news and jobs updated daily on www.healthclubmanagement.co.uk


Health Club Management is IHRSA’s European Strategic Media Partner


operator showcase


success on the cote d’azur Peter Franklin, owner of fi ve Fitlane clubs in southern France, has created a market-leading brand in the French Riviera. Franklin implemented systems


HealthCity International is now the largest non-franchise operator in Europe mergers, acquisitions, newcomers


HealthCity International’s latest deal has catapulted it into fi rst place among non- franchise operators in Europe with 259 clubs; Mrs.Sporty, with 450 franchises, still leads Europe in overall units. After the BasicFit takeover (33


clubs in June 2010), in November 2010 Dutch operator HealthCity – owned by Waterland Investments BV – acquired all 57 Fitness First clubs in Benelux, followed by all 45 Fitness First clubs in Spain, France and Italy in May 2011. Also in May, Elixia Nordic AS’s 46


clubs changed hands, and are now owned by another private equity fi rm,


events diary Visit www.ihrsa.org/meetings


1–3 September 2011 12th Annual IHRSA / FITNESS BRASIL Latin American Conference & Trade Show – São Paulo, Brazil


15 September 2011 Profi table Small Group Training Programmes (webinar) – with Rob Gagnon, fi tness director, Manchester Athletic Club


27–30 October 2011 11th Annual IHRSA European Congress – Milan, Italy


14–17 March 2012 31st IHRSA International Convention & Trade Show – Los Angeles


august 2011 © cybertrek 2011


Altor Fund III. This deal is estimated to have been worth 280m. Entering Germany in 2011 with at least


two premium leisure centres will be Swiss conglomerate MIGROS. MIGROS, which began in 1925 with 25 staff and nine grocery trucks, now has 90,000 staff in areas from petrol stations to continuing education and can count 90 per cent of the Swiss population as customers. Club Med Gym’s acquisition of


Silhouette Wellness (see HCM July 11, p64) is a further example of cross-border expansion, while further consolidation is expected in the German budget sector.


parents need


training Training the parents of obese children to adopt a healthy lifestyle is likely to have a positive effect on their children’s weight, according to a study published in The International Journal of Obesity. The parents of 98 overweight or obese


children were signed up for training to help their kids attain a healthy weight, and were randomly assigned to a treatment group or a control group. In the treatment group, each session


addressed a theme associated with childhood obesity, including parental control, exercise and eating behaviour, and encouraged parents to think of solutions. Children’s weight decreased signifi cantly


in the treatment group, with no signifi cant relapse after three months. There was no change in the control group.


learned during his work in Hong Kong in the 90s, including experience with Ray Wilson’s California Fitness Centers. Pleasantly surprised by the initial success of his fi rst club – a 1,800sq m (19,380q ft) site that opened in 2004 in Mandelieu, which now has 4,700 members – Fitlane now has over 17,000 members across fi ve sites, with a goal of reaching 25,000 members by 2013. Active promotions include Zumba


events on the beach, fi tness fl ash mobs, video commercials on main street corners and a marketing staff of four who plan the best use of the 6 per cent of revenue that’s invested in marketing outreach. “All 65 staff are commissioned on


something,” says Franklin: instructors are ranked by class attendance, sales staff are required to generate 40 per cent of their leads themselves through contact outside of the club, and corporate sales play a signifi cant role, especially in the Sofi a Antipolis club in the French ‘silicon valley’. Sales and member service are the only functions performed in the clubs, with all administrative tasks undertaken at head offi ce. “Our biggest competitors are


lifestyle and weather,” says Franklin, referencing the low penetration rate in France (6.2 per cent) and the appeal of the great outdoors in the sunny south of France.


ABOUT IHRSA Founded in 1981, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association is the only global trade association, representing nearly 10,000 health and fi tness facilities and suppliers worldwide. To learn how IHRSA can help


your business thrive, visit ihrsa.org Locate a quality IHRSA club at www.healthclubs.com


Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 21


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