to do, and PT can help address this.”
Future plans Off the back of its success, Evo Fitness has just launched a franchise offering which will be the focus of the brand’s expansion going forward – certainly internationally, but also potentially within Norway. Evo aims to sell franchises in clusters rather than single sites, with the first
“PTs take responsibility for the club. In return, they hold onto a higher share of their income”
34 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
agreement already signed: premium health club operator Fressi will roll out Evo-branded clubs in Finland alongside its 11 full-service facilities, with plans for 25 sites over five years – an opportunity for the operator to broaden its business base. Other possible markets are yet to be
identified, but fitness penetration rates will be one of the factors analysed. “We wouldn’t consider countries
where the penetration rate is lower than 2 per cent, as this is when the market is just beginning and progress is slow,” says international development director Peter Byman. “Between 2 per cent and around 8–10 per cent, growth is driven by the premium sector. It’s after this point that the market changes, exploding into a number of different models based on segmentation, which allows the market to grow again. This is where the opportunity lies for brands such as Evo Fitness.” But there will also be more owned
sites in Norway. By the time of my visit in mid-2013, Evo had opened 30 clubs in 37 months and was set to reach 36 or 37 by the end of the year. The longer-term aim is to reach 65 owned clubs by 2016. There’s also a desire to broaden the
offering, as Windingstad explains: “We want to move from fitness facility to fitness facilitator, running outdoor activities in the summer and using technology to build communities and encourage members to exercise outside of our clubs.” Evo Fitness certainly seems to be
setting its ambitions high – and with good reason, judging by its performance to date. So what’s the secret of that success? Windingstad smiles: “Ultimately we have no secrets apart from hard work and good technology.” ●
October 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
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