| IHRSA Report | Member News
Full Disclosure Zumba Fitness, LLC
Pro Forma:
n 1999, Beto Perez, a celebrity fitness
Year Founded: 1999
2008 revenues: N/A
Annual Growth rate:
I
trainer in Cali, Columbia, introduced
Zumba—a fitness dance workshop based
on salsa, merengue, and other Latin
rhythms—to the U.S. He soon joined forces
2007-’08, approx. 100%
with entrepreneurs Alberto Perlman and Alberto
Aghion, who, in 2002, secured a deal with a large
projected Growth rate:
infomercial company to launch the concept
2009, approx. 130%
nationwide. Virtually overnight, they sold hundreds
Clients: 40,000 sites in
of thousands of videos. The Zumba phenomenon
75 countries
caught on quickly, and today, claims CEO Perlman,
employees: 38 full-time,
5 million people take Zumba lessons at more than 40,000 locations
60 part-time, 30,000-plus
in 75 countries. “That makes us the largest branded dance-based fitness
instructors
program in the world,” he points out. To date, Zumba Fitness, LLC, based
in Hollywood, Florida, has sold more than 4 million DVDs worldwide.
Capture and Keep
Strengths
A good program, by itself,
“Zumba’s greatest strength is the fact that it’s evolved into something much
can’t capture prospects
more than a fitness program. For participants, or Zumba ‘fanatics,’ as we refer
and keep current members
to them affectionately, the Zumba experience is a way of life. They’re individuals
coming back to any fitness
who appreciate the positive side of life, and, as a result, they love attending their
facility. Alberto perlman, the
Zumba classes. A good comparison is yoga: yoga helps people feel happy,
CeO of Zumba Fitness, LLC,
achieve balance, and get in great shape. Zumba does much the same.
is sure of the intrinsic appeal
“It’s also a way of life for our 38 employees and the tens of thousands of
of Zumba, but, he points out,
Zumba instructors. We’re all very passionate about the program. We wake up
“We’re constantly upgrading
every day, knowing that it’s a win-win situation for everyone. Fitness facilities
our technology, marketing
win because they have packed classes; instructors, because they love what they
materials, and educational
do and earn a lucrative and steady income; and participants, because they see
tools to make it easy for
results and actually look forward to exercising. It’s truly rewarding work.”
clubs and instructors to
obtain new members and
Opportunities
keep them happy.
“Our premier program, the Zumba Fitness Party, has demonstrated that it has
“A good example of this is:
tremendous staying power. Some clubs have been offering it for five years, and
Zumba instructors post their
it’s still going strong. Now, terrific opportunities are emerging with our spe-
classes on the
zumba.com
cialty programs. We’ve already trained more than 5,000 instructors in our
class locator to attract new
senior program, Zumba Gold. We’ve successfully launched Zumba Toning, a
people to the facilities where
body-sculpting class that uses weighted, maraca-style dumbbells; and, this
they teach.”
month, at the Zumba Convention, we’re unveiling Aqua Zumba, a water-based
bernadett Ferjez, a Zumba
workout, and ZumbAtomic, a dance-based exercise program for kids.”
instructor at the Lifetime
Challenges
Athletic Club in boca raton, “Right now, our greatest challenge is meeting the insatiable demand in the interna-
Florida, seconds perlman’s tional markets. Introducing a program in a new country is more challenging because
point. “I get at least five new of language, logistics, and communications issues. Over the past year, we’ve hosted
members every month from nearly 60 training workshops in more than 15 countries; in the Netherlands alone,
the online class locator at we trained more than 1,000 instructors. We’ve had to develop an international
zumba.com,” she says. “my Zumba Workshop team to make sure we can continue to meet the growing need.
health club loves me!” —| Another ‘challenge’ that we’re currently confronting is that there are some ‘illegal’
instructors out there—ones who aren’t officially trained and licensed by Zumba
Fitness. We’ve already cracked down on some of them, and will continue to do
whatever’s required to defend the Zumba brand.”
—|
www.ihrsa.org | September 2009 | Club business International 87
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