CONSUMER RESEARCH The Future of Fitness
Mega clubs, budget operators and out-of-club offerings – what does the future hold for the health and fitness industry? Michael Oliver analyses the findings of Mintel’s 2014 Health and Fitness Clubs report
T
he UK health and fitness club industry survived much of the economic downturn relatively unscathed, but the past two
years have seen tougher conditions as consumers have had to cut their expenditure further in the wake of a prolonged period of real terms declines in living standards. The structure of the fi tness industry has also changed signifi cantly in this period, with budget clubs hitting the mid-market hard. Expectations are for modest growth
in market value and volume by the end of 2014, refl ecting likely improvements in living standards in the second half of the year, as well as a rise in consumer confi dence and falling unemployment. Forecasts suggest that the market will then grow by 5.9 per cent in the next fi ve years, to a value of £2,823m by 2018.
Demise of the mega club? The future of the mega club is a key issue in the market. Over the past three years, full-service clubs with wet and dry facilities have only grown in number by 5 per cent, compared to 9 per cent for larger dry clubs and 30 per cent for smaller gymnasia/fitness suites (an area which includes many budget clubs). Most of the growth in terms of new
site openings during the economic downturn came from the budget sector and, more recently, from microgyms, which often specialise in one type of instructor-led group activity, whether that’s cycling, dance or fi tness classes. This refl ects a growing expectation
on the part of consumers for personalisation and customisation of products and services. Additionally, it refl ects the lack of availability of suitable
sites for the large club formats, and the fact that the market is almost saturated with this type of outlet. Mintel believes that operators will
have to start looking at ‘infi lling’ with smaller clubs, in the same way that the major supermarket chains have switched to building smaller convenience stores serving local neighbourhoods. This has already been recognised by operators such as David Lloyd Leisure, which has begun to open its DL Studio sites in high street locations, as well as Fitness First with smaller clubs such as The Beat being opened near other full-service clubs operated by the chain; more such clubs will follow across London. However, the problem for the larger
operators is that many of these types of sites have already been taken by the burgeoning budget clubs sector.
Battle of the budgets Another key issue in the market is the future of the budget sector. Between 2011 and 2014, the number of budget clubs in the UK has grown by 203 per cent, from 73 to 221. However, the annual rate of growth in budget club site numbers has decreased, from 95 per
Members who can’t always get to their club might pay to have a live class streamed into their home
68 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
October 2014 © Cybertrek 2014
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WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/YEKO PHOTO STUDIO
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