INTERVIEW
for one moment did they step back from that responsibility. They’ve been a fundamental part of the turnaround.” He continues: “When I originally took
the call from Barclays, there were a few ‘we can’t tell you what the business is’ sort of conversations. I had a strong hunch it was Total Fitness, but I don’t mind admitting I hoped it wasn’t – there had been so much noise and negativity around the business.” So what was it about Total Fitness
that made them realise it could be turned around? “We have a few golden rules for any projects we take on. One is: do we think the business has an exciting future post-turnaround – does it have some strategic importance over the next three, five, 10 years? That was top of my list with Total Fitness, because I didn’t really have any prior gym experience – I’d just heard about their sort of model being dead thanks to the budget gyms. “But I took a lot of encouragement
from the fact that – in spite of a tough prior five or six years, with very little investment in the clubs, no focus on retention whatsoever, a lot of management change, really everything counting against it – the loyalty of the membership base was astounding. One in four members had been with their club for longer than five years, despite everything weighing against it. “That was the killer point for me: I knew,
if members were staying in spite of all that, there was something worth fixing.”
Beyond the club And fix it they did, in conjunction with Richard Millman who they brought in as CEO: membership is up 14 per cent and the business is profitable again.
The scale of Total Fitness clubs has been turned into a positive differentiator “One of the main reasons for Total
Fitness’ downfall was its facilities: it had huge property costs, including big pools to maintain,” says Ley. “But that’s also one of the main reasons for its resurgence: the size and quality of the facilities is a huge differentiator for the business. A big part of the turnaround was renegotiating terms with the landlords, getting costs at more realistic levels. “So now we have large clubs that are
profitable, and where you get a huge amount for your money. We see David Lloyd as more of a like-for-like market peer than the budget gyms, except we’re half the price of David Lloyd: £40–£45 a month. In fact, the arrival of the budget gyms has just made Total Fitness more unique, because our segment of the market is less crowded now. “So we offer great facilities with a
great breadth of offering. However, without good people you’re nothing, and it’s our people who will really set us apart going forward. If I look at the turnaround from a people perspective,
it’s inspiring to see the level of focus, commitment, enthusiasm and passion among the staff. Nevertheless, there’s still a long way to go. “As part of that, we need to refine
our customer service and member experience USPs: the way we communicate, how members are treated when they come in to the gym, how they’re treated outside the gym – how we interact with them there. Our digital strategy is pretty basic at the moment, but we have some exciting plans. “We also want to go beyond bricks
and mortar: we’re trying to get that magic dust to make us part of someone’s everyday life, wherever they are. That’s the vision. “Because it can’t just be about clubs.
There aren’t many 70,000–80,000sq ft sites in the north of England, so at some point over the next four or five years – other than picking up the odd gym here and there – we’ll reach maturity. We therefore have to look at how we’re going to generate revenue outside the 80,000sq ft gyms over the next five to 10 years.
The loyalty of the membership base was astounding. One in four members had been with their club for longer than five years
Total Fitness memberships are up 14 per cent and the business is profitable again 34 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital August 2015 © Cybertrek 2015
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