MARKET ANALYSIS
STATE OF PLAY
Where does the UK fitness sector currently sit within its product lifecycle, and what comes next? Kate Cracknell asks the experts for their thoughts
W
here does the health and fitness industry currently sit within its product lifecycle? After years of maintaining more or less the same level of population penetration, are
there any signs of green shoots that mark a possible turning point for the sector – a point at which it will leave its plateau behind and grow once more? The product lifecycle theory states that there are four key
phases in a product’s life. The introduction phase involves researching, developing and then launching the product. This is followed by the growth stage, when sales are increasing at their fastest rate. Maturity is characterised by sales being near their highest point, but with the rate of growth slowing down due to factors such as market saturation and higher levels of competition. Decline is the fi nal stage of the cycle, when sales begin to fall, but this may be avoided if the product is revitalised through innovation; not all products will reach this stage. While different sectors of the UK fi tness industry are at
different stages of their lifecycle, the overall picture is of an industry in the stage of maturity: high levels of competition, with some viewing the market as already saturated, and overall population penetration rates holding steady. So what comes next? Do we decline, hold steady, or grow through reinvention? Some sectors of the fi tness industry are already in a growth
phase – budget clubs, for example, and the microgyms – but for now the overall sector holds steady. However, at the recent IHRSA European Congress, industry consultant Ray Algar explained how the sector had now lost its “temporary monopoly”, with competition arising not only in the form of other gyms but also from other fast-evolving sectors such as technology. And Christophe Andanson, stalwart of the fi tness industry in France, warned that the health club model is genuinely at risk for the very same hi-tech reason. So might we actually hit the fi nal stage of the cycle: decline?
Or is there anything else that might fall in alongside the low-cost gyms and slingshot us into growth – the continuing emergence of the microgyms, new partnerships with organisations both in and outside of our sector, or perhaps harnessing the fast pace of technological innovation to help us move outside of bricks and mortar facilities altogether? Alternatively, will the sector simply opt for gentler reinvention
to ensure it remains relevant – thus steering clear of decline – but remaining within the maturity phase? We ask the experts.
Are clubs now in
direct competition with technology?
82 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
January 2015 ©
Cybertrek 2015
PHOTO:
WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/: LZF
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 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100