February 2010
The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine
Celebrities bring rise in PT demand
Fee revenue breaks the £2b barrier By Mary Ferguson LONG term prospects for the gym industry ‘remain positive’ despite the economic conditions, according to new research. A major report by Mintel showed that revenue from membership fees has broken the £2 billion barrier for the first time in a year, and there is still a huge market of potential customers ripe for penetration. However, it also showed an increasing number of people are cancelling their memberships, blaming the recession. 23 per cent of consumers said they have already terminated their payments, with a further six per cent planning to do so. The report – Health and Fitness Clubs UK – revealed 11 per cent of consumers said they have reduced the amount of times they visit a gym, but six per cent claimed to be exercising more to avoid doing expensive social activities like going to the pub. Nearly a fifth of private club users said they have switched to a pay-as-you-go gym or moved to a cheaper one. Michael Oliver, senior leisure analyst at Mintel, predicted budget chains will cash in because cost remains a major
issue for consumers. And he warned operators need to do all they can to attract new members. “The price of home fitness equipment has fallen and other innovations, such as the Nintendo Wii fitness products, have also encouraged people to bring exercise back indoors. So it’s a key time for operators to address what will encourage them back into the gym environment again.” The report claimed there is still a large market of consumers who can be encouraged to join, with just ten per cent of the adult population currently using health clubs. But it warned public leisure centres are the biggest rival to independent gyms, attracting a quarter of exercisers, compared to one in six. And cheap ‘no frills’ style gyms are posing a further threat. Michael added: “Operators need to look much more closely at the factors which are acting as a barrier to membership growth. They need to examine why people are not joining, or are leaving. The biggest factor is likely to be one of cost and, in this respect, the emergence of the budget health clubs sector in the UK will help to break down this barrier.”
No 197 £3
THE success of celebrity personal trainers to the stars is behind a ‘massive’ rise in demand for PT sessions in gyms, it has been claimed. Research from Fitness First showed both men and women want one-on-one training, emulating A-listers like Britney Spears, Madonna and Taylor Swift. Tom Eastham, Fitness First’s personal trainer of the year said: “The effectiveness of personal training has been highlighted by the increasing number of celebrities who have regular sessions. While Madonna’s regime is rather extreme the fitness of many celebrities who have a personal trainer is a great advert for our work and the huge and positive impact we can have on people’s lives.’’
Top gym tunes Model Kelly Brook has been revealed as the celebrity women would most like to go to the gym with. 57 per cent of those surveyed by Suunto sports watches chose the model as their ideal exercise buddy, while 35 per cent said they would avoid standing next to Madonna while working out.
THE top song used by fitness and gym instructors in 2009 was ‘Beat Again’ by X-Factor runners-up JLS. Research by PRS for Music revealed the boys topped the list of songs used to motivate people during workouts. Other popular tunes included Sweet Dreams by Beyonce at number two, followed by Dizzee Rascal’s Holiday.