Quick look inside the UK’s latest low-cost (budget) gym at Vauxhall, London

I was in London this week so took the opportunity to pop along to The Gym Group's latest (opened August 2009) low-cost (budget) gym to open in south London. The company has secured space in the St George Wharf development which comprises luxury apartments and commercial businesses.

The gym is on a single floor with a small mezzanine level and has a light and open feel due to the high ceilings and skylights. The facility offer is consistently simple with around 170 pieces of Matrix equipment, changing rooms and sunbeds (not in use when I visited as they were waiting on a treatment license). It was disappointing to see three broken pieces of strength and CV equipment, but then I don't see the usage data to understand how hard the equipment is being worked.

What do gym members think?

I chatted to a few members and it was interesting that they were new to clubs. This does not mean that they have never use gyms before, just that none had recently left a club to join the new Vauxhall club. They were attracted by the convenience to work, home, the price (£14.99 per month) and that there was no contract to sign.

How about this for an entrance!

The video shows the new entry/exit system the company is using at Vauxhall. Why this approach? The club operates 24-hours and is unstaffed at night. Members enter a pin-code and then enter the 2-door chamber. It didn't pass the friendly test with my wife, but is clinically efficient. This just shows how various companies can have a different interpretation on delivering a 'budget gym' experience. For example, the entry system used at Vauxhall would not go down well with Dutch consumers who would expect a much more personable and friendly welcome.

Property Strategy

I am very impressed with the property strategy the company is adopting. The sites seem to be very carefully considered and I can begin to see a consistent 'look' and 'feel' across clubs. This approach of selecting new locations and only developing building shells is certainly slower than acquiring clubs, but will certainly pay future dividends.

What do you think of the UK's budget gyms?

Have you visited any UK budget gyms recently? Are you a member? If so, I would love to know what you think.

(picture shows the St George Wharf development)

(note for The Gym Group: I did ask the member permission to film them entering club)

Interview with Theo Hendriks, CEO of Sports & Leisure Group

This is another of the 'choose a question' interviews that I filmed while at the IHRSA European Convention in Dublin.

This interview is with Theo Hendriks, CEO of the Sports & Leisure Group in Holland. While in Dublin, Theo received the Annual European Club Leadership Award. This goes to an individual whose leadership has advanced their company and the club industry at large.

During this interview, Theo talks about selling some of his clubs to pay down debt, the trends impacting his business and his future plans.

This is a lovely interview as it is very future-looking and he gets very excited about his plans to drive across the United States and Canada.

Some of the questions asked:

1 What are the key trends driving your business?

2 Why is the budget club trend so big in Holland?

3 How will your business be different one year from now?

4 Can the business now run smoothly without you?

5 What would colleagues say is your best skill/ability in business?

6 What advice can you offer to someone setting up a business in 2010?

So this is how you encourage people to take the stairs

This is so clever – changing peoples behaviour through fun

Posted via email from Strategic Leisure Insight from Ray Algar

Six minute video interview with Dag Lee, Chairman Taipan Invest

I've just returned from the IHRSA Convention held in Dublin. While there, I took the opportunity to grab a few people and ask them their views on business. However, there was a little twist. I prepared 50 questions on cards and they had to call out a number and then give me an immediate response to the question - not so easy, when someone is pointing a video camera in your face!

This first interview is with Dag Lee, who is now the Chairman of Taipan Invest. Dag is also a non-executive board member at Actic, a private equity owned fitness chain operating in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Germany. Dag's former role was CEO at SATS, the Nordic health club group.

Dag had some tough questions. Here is the result:

Question themes:

Dag talks about the SATS 'Core Model' which is the SATS corporate 'bible' which all employees are taken through, 'MySATS' (a member induction programme), and finally, the best business idea he never implemented.

Apologies for the video 'shake' at the start.

Short interview with Rasmus Ingerslev, CEO, Wexer

This is another of the 'choose a question' interviews that I conducted at the recent IHRSA European Convention in Dublin.

This interview focuses on Rasmus Ingerslev, CEO of Wexer, an online health and fitness community that launched in early 2009. Rasmus is a very interesting guy who founded Fitness dk, a leading chain of Danish health clubs, which he left to develop Wexer. Rasmus is also a former elite athlete, having represented Denmark in Karate. In this interview Rasmus discusses how he has brought the discipline required to compete as an international athlete into the world of business.

Interview themes: The web (internet) trends, competition, ambition and personal drive.

Sport Conference Athen

Recently I returned from the Sport Conference held in Athens where I was asked to deliver two presentations for Greek health club managers and owners.

Leading up to the conference, I worked with Panos Bazos on two key presentation themes. Panos is a leading leisure consultant to Greek club owners, working with Holmes Place and other brands.

The presentation below looks at the low-cost trend and how it is disrupting established industries, including health and fitness.

Please note that the slides are in Greek, but the pictures should tell the story (if I have done my job properly).

Click on the grey button to advance the slides. This presentation can also be downloaded as a PDF (click on the menu button).

Please leave me a comment.

How Low Cost Propositions Are Changing Industries

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What does my brand stand for? Sport Conference Athens

This is the presentation that I delivered on day two of the conference.

It is a complex message to get over even when English is a person's first language. Imagine how challenging this is when it is being simultaneously translated. However, I was very impressed with the Greek translator, who quickly understood the core message.

Click on the grey arrows to advance the slides. To download the presentation as a PDF, click on the menu button.

What Does My Brand Stand For?

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BBC Panorama investigate Ryanair

Last night's Panorama investigation into the selling practices of Ryanair was interesting. Following the hour-long programme I was left thinking was there really a story here to tell. Ok, so the Ryanair website may not be the best at quickly flagging up the total cost of a flight ticket, but most of can eventually work it out. The airline operates a modern fleet of planes, offers cheaper fares than legacy airlines and has good punctuality. So what's the real issue?

It's Michael O'Leary

I think a lot of the reputational issues with Ryanair rest with Michael O'Leary, the Chief Executive. His relentless determination to drive down cost means that the subtle dynamic of dealing with people, is often lost. O'Leary's philosophy with suppliers is 'give me your best price or get lost'. Yes, he often delivers low fares for passengers, but does he really care about those passengers? When Ryanair head office staff are told not to charge their mobile phones at work has the low-cost mission gone too far?

It's a salient lesson for all the people that are thinking of getting into the low-cost gym business. Deliver low-cost, but do it in a humble and respectful way that demonstrates that you care about people, regardless of how much, or little, they may be paying.

(picture shows O'Leary's response to the Panorama investigation)

Say hello to the UK’s latest budget gym business

Well, isn't the UK budget gym sector getting exciting? It wasn't so long ago that FitSpace was the lone operator in this new market segment. How things can quickly change. Well now the UK has another low-cost gym operator – Gym4all. The company has announced its first site in Croydon, South London and is actively seeking further locations across London and other major English cities.

The company has adopted the slogan: 'Get Fit, Pay Less', which I assume is a challenge to alternative gym-based propositions charging more than £20 per month.

Exciting times

This really is an exciting chapter in the industry's development and demonstrates that new consumer propositions often get launched during economic downturns. Why? Entrepreneurs need to think more, solve a genuine consumer need and create a proposition so compelling that it cuts through a world cluttered with mediocre businesses.

I do hope that Gym4all is successful; it deserves to be.