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Research: IHRSA Europe CEO study - Report shows positive outlook for European fitness industry
IHRSA has released a new report giving insights into CEO confidence among its members. Kristen Walsh reports
The new 2018 IHRSA European CEO Study Report provides an outlook on the European health club industry from the perspective of CEOs from leading companies.
The report, based on a survey of more than 2,600 European facilities, features a European CEO conviction index, which serves as a barometer for the current and future business conditions affecting the club industry in Europe.
Overall, the CEO conviction index shows leaders are extremely confident about the current economic and marketplace conditions for the industry, as well as how those play out for their own business. A high level of confidence also exists for the future of the health club industry in Europe.
“CEO confidence in the health club industry is extremely high in Europe,” said Florian Cartoux, IHRSA director of Europe. “CEOs are very confident about the current economic and marketplace conditions for the industry, as well as how those conditions impact their own club businesses.”
Recruitment challenge
However, confidence in the employment environment signifies a potential challenge for the future. At a score of 77, the employment conviction index is nearly 10 points lower than the overall CEO conviction index. CEOs indicated that over the next three years, recruiting and retaining qualified staff would be a significant challenge.
The report also highlights positive and negative trends which are guiding decisionmaking among CEOs.
This section of the report shows that while the power of social media and the emergence of millennials as consumers are seen as positives, the growth of franchises and ‘middlemen’ such as Classpass are seen as a threat.
IHRSA members also said they would be unlikely to reposition their business, merge with or acquire a strategic partner or launch virtual services.
To download a copy of the full report go to: www.ihrsa.org/publications
INSIGHTS
Three trends that leaders saw as having the most favourable outcome on how they operated their businesses were: the evolution of social media for engaging members, the emergence of millennials as a consumer force and the demand for mobile engagement from their members.
Three approaches leaders were most likely to have taken this past year to provide their businesses with a competitive advantage in the marketplace were: increasing digital marketing efforts, renovating their facilities and enhancing their digital presence through an upgraded website and/or mobile app.
Three trends leaders saw as having the most unfavourable impact on how they operated their businesses were the legal and political dynamics within the country, the growth of global fitness franchises and the evolution of digital middlemen in the sector, such as ClassPass.
Three approaches leaders were least likely to leverage in pursuit of a competitive advantage were merging/acquiring a strategic partner, repositioning their business to create new value proposition, and introducing a branded virtual platform to extend the 24/7 reach of their business.
