AFFORDABLE QUALITY

Supplier: CYBEX International UK
Client: Snap Fitness

As one of the industry’s largest gym franchises, Snap Fitness operates almost 1,400 clubs worldwide and, in July 2013, opened its third UK franchise in Market Harborough, Leicestershire. The 24/7 gym is the first of its kind for the region. In line with the brand’s values, it offers members premium quality fitness equipment and affordable membership fees with no contracts.

Following a longstanding relationship with the franchise, which has already seen installations at Snap Fitness gyms in the United States, fitness equipment manufacturer CYBEX International provided both strength and cardiovascular pieces to the new Market Harborough site.

Equipment at the new gym includes treadmills, recumbent bikes and Arc Trainers from CYBEX’s 625 series, VR1 and VR3 selectorised strength equipment, and a range of plate-loaded equipment alongside Power Cage, Jungle Gym and cable crossover. CYBEX also supplied dumbbells and benches for the gym’s large free weights area.

The equipment frames and upholstery were also fully customised to incorporate the Snap Fitness branding, an option available across many of CYBEX’s product ranges made possible by the company’s build-to-order policy.

The owner of Snap Fitness Market Harborough, Ash Pattani, says members will be impressed with the spacious, modern and welcoming environment: “What really sets us apart from our competitors is the assurance of the same great workout experience as at other gym chains, but at a very affordable price. And with 24/7 access, members are also provided with maximum flexibility to train at their own convenience and at no extra cost.

“By using CYBEX, we’re guaranteeing our members a complete range of strength and cardio equipment that’s user-friendly and proven to deliver results.”
Members can also benefit from Fitness on Demand, a virtual group fitness system that allows users to participate in a wide range of classes and workout programmes at a time to suit them.

Rob Thurston, CYBEX UK’s commercial director, says: “Snap Fitness has been hugely successful on an international scale, and to see the franchise expand its presence in the UK – and for CYBEX to be a part of this – is fantastic.

“What Snap Fitness does so well is offering memberships at affordable prices, but without compromising on the quality of the site, the equipment and the customer service. I have no doubt that it will prove to be a huge success within Market Harborough and the surrounding area.”

The gym was officially launched by local rugby legend and member of the Market Harborough gym, Martin Corry. During his professional career, Corry made 279 appearances for Leicester Tigers, captaining the Premiership side as well as England and the British & Irish Lions.

For more information: www.cybexintl.com

Market Harborough is Snap Fitness’ third site in the UK

CYBEX equipped the new gym with a full range of cardiovascular and strength equipment

THE FULL WORKS

Supplier: Safe Space Lockers
Client: GymWorks

GymWorks is a new budget gym that opened in Lancashire this summer. But after an investment of more than half a million pounds, GymWorks is much more high-end health club than budget gym.

The 140-station, 1,200sq m (13,000sq ft) club is housed in the magnificently restored former BAA Systems Aviation House on one of Europe’s largest urban developments: Buckshaw Village in Chorley.

The independent gym is owned by fitness industry veteran Peter Guy, in partnership with property developer Craig Winstanley. The pair have invested £600,000 in the project. Guy started his 26-year career in fitness with JJB, playing a key role in the chain’s growth to 68 clubs, and more recently was head of leisure for DW Sports.
Precor supplied the gym equipment at GymWorks: 50 pieces of cardio, including the recently launched AMT with Open Stride, alongside Icarian strength units and Concept2 rowers. Alongside this is a large free weights area and a functional training zone equipped by Escape Fitness.

The new club also offers 26 group cycling bikes and a 185sq m (2,000 sq ft) studio featuring a nightclub-style sound system and lighting, whereby the colour of the walls changes in sync with the music.

For the changing rooms, Guy chose to work with Safe Space Lockers. Following an in-depth consultation, Safe Space Lockers presented Guy with a variety of designs in 2D and 3D, making the finished changing rooms easy to visualise. It also offered GymWorks a number of options for different budgets without compromising on quality or durability.

GymWorks opted for MFC laminate lockers with a traditional superior oak finish, oak veneer benching and dry vanity units. To complement the oak, cream mariner shower cubicles were selected.

Guy explains: “As seasoned professionals, we want value for money. Safe Space gave us that and more. I chose them for this project because it was an important job with a strict deadline – I needed people I could rely on to deliver quality on time.

“Safe Space went above and beyond, not just in terms of hitting the tight deadline, but also in the way it provided a top quality project management service and final finish installation. The changing rooms look amazing and the customer feedback has been fantastic. I certainly hope to work with them again in the future and ensure all our customers receive a quality facility at unbeatable membership prices.”

Daniel Jones, sales director for Safe Space Lockers, led the project. He says: “Ensuring GymWorks got exactly what it wanted was paramount. We provide quality products to fit all environments and, with the added bonus of our own interior design service, we were able to offer Peter and Craig a selection of designs prior to their commitment.”

For more information: www.safespacelockers.co.uk

The laminate lockers have an oak finish for a top-end look

There are 50 pieces of cardio and a large free weights area

ATTENDANCE = RETENTION

Supplier: The Retention People
Client: Edinburgh Leisure

David Mclean, fitness manager at Edinburgh Leisure, is very aware of the perception among some segments of the general population, as well as the media, that some gym operators are happiest when members don’t turn up. However, he says: “We believe in doing all we can to help members attend regularly. We want our members to use our facilities as much as possible.”

Recognising the many factors that contribute to achieving this aim, Edinburgh Leisure deploys a broad range of strategies – each with its own metrics to monitor performance. The organisation has been working with The Retention People (TRP) since 2009 to help manage this process and ensure that staff in its centres are doing all they can to help members make regular visits, including implementing TRP’s Interact software. This highlights visiting customers who are most at risk of dropping out and encourages staff to approach them and provide the assistance required to help the member re-invigorate their activity routine.

Over the last 12 months, Edinburgh Leisure has made two further important changes as part of its ongoing strategy. First, it has placed a key focus on both the quantity and quality of interactions being undertaken by staff. This has been driven by analysis carried out by TRP which highlighted, among other things, that members who attend less than once a week only remain a member for seven months, but those who attend once a week or more stay for 12 months. This potential to grow average membership lifetime by an additional five months focused the minds of the management team to ensure that every opportunity to make a difference with a member is maximised.

Mclean recalls that, in the early days, some staff treated interacting with members as a ‘tick in a box’ exercise, simply going through the motions and not truly focusing on helping members attend more. However, he explains: “In the last 12 months, we’ve ramped up our efforts and we have far greater clarity in terms of what we expect of staff, as well as an improved ability to manage them. We keep everyone in the business focused on helping members attend at least once every week”.

Secondly, member experience at Edinburgh Leisure has been further enhanced by an investment in TRP’s Customer Experience Management (EngageCEM) module NPS Survey+, a loyalty metric and a discipline for using customer feedback to fuel growth in a business.

Through the Net Promoter System (NPS), managers now have up-to-the-minute feedback on what members feel about Edinburgh Leisure and a clear process for turning those who are not happy with the organisation into fans.

Mclean concludes: “TRP provides a range of key performance indicators and we can take very clear actions against each one. TRP offers phenomenal support and coaching which continuously strengthens our strategy. If you’re serious about making a difference, you need to start engaging with more people to help them be more active. Everything TRP does helps operators to do this.”

For more information: www.theretentionpeople.com

Edinburgh Leisure has been working with TRP to drive member attendance and loyalty