BOUTIQUE FITNESS
FIGURE 2 STRATEGY CANVAS FOR A STUDIO VS MID-MARKET HEALTH CLUB
High 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Low
Membership model
Studio
Range of facilities
Design and ambience
Mid-market health gym Enabling technology Activity specialisation Appointment driven operation Core competitive factors
Passionate execution
Pricing policy
Recruiting top talent
The mid-market club invests in a range
of facilities and programmes, built on the traditional membership model. It aspires to be a competent and consistent generalist. The strategic profile for a studio is
very different. It chooses to eliminate the membership model, which it believes to be unnecessary in forging engagement with customers. The range of facilities is reduced so that all peripheral areas and their associated costs are removed from the business. Next, it raises its strategic emphasis
in six factors on which the studio wishes to build its reputation. First, more resources are invested in design, because the studio aspires to create a distinctive brand image – one that communicates to customers that they’re stepping into an environment that looks and feels more retail store than gym. The use of enabling technologies is
increased, providing customers with a greater sense of autonomy that’s very empowering – check online for class availability, select a preferred bike or place in a class, book, pay and charge ancillary items such as rental items, food and water to a stored payment card, creating a simple, cashless experience. Activity specialisation is critical,
because the studio’s long-term success is dependent on it developing a deep expertise that’s difficult for others in the industry to imitate.
Unlike most gyms, the studio is
appointment-driven, which drives efficiency but also forms part of its purposeful environment – customers are here to experience some meaningful activity. Passionate execution is driven from the reality that whether someone returns is based on their next hour’s experience – there’s no safety net from selling minimum-term memberships. Finally, studios have created a new
competitive factor around the recruitment of top talent, recognising that the instructor is a vital component in creating the difference between a mediocre and a remarkable experience. Many top studio instructors have ‘rock star status’ both in studio and online, having stretched themselves to reach the top of their profession (commanding higher fees or salaries). The result is that a very different
strategic profile is created, which allows the studio to break free of low prices, discounts and year-round promotions. This is because it exudes a confidence in its ability to make a meaningful difference in the lives of its customers.
Apply a neutral lens Were you aware that, when a business comes along with a disruptive and novel consumer proposition, it can sometimes be left unchallenged for more than 10 years? Often this is because the ‘lens’ used to evaluate the disruptor is
46 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
clouded by assumptions and pre-existing bias. It has happened before in the UK fitness industry, when the first low-cost gyms arrived and were greeted by incumbent operators with ridicule and scepticism – “they are not viable”, “they are unsafe” and “they will not be around for long”. They were wrong. This myopic thinking is unhelpful and
commercially damaging; so much more intelligent to apply a neutral lens when assessing the emergence of boutique studios and other fitness concepts that are vying for the attention of consumers. You may not buy into or believe in the operating model, but the very least you must do is understand it. ●
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ray Algar is the managing director of Oxygen Consulting, a company that provides strategic business insights for organisations connected to the global health and fi tness industry. The 2015 UK Boutique Fitness
Studio Report is a collaboration with Matrix Fitness UK, whose unconditional support was essential. The full 43-page report can be
purchased for £175 + VAT from:
http://bit.ly/BoutiqueReport
July 2015 © Cybertrek 2015
Strategic emphasis
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