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IHRSA Europe update: Movers & Shakers
IHRSA unveils the world’s top fitness operators in this year’s IHRSA Global 25 report
Last month, IHRSA announced the release of The IHRSA Global 25, which lists the top 25 health club companies worldwide in terms of revenue, memberships and units. This prestigious list of club operators is based on The 2014 IHRSA Global Report, which profiles nearly 400 clubs worldwide.
As a whole, the worldwide industry’s revenues grew from US$75bn to US$78bn (+4 per cent) from 2012 to 2013. The number of facilities was also up, from 150,000 to 160,000 (+6.7 per cent), while the number of members grew from 132 million to 140 million (+6.1 per cent).
Revenue growth has improved uniformly among the organisations that submitted data for this year’s Global 25. Category leader 24 Hour Fitness grew from US$1bn in 2012 to US$1.3 billion in 2013 – a 30 per cent increase. Anytime Fitness climbed to US$634m (+31 per cent); Goodlife Fitness Clubs to US$495m (+19 per cent); Planet Fitness to US$211m (+32 per cent); Bodytech to US$120m (+25 per cent); and the Russian Fitness Group to US$176m (+14 per cent).
Anytime Fitness also reached an industry milestone of two million members worldwide, placing the franchise among the top five club companies in the Global 25 in terms of members.
Also in the top five are Planet Fitness (4.8 million members), 24 Hour Fitness (3.8 million members), Gold’s Gym International (3 million members), and Virgin Active (1.3 million members).
“Continued robust performance from leading club companies attests to the industry’s strength and potential for growth,” says Jay Ablondi, IHRSA’s executive vice president of global products.
“IHRSA is pleased to recognise industry leaders who are playing a critical role in addressing the global epidemics of obesity and inactivity,” adds Joe Moore, IHRSA’s president and CEO.
“As part of a dynamic industry with more than 160,000 health clubs, leading club operators are providing stellar offerings in energetic settings, all in an effort to help nearly 140 million members with their health and fitness goals.”
The IHRSA Global 25 report is available for download at www.ihrsa.org
The 2014 IHRSA Global Report is available at www.ihrsa.org/ihrsa-global-report, either in print or as a PDF. It costs US$74.95 for IHRSA members and US$149.95 for non-members.
Be recognised for excellence
IHRSA is seeking nominations for the 2014 European Club Leadership Award, which will be presented at the annual IHRSA European Congress in Amsterdam in October.
The award recognises the European club leader who has done the most to advance his or her company, and the industry, through strong leadership and performance. Individuals may nominate themselves or others for the award.
The deadline for entries is 3 September. For further details, visit www.ihrsa.org/awards
Ask an expert: Hiring PTs
What should a club look for when hiring a personal trainer? Frances Michaelson, owner of Muscle Up in Canada, offers her thoughts on this topic
Owner,
Muscle Up, Canada
‘‘Certification has become big business. I’ve been personally training clients for 18 years, and opened Muscle Up – a personal training centre in the West Island of Montreal, Canada – 12 years ago.
“I only hire trainers on a part-time basis and they’re all contracted out employees. I’m not affiliated with any particular certifying organisation, and don’t hire trainers according to their certification status. I believe a good trainer is somebody who’s combined knowledge and passion with the ability to provide a high quality service to their clients.
“A certification alone is not enough and will not breed success. Continuing education is what’s most important. There are too many quick, easy to get certifications available today, including online courses that teach nothing about communication or client-trainer relations.
“I’m well aware of many club owners who are not fitness professionals, and who therefore rely on trainers being able to show they are certified – but they have no idea if the trainer has really retained anything and if they can apply what they learned. These business owners hire based on the certification paper because they believe this is enough to ensure the client is in safe hands.
“Unfortunately, several individuals are now taking advantage of these cheap and quick online certifications that teach very little about the anatomy, and of course teach nothing about people skills.
“It doesn’t take a special person to be able to study and pass an examination, but it does require a certain talent to keep clients motivated and achieving results. Personality, a caring attitude and a desire to keep learning is what’s most important to me.”
Read more answers to this question at www.ihrsa.org/industryleader
Momentum gathering for European Congress
Last month’s pages noted that the general sessions speakers for the 14th Annual IHRSA European Congress would be Jonas Kjellberg, one of the creators of Skype, and Annemarie van Gaal, a financial columnist in the Netherlands. Kjellberg will speak Friday 17 October on ‘Entrepreneurship & Creating a Winning Sales Culture’. Meanwhile, van Gaal – whose session is on Saturday 18 October – will speak on the topic of ‘Doing Unconventional Business’.
The congress will also offer a wide range of concurrent sessions. These will include:
- The future of the industry – CEO panel discussion
- Wearable technology: Friend or foe to the health club industry? – Dave Wright, MYZONE.
- Boost strength training participation among women: A presentation of a White Paper – Peter Borchert, Precor
- Activate your local community: The evolution of commercial facilities into ‘wellness hubs’ – Francesco Arlotti, Technogym
In addition, there will be seminars on topics including retention (Paul Bedford, Retention Guru); leadership (Brent Darden, Brent Darden Consulting); virtual classes (Rasmus Ingerslev, Wexer Virtual); and membership sales (Doug Miller, Sales Makers International);
The European Congress will take place on 16–19 October 2014 at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. Keynote sessions and concurrent sessions will be simultaneously translated into Dutch, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish. For more information, please see HCM July 14, p29).
Visit www.ihrsa.org/congress for more information and to register.
IHRSA calendar
Visit www.ihrsa.org/meetings for details and to register for these events
28–30 August 2014
15th Annual IHRSA / Fitness
Brasil Latin American Conference
& Trade Show
São Paulo, Brazil
16–19 October 2014
14th Annual IHRSA
European Congress
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
18–21 November 2014
ChinaFit / IHRSA China
Management Forum
Guangzhou, China
11–14 March 2015
IHRSA 2015
Los Angeles, California, US
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