Building a Badass Boutique

Building a Badass Boutique SoulCycle (above) and Emma Barry (below).

Set to present a FILEX Masterclass, global fitness authority Emma Barry, explains how to design a fitness studio that rocks

As an advisor to the fastest growing segments in fitness: budget clubs, boutique fitness studios, digital workouts and fit-tech startups; I’ve seen it all - owners acting on the wrong insights, getting the business basics wrong, hiring on ‘hype’, blindly following what’s happening across the street and joining the pricing race to the bottom.

At FILEX 2020 we are taking a deep dive into the 10-touch journey to designing a fitness studio that rocks.

Why Boutique Studios and Why Now?

We are in the most exciting times the fitness industry has ever known. There has never been more variety of exercise to choose from, more money being invested, more technology enabling the experience nor more explosive growth in the boutique-fitness market.

Boutique-fitness by definition delivers a specialised offering to a likeminded community within an intimate, high-touch experience. These smaller, curated experiences are enticing more people to move as they enjoy the luxe touches of ‘hyperpersonalisation’ demanded by Millennials and GenZ today.

It’s a great time to be in boutique-fitness but like all highgrowth opportunities, it comes with its caveats. Competition is fierce, customer expectations are ever changing, and operators exist in the financial reality of a pay-as-you-go model. Whether you are an existing operator in a studio, boutique, micro-club or big-box club, or a budding entrepreneur or investor; to capitalise on this exciting and lucrative sector, key steps for success must be in place.

The Opportunity

We had already witnessed the rise and fall of retail stores making their pilgrimage from big department store to uber-cool fashion boutique and back to luxury department store. The irony was that boutique fitness was now moving into the very basements and malls that retail and food had previously occupied, before the long product and delivery arm of Amazon, Uber Eats and all their lookalikes had usurped ‘location, location, location’ and replaced it with ‘convenience, convenience, convenience’.

The first health club group to list on the ASX, Viva Leisure is one of the largest club owners in Australia with over 40 facilities within the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, with the majority operating under the Club Lime brand.

Viva sites are company owned not franchised.

at providing intoxicating experiences that more people could become positively addicted to; the secret to fitness is, after all, turning up in the first place. And two, we needed to make experiences stickier, so people wanted to consistently turn up. We needed to keep the people we had.

The Macro-Trends Fuelling Boutique Fitness

It’s important to understand the bigger forces at play that have, both, provided tailwinds for the uprising of boutique fitness, and continue to shape the evolving boutique business model.

Chasing experiences

The influential The Experience Economy theory of B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore clearly lays out our evolution over the past 100 years from a commodities economy, to a goods economy, to a service economy, to now an experience economy, laying out compelling ways to curate this experience.

They urge us to design memorable experiences, theme the experiences, engage all senses and harmonise impressions with positive cues: “An experience occurs when a company intentionally uses services as the stage, and goods as props, to engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event.”

Marking this new era, New York Magazine dubbed SoulCycle “an experience: part dance party, part therapy, part communal high”.

Hyper-personalisation

Our social feeds, Netflix suggestions, beauty routines and digital meditations are becoming predictive. Pretty soon, as part of industrial customisation and 3D imaging, my shoe size will be called ‘Emma’, will reflect any discrepancies I may have in leg length and foot-strike pattern, and will be specifically designed for my fitness use.

Fitness is no different. We can select our favorite celebrity trainer, choice of workout, duration and intensity to consume

‘Extras’ at London’s 1Rebel (above) and SoulCycle (below left).

fitness exactly how we like it. Pine and Gilmore go on to bluntly point out that “fundamentally, customers do not want choice; they just want exactly what they want”.

And we’ll know if we’ve got it right: customers tell us directly by voting with their feet or their wallet.

Community

Human beings are social. We crave connection. As we go through a digital revolution, we still seek others like us – those who are living like us and wanting to engage in experiences like us. Sweating accelerates friendships: as you break through barriers of unfamiliarity, intensity and effort, and blow through the frustrations of the day, you do it together. Many a friendship (and marriage) was forged in the fires of fitness and the naked truth remains in post-class, locker-room euphoria.

The enablement of technology

Software is disrupting every industry. Devices have been listening, watching and learning for a while now, and this data is directing what happens next. The future is predictive. In boutique fitness, it is specifically enhancing the experience through social media promotion, frictionless booking and payment gateways, biometric integration and putting the workout in your pocket.

If technology freaks you out, it’s important to remember that software is just a service, and technology advancement the way to exponential growth.

High-touch service

Peppermint-scented towels, bottled water, concierge service, equipment set-up, juices and shakes and recovery add-ons - no longer reserved exclusively for the spa service at a high-end hotel, these are now mainstream in boutiques, peppering our experience for the ultimate delight.

Pay-per-class experience

Today, we expect to lead lives untethered from commitment. We can change our entertainment packages, telecommunication services, workplace locations and digital friendships at will. We expect the same from fitness, and the pay-as-you-go pricing model (PAYG) delivers this, allowing the member to enjoy an open relationship with fitness away from the norm of

SUPERCHARGE YOUR 2020 BUSINESS GROWTH

Learn tried and tested methods to scale your business Stay abreast of digital marketing and brand positioning in a crowded market place Fine tune leadership to gain and retain clients and staff Maximise your return and profit in 2020 and beyond

FILEX BUSINESS SUMMIT is a deep dive into how to grow your business and thrive in 2020! – THURSDAY 30 APRIL 2020 –

JULIE MASTERS

Leading authority and expert in the area of ‘influence’

Emma Barry

Global fitness consultant with vast experience in brands and business models shaping the future of our industry.

BILLY POLSON

Leading US fitness business consultant. First time Billy has presented in Australia.

PAUL TAYLOR

Leading speaker and authority in leadership, management and dealing with highpressure situations

+ Interactive panel with leading industry operators

FILEX 3-DAY CONVENTION 1 – 3 MAY 2020

1200

FITNESS PROFESSIONALS

110+ EDUCATIONAL

SESSIONS

3INSPIRING KEYNOTES

90+ INDUSTRY LEADING

PRESENTERS

30 APRIL – 3 MAY 2020 ICC, SYDNEY

minimum contracts. Exercise experiences, including gym work or classes, can be purchased on a per-use basis. Alternatively, exercisers can turn to the aggregators, who charge a monthly fee in exchange for access to numerous facilities and clubs.

Stretching into a lifestyle brand

Because of the luxury positioning and extreme focus possible in a smaller offering, boutiques have successfully partnered with complementary luxe brands to offer their customers more, from apparel and nutrition to ecotourism and other add-on services.

As reported by ForbesLife, SoulCycle is now providing sanctuary experiences in partnership with luxury tour operator Black Tomato – specially curated experiences centred around community bonding, movement and nourishment of the soul. Similarly, BLOK London will start by taking its fraternity for six days to rural France.

Fitness snacking is rampant

The 2019 IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report shows 42% of traditional club-goers also attend at least one boutique studio, while 65% of boutique goers attend two or more boutiques and 22% attend at least three.

Meanwhile, investment bank Piper Jaffray (now Piper Sandler) states the third biggest reason for boutique attrition - after cost and lack of convenience - is the desire for another type of exercise. Brands are beginning to collaborate to address this in a variety of different models, while ClassPass - observing that 90% of its members are trying a new genre of exercise – is evolving its business model towards variety - seekers rather than bargain-hunters.

Word-walls, mantras and ‘The Gram’

Everyone has a platform, which means we are all billboards for the brands we love. Attitudinal tees, daily mantras, hashtags and emojis define our digital imprint on the world. Instructors are the new influencers, taking their raving fans with them across an array of health and wellness offerings.

Little surprise, then, that often the first design feature to make the boutique drawing board is the spot in the studio that will inspire millions of impressions over time: the neon sign and the flawless lighting that makes you look 28 in your selfies, even if you are not.

We Know Who Our Competition Is

The fitness industry is now in competition with entertainment, influencers, social platforms, lodging and tourism. Meanwhile, just within the US$4.5 trillion global wellness ecosystem (referenced in the Global Wellness Institute Report 2019), physical activity (US$828 billion) sits alongside personal care, beauty and anti-ageing (US$1.1 trillion); healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss (US$702 billion); wellness tourism (US$639 billion); and preventive and personalised medicine and public health (US$575 billion). While we are well-positioned as a powerhouse to influence the health and happiness of billions, we are not so much fighting for position today as fighting for attention. And our foes are formidable: inactivity, addictions and human free will to choose something else.

What you’ll learn in the Building a Badass Boutique Masterclass at FILEX

Based on completing the Badass Boutique Barometer - 10 questions which reveal how you are currently performing in each of the critical areas of business known as the 10 Ps we’ll then launch into addressing your areas of need. •The first three Ps: Purpose, Pain and Positioning - establish your branding: Why you exist? How you position for the market and against competitors? And what solution you are bringing to your community. •The second three Ps: People, Programming and Place - speak to your tangible product. The parts of your business your customers see and value. Your exercise formats, your talent, your facility. •The final three Ps: Processes, Plan, Pace address your systems. The processes you need in place to make your system hum. •The final P is Polish and is where everything comes together in your Badass Boutique Blueprint.

And the final word goes to Queen of the category, Melanie Whelan, former Chief Executive of Soul Cycle, who captures our times beautifully when she states “Netflix is the real competition”.

Sought after speaker, published author and consultant to boutiques, budgets, fit-tech start-ups and club-in-a-club, Emma Barry is a global fitness authority and fluent in what happens next in fitness.

Her latest book, Building a Badass Boutique, is available now on Amazon, with Building a Badass Boutique one of several subjects on which she will be presenting at FILEX 2020.

Attendees at her FILEX Masterclass will also receive a hard copy of the book.

FILEX and the business of fitness Australasia’s leading fitness convention, FILEX, will this year be presenting three keynote speakers for the first time: Emma Barry, Paralympian Kurt Fearnley and charismatic New Zealander Lisa O’Neill, who delivers powerful messages through humour.

The three-day event, powered by Fitness Australia, offers 12 CECs and begins on Friday 1st and runs through until Sunday 3rd May and is co-located with the Fitness Show B2B.

The event is preceded by pre-convention summits on Thursday 30th April with delegates having the option to choose from either the Business Summit or The Ultimate Trainer Summit.

FILEX Business Summit

A firm fixture of the fitness industry calendar, the FILEX Business Summit is the perfect opportunity to learn from world and industry-leading business experts in fitness all in one day.

SYDNEY | 1 - 2 MAY 2020 HALLS 5 & 6, ICC SYDNEY, DARLING HARBOUR

FOR REGISTRATION AND EXHIBITING OPPORTUNITIES VISIT FITNESS-SHOW.COM.AU

MEET THE NEW FACE OF FITNESS: FITNESS SHOW B2B

Fitness Show B2B is Australia’s leading trade show for the Fitness Industry. Join the largest global organiser of events for Australia’s largest and most comprehensive fitness industry event May 1-2, 2020!

Our Show Floor is packed full of new initiatives, providing even more reason for you to attend including…

Motivational Speakers World Leading Fitness Brands “Meet the Buyer/Supplier” Opportunities

Live Workouts