May 2012
The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine
Owner facing re-brand after ‘easy’ battle By Christina Eccles A FURIOUS gym owner is facing a £50,000 bill to re-brand his clubs after being threatened with High Court action by European giant easyGroup. Easy Exercise, which has two machine-assisted exercise centres in Lytham and Northwich, has withdrawn from a year-long legal battle, which began when easyGroup said the smaller company was infringing its intellectual property as it owns the rights to the prefix ‘easy’ and trademark easyGym. easyGroup lawyers claimed the services offered by Easy Exercise and easyGym were “identical”, but Easy Exercise argued the only similarity between the two was the use of the word ‘easy’, that its own pink and purple logo was very different from easyGroup’s orange and white – and their target markets miles apart. Managing director Peter Landon, who has already spent thousands arguing the case, said the company could not carry on the fight – fearing the cost of losing could be £100,000. He explained: “The easyGroup makes millions of profit and yet still threatens small businesses like our own in this way, and while we would really like to
fight on we know that, should we lose, we would not only pick up our own legal bill but also that of the easyGroup. We cannot afford to take that risk so we are pulling up the drawbridge.” Peter, who opened his first club in 2005 with partner Joanna Hounsome, is now preparing to re-launch as Friendly Gyms, but is worried this will impact on business. He added: “We serve a niche seniors, ladies only market and are a million miles away from the kind of gym they have now opened. "The bill we will have to pick up is enormous and will halt our plans to extend our business.” A spokesman for easyGroup chairman, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou responded by saying: “The easyGroup takes its rights and responsibilities for the ‘easy’ name very seriously. We will protect our business partners who have made a legitimate financial investment in the brand as part of their commercial strategy. It is simply unacceptable and unfair for others to use it as they please – free, gratis and for nothing. “The ‘easy name’ is synonymous with quality, value for money services and we also have a duty to protect the public from its unauthorised use.”
No 224 £3
Seminars feature industry experts
Olympic medallist Joanne Jackson was among the guests at an open day celebrating the launch of the new Plymouth Life Centre. The swimmer joined other sports stars at the event, which showcased the centre to the local community. The multi-million pound club will be operated by Everyone Active, on behalf of Plymouth City Council, and aims to give residents access to world class facilities at an affordable price. Full story: Page 20
EXCITEMENT is building for the first ever National Fitness Seminars – a series of informative discussions and debate aimed at independent gym owners. The sessions, organised by Script Events in conjunction with Workout, will include speakers with a variety of fitness industry expertise. The first event takes place at Bristol Zoo Conference Centre on May 24, followed by the Hilton Avisford Park Hotel on June 12 and the Hilton Hotel in Blackpool on October 18. Topics up for discussion will include how to effectively utilise social media, successful secondary spend tips and sales and marketing techniques. Delegates will also get the chance to look at exhibits from a number of industry suppliers, who will be showcasing their products and services at the conferences, and hear more about how to get involved with this year’s National Fitness Awards. For more information on speakers for the events and how to book your place, see Page 8