Introduction The purpose of this research paper is to understand and analyze the model differences between two of the leading franchise fitness companies, Snap Fitness and Planet Fitness. During the past decade, there has been noteworthy market segmentation in the fitness industry as it relates to gym facilities. Specifically, a number of companies have entered the marketplace offering similar amenities in a smaller facility as compared to traditional “big box” gyms throughout the United States. The names range from 24-Hour Fitness, Snap Fitness, Simply Fit, Planet Fitness and many more. “Deciding to purchase and operate a franchise, means a major life style change for most people. In addition, the capital investment required for a franchise …show more content…
Traditionally, the choices for the health minded were limited to large facilities, “big box” clubs. Typically, the larger facilities were charging premium membership rates to cover the extraordinary fixed costs associated with unique amenities (i.e. pool, sauna, hot tubs, showers). “It is very, very difficult to make money in the fitness industry. In order to thrive, you really have to have a niche and sell it (Ohikuare, n.d.). As such, a number of entrepreneurs seized on this market opportunity and the model for the self-service fitness club was born. The concept was to offer customers a smaller facility with the same quality equipment at an affordable price. Essentially, the new offering segmented the existing market by attracting those customers reluctantly paying for amenities they were not using in the large “big box” facility. In addition, the self-service facility would attract new customers who were either unwilling to pay the higher cost of membership and/or intimidated by the traditional facility. In the words of Peter Taunton, founder of Snap Fitness, "What separates us from everyone else is that we don't compromise the quality and integrity of the workout experience" (Sinkler, …show more content…
The company specializes in smaller gyms with more locations to be more convenient for gym-goers. Snap Fitness offers strength training, cardio equipment, personal trainers, and locker room facilities. The company is headquartered in Chanhassen, Minnesota and has locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, India, plus many more. Taunton, the founder, originally owned 5 large American Fitness Centers, Inc. in Minnesota before deciding to launch his first “bare-bones” gym which would include only treadmills and weights. He determined that many of the costly amenities offered by larger health clubs remained idle most of the day and that a smaller gym could be utilized much more efficiently. Unlike previous health clubs, Taunton made every club accessible to all members 24/7. All-day access was a significant competitive advantage Snap Fitness developed over traditional gyms. Snap Fitness, Inc. operates through its franchisees. The company currently has over 2,000 franchise locations with more than 400,000 members worldwide with continual growth plans for the next 5 years and beyond. "In the words of Peter Taunton, “We don't believe in shackling our members to long-term contracts - We earn their business as we earn their trust" (Boista,
TCBY has been a frozen treats product innovator from the day its first shop opened in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1981. The great-tasting, low-fat frozen yogurt concept received an enthusiastic response from an increasingly health-conscious public. Its trendy new product propelled the company to the forefront of franchising, and was the ‘first in a long line of ground-breaking menu items that anticipated consumer preferences and continually refreshed the TCBY concept’ (Conlin 2001, p. 133). But TCBY products are just one of the reasons that thousands of operators have concluded that a TCBY franchise is the preferred opportunity in branded frozen treats, and a dynamic partner in any co-branded concept. However, TCBY is facing a lot of problems, both internal and external, during the difficult period from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, especially the problem with its franchising system. The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive situation analysis of TCBY, with special reference to its franchising system, and identify several concerned issues of TCBY and its franchisees, and how these issues have negatively affected the relationship between them. Furthermore, this report also provides three recommendations in the attempt to diminish these concerned issues and better maintain the relationship between TCBY and its franchisees, and most importantly, help TCBY to increase the company’s performance and achieve their strategic goals in the next few years.
Equinox is more than just a gym; it’s the Rolls Royce of gyms. By placing heavy emphasis on luxury and high-performance, Equinox delivers a product that parallels to the luxury lifestyle of their clientele. Its one-of-a-kind vibe combined with a sophisticated and daring attitude resonates throughout the brand and their facilities. Equinox’s marketing tactics fixates on a clean-cut design with the brand’s promise to deliver “substance with style”; this attention into reinventing their image has proven to be successful over the years. Everything from their website, social media, blog, mobile app, to their edgy ads has touch of luxury that allows them to successfully sell not only a gym membership, but a lifestyle to their clients.
Lululemon, a premium yoga-focused retail chain, serves two market segments. One segment consists of consumers who are characterized as “trendy urban” and the other segment consists of “wealthy” consumers. The “trendy urban” segment, in summary, is fashion oriented or active women who live in metropolitan areas. The “wealthy” market segment is affluent women who live in either urban or suburban areas. As discussed below, these two market segments are defined by differences in demographics, geography as well as behavioral and psychographic characteristics.
Senior Management of PepsiCo is evaluating the potential acquisition of two companies – Carts of Colorado and California Pizza Kitchen – in order to expand the company’s restaurant business. If indeed PepsiCo decides to pursue the acquisition of one or both, they must decide how to align each of these business units in its historically decentralized management approach and how to forge relationships between the acquired business units and existing business units. In their evaluation, Senior Management is faced with the question of whether the necessary capital investment in order to purchase one or both of the businesses can be profitable for each of the acquired business units, but must also take into consideration that the additional business units will not hinder the profitability of the existing business units.
Gary and Diane Heavin opened their first Curves in the United States in 1992. The two designed a thirty minute workout for women, and created a comfortable; women only, place to exercise. Franchising of Curves started in 1995, and within ten years it became the world’s largest fitness franchise and the tenth largest of all franchise companies in the world. There are over 10,000 locations in 44 countries and most of the success was through word of mouth (“Curves Weight Loss Plan”).
The purpose of the following paper is to be able to inform the reader(s) of the paper about the business goals of the ownership and operations of a Sports Bar Franchise. The topics of discussion will include the description of the goal of the business and subtopics of the types of goods and services that are provided by any Sports Bar Franchise, what types of customers will this business attract, and lastly, how and where the specified services are made available. The paper will also include dialogue about the strengths and weaknesses of an assorted of business organizations and which one would be most appropriate for the author’s business venture.
A gym as defined by the Oxford Dictionary states that it is a “membership organization that provides a range of facilities designed to improve and maintain physical fitness and health.” Within our society, the culture of a gym or health club is comprised of those who wish to maintain their physical health, as well as form a bond for like-minded people to support one another with their health goals within a shared environment. I have chosen to observe and understand the culture that embodies the Westford Regency Health Club, a local Massachusetts gym with higher than average membership pric es and a higher end reputation in comparison to the average franchised gym, such as Planet Fitness. I chose this particular gym for the sole fact that it is labeled as a “health club,” rather than a gym, which brings about the notion that it is somehow superior in regards to its facilities and membership privileges. For my research, I used an inductive method including participant-observation, as well as field notes gathered from my visits as a new member.
Since 1998, Lululemon has transformed the way people dress to workout. Through innovative products and technical athletic fabrics, a brand was created to provide clothing for workouts such as yoga, running and cycling. Lululemon opened its first store in Vancouver in 2000 with the plan to have the store be a community hub for people to learn and discuss their physical fitness and overall health goals. As Lululemon was more than a store to provide products for consumers, their goal was to influence every person who walked into the store. A basic criterion for investment is Lululemon’s mission to create components for people to live longer, healthier, fun lives. All Lululemon locations maintain strong relationships with local communities and host in-store events such as complimentary yoga classes and goal-setting workshops.
"LA Fitness grew out of three clubs, each owned by one of the founders. In 1990 Fred Turock, Jeremy Taylor and David Turner decided to get together to jointly manage these clubs, with the aim of building up a network of gyms with first class facilities. In 1996 they created the LA Fitness brand and the following year they joined the top ten health and fitness club operators, catering to a wide variety of people of all shapes and sizes and with a huge range of goals. In 1999 the growth and success of the LA Fitness group led to a listing on the London Stock Exchange. In 2005 the team decided they needed more control - they wanted to make sure LA Fitness could continue to provide affordable membership and a fun environment for its growing band of members. LA Fitness now has more than 88 clubs and over a quarter of a million members all over the United Kingdom" (LA Fitness, 2007).
To expand brand awareness, brand loyalty, and the appeal of its products the company implements a grassroots community-based marketing strategy. The company selects ambassadors that are local fitness professionals to proliferate word-of-mouth marketing among their students (Thompson, 2014, p.C86). Lululemon additionally engages social media, sponsors local athletic, fitness, and philanthropic events, and positions a community events bulletin board and chalkboards in its stores. The bulletin board displays announcements of future activities, presents fitness education and brochures, and promotes neighboring ambassadors’ yoga studios and fitness centers, while the dressing room chalkboards provide an outlet for customers to rely their comments (Thompson, 2014, p.C86). Lululemon’s yoga ambassadors lead a class every four to six weeks; whereas local professional yoga instructors conduct weekly classes at their local Lululemon location as the retail stores allocate the rearrangement of merchandising displays to provide ample floor space. These retail stores reflect the appearance of a simple, neighborhood boutique as they are situated in street locations, shopping centers, lifestyle centers, and malls as a means of integrating into the community (Thompson, 2014, p.C82). This is enhanced
Black, Tamara. 2008. Exercise and Fitness in a U.S. Commercial Gym.Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International.
As the media bombard the American public with unrealistic images, a new obsession with fitness has hit the markets. With more and more people aiming to lose weight, the fitness industry has been pressured to accommodate the high demands for efficient and entertaining workouts. This greater variety of work-outs hitting the market is a result of the diverse types of people who are trying to get in shape. Health clubs are no longer only for those 20-30 year olds who are in competitive training or those who need to be fit as a job requirement. Instead, these facilities are now packed with people of...
An evaluation of the restaurant’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats served as the foundation for this marketing plan. The plan focuses on the restaurants marketing strategy, suggesting ways in which it can build on new customer relationships, and development of new food products and targeted to specific customer groups.
My magazine ad would be a group of ladies who are on various machine exercising and they would be in their mid-thirties, who are a little bit overweight. Then the headline would read “IMPROVE YOUR CURVES”. The written copy would say “ Ladies are you tired of fancy, over priced gyms where you spend long tireless hours on exercise machine and your bodies are not seeing any improvements. Then, we have the gym that is right for you. Here at Curves our workout plan is only 30- minute, no-nonsense individual workout on 8 to 12 exercise machines. While other workout centers cater to a marker segment that demands luxury, Curves focuses on larger segment- women with little time or money to spend on exercise routines. Whereas other fitness centers offer a wide variety of classes, workouts, and services, Curves offer only one. Curve’s is all about a quick no frills workout gym, where the women are in T-shirts, shorts or sweatpants (Instead of multicolored spandex.)
...things like Hamburger or sausages, than to peel and boil potatoes, cook vegetables and make a meatloaf. Finally, poor people don’t have enough money to join fitness centers. Fitness centers as everyone knows, cost a lot. Especially that he or she needs a personal trainer, which will also coast them much more money to pay. In addition to that, anyone who joins a fitness center needs to go on a certain diet, and this means those poor people need to buy healthy special food, which they certainly can’t afford.