Smart Phone Explosion in US - How Will Health Clubs Be Affected ?

Smart Phones are exploding and, while unclear, the implications for health clubs are very real. From how we market to how we engage existing members, there are and will be opportunities and risks. Check out my recent Club Industry Article "How Mobile Devices Will Affect The Health Club Industry", to learn more.

How significant will "Smart Phones" be ? Nielsen has forecasted that by the third quarter of 2011, smartphone users will surpass feature phone users.  This represents a continued and monumental shift in the way people connect with media, the Internet, mobile apps and each other. 



91% of Americans are mobile subscribers. Based on Nielsen's estimate, 50% of mobile subscribers will be smartphone users.  The result will be nearly 143 Million smart phone users by the third quarter of 2011.

Waybeyond - A New Fitness Concept For Kids

I've touched on bifurcation in the fitness facility business as a key trend. Budget models and niche experiential models are going to comprise most growth in the coming decade while anything in the middle will have a tough go. Further evidence of this bifurcation trend, in my opinion, is the concept Waybeyond. The first concept is opened in San Diego and its designed for children. Talk about a niche. but its pretty interesting. Check out the online tour . Brian Blacher is co-founder.

Tell me what do you think about Waybeyond ? Can a fitness concept that focuses on the kids niche thrive ?

4 Drivers Behind Bricks & Mortar Fitness Industry Trends 2011-2016

4 Key Trend Drivers For The Fitness Industry 2011-2016

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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 ?

Are You Seeking Value From Your Vendors Beyond Price ?

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.

Managing group fitness programs

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What's Up With Lifetime Fitness ? Things Are Looking Up That's What.

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 ?