Bryan O’Rourke shares his thoughts on technology, business, and consumer trends in health, fitness and more.
Check out these four drivers that will impact the bricks and mortar fitness industry over the next five years. What do you think ? Contact me Bryan O'Rourke and share your views. What will new business models look like ? How will strategic players compete ? What will wellness evolve into ?
If you are in business today you should read on because I am going to share what I think is the most valuable strategic thing you can do to improve your company.
C.K. Prahalad was one of the most influential management thinkers in the world and co-authored one of my favorite books, "The New Age Of Innovation, Driving Co-Created Value Through Global Networks". He knew that the most successful companies do two things well: 1. deliver value to customers one at a time (N=1) and 2. deliver that value by orchestrating a global supply chain (R=G). Now what does this have to do with your business or in particular your fitness business, where most of my clients compete ? Picking the right vendor partners can create tremendous value (R=G). Not everyone sees vendors as assets and that is short sighted. Let me share an example.
At fitmarc we deliver turnkey group fitness solutions including everything from education to training, and from consulting and marketing to information systems in the cloud (our new club count product is really cool and quite affordable). We deliver expertise and insights based on vast experience and orchestrated from sources around the world. We deliver Prahalad's R=G. For the small price our customers pay they get A LOT of value with Les Mills group fitness solutions. Prahalad professed that wise businesses focus on their customers and rely on valuable vendor partners to help them service their customers. However, not every business embraces this approach with many in our industry being short sighted, stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. They actually believe that the vendor relationship is about the cheapest price or that they can do everything on their own or get away with. In Prahalad's view and in mine this is a huge strategic error.
What do you think ? When you do business with vendors, do you see them as global partners delivering value beyond price ? Are you operating your business as an N=1 R=G or do you only seek the cheapest thing you can buy or get away with ? Contact me Bryan O'Rourke and share your views and please check out my slideshare presentation below on managing group fitness programs and learn more about our new Club Count solution.
I've always wondered about Lifetime Fitness. The rising costs of building these huge facilities, little pricing power, huge overhead. The "big box" competitor in the fitness industry made me wonder "is it really a viable category killer?" I had my doubts.
I follow the company closely and during the past year the stock has steadily improved; trading from a 52 week low of $22 per share to a $41 per share price today. Compared to the S&P, as the graphic below shows, Lifetime has really out performed the market. Given all of the struggles in the health club business these past few years, you'd wonder why. However, even TSI's stock price has improved by nearly 60% in the past 52 weeks. Upon closer inspection there are some answers that hint at a recovery for the industry and possible greener pastures, at least for a while, for Lifetime and perhaps for TSI as well.
Recent analysis published by Oppenheimer's Brian Nagel and Rupesh Parikh, reflect an upbeat outlook for the company. The pair of analysts predicted Lifetime would outperform the market back in May of last year. They were right. In January of 2011, they again upped their target value for the company from $46 per share to $49 per share. There revised forecast of share price related to an improving economy, the likelihood that Lifetime will reaccelerate growth and that Lifetime's balance sheet is deleveraging.
So what do you think about Lifetime Fitness and its stock price performance this past year ? Do you think that the TSI and Lifetime stock price moves reflect that things are looking up ? Contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and share your views on the company and the industry in general. What's up with Lifetime Fitness ?
The economy had attendance down over the past few years but 2011 is likely to break that trend. Several club operators and executives have shared with me their very good numbers for January ! A great sign for the fitness industry. So with business getting better its time to plan to get to IHRSA this March for the 30th anniversary celebration !
My colleague Kelli Hatton, who is attending this year agrees. She said, "seeing those people that can provide insight into the industry and convey their experience is why I go." In fact our entire business development team at Fitmarc will be there !
Kelli is right ! Take advantage of an improving business environment and invest in learning. There are many great speakers and super presentations. I promise that if you attend my presentation Wednesday, March 16th at 8 am on Using Technology to Improve Member Sales & Retention you will learn some pretty neat stuff ! I've included a sneak preview below you should check out !
So tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, are you planning to attend IHRSA this year ? If so why are you going or why aren't you going ? Let me know and check out this video on using foursquare for your health club that I will cover during my talk at IHRSA Wednesday morning (I'll also be presenting Saturday morning as well) and make your plans today to attend IHRSA ! Making an investment in learning will pay off huge dividends ! I'll see you there.
This morning I grabbed my IPad over tea to catch up with the WSJ. In the Living Section was this article by Kevin Helliker: A Workout Ate My Marriage. As Kevin writes, "Exercise can set off conflict about family, free time; Errands vs. English Channel.
Now being involved in fitness and wellness I wondered, is this as big of a problem as Kevin thinks ? I mean we are always talking about the fact that people don't exercise enough. How often are people exercising too much and if so can it lead to the end of a relationship ? I guess its possible and happens but how often ?
I happen to be married. My wife Maureen works out 6 times a week with a combination of ballet, weight training and cardio. I work out as well (at the same great club stone creek club and spa) and as frequently but we rarely work out together; only when we play tennis, cycle or take a BODYPUMP class. While our regime of training did not evolve until the past decade, its never posed a problem. In fact, we talk about it and enjoy doing the things we do when we do them together. So I was wondering, aren't there more couples and families who are positively impacted by training and keeping fit than negatively impacted ? Aren't these examples extreme cases ? I wondered after reading this part of the article:
The effect of extreme exercise on divorce rates isn't clear. Even if research showed a higher rate of discord in homes where just one spouse is an endurance athlete, exercise could be a consequence, rather than a cause. Among endurance athletes, though, resentment on the part of spouses is a common topic. The phenomenon may develop into what Pete Simon, an Arizona psychologist, triathlon coach and blogger, calls "Divorce by Triathlon." "I often wonder how many lonely wives, husbands, children of triathletes are out there wondering when the insanity is going to end," he wrote.
Now Kevin is a good reporter and Pete is an accomplished coach but couldn't we read more about how exercise is bringing families and couples closer together ?
What do you think ? What is your experience ? Do you know of a situation where working out broke up a marriage ? Do you think couples and families can be closer as a result of being active ? If so, please share your views with me, Bryan O'Rourke. Can working out too often make marriage and family life that bad or make it better ?
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