The leisure industry turned out to be extremely stable during the recent financial crisis. Consumers still spend a lot of money on theme parks, trips and fitness. Many hotels can no longer do without wellness and sports services, since spas and well-being provide revenues. The number of memberships in fitness studios has increased for years. Especially in this area, there are many new things going on. Every few years, the interior designs change. That is why the industry sector is an interesting trend indicator for the overall leisure industry.
The social classes grow further and further apart – however, this is not just in terms of material status, but also relates to interests, lifestyles, ideology and everyday life, the polling institute Allensbach (“Meinungsforschungsinstitut Allensbach”) found out. Researchers believe the increasing interest in health and wellness to be primarily an upper class phenomenon. Those who are financially well off, concentrate more on wellness and nutrition and work out more. In the upper social classes, 42 percent attach great importance to physical fitness, whereas at the lower end of society it is only 23 percent. Among persons from the upper social classes and under 70, every other person exercises regularly, it is every third person in the middle class and in the lower social classes a mere 15 percent. It is the poorer people, who more and more prefer smoking.
More services for solvent customers
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that this results in more and more upscale services in the leisure industry. For many years now, swimming pools are being remodeled into water parks. Whereas in the past, fun for the entire family with large slides and kids’ pool was the main focus, now there are more and more offers for customers with deep pockets. Spas have started to only admit children and adolescents on specific days or only in certain areas. Admission charges are increasing, the pool turns into a spa territory and teak lounge chairs replace plastic loungers. In addition, there are more services all about bathing – from different massages all the way to exotic drinks. Alternatively, proprietors set themselves apart with unusual architecture, like for instance the thermal spa in Vienna, Austria (“Therme Wien”), opened in 2010.
One growing market is also fitness training. Currently, German fitness centers have over 7.2 million members, which are more than in all the soccer clubs. Fitness training has replaced soccer as the most popular sport in Germany, the German Sport-Studio Association DSSV believes.
About three million people train several times per week while the fitness centers earn around four billion Euros in revenues in Germany. Overall, the fitness center market segment is growing – even during the financial crisis. The industry sector fragments more and more. Fitness center chains like McFit gain market shares and owner-managed small and medium-sized businesses are being put under pressure by them and premium providers. The situation is similar with bricks and mortar businesses – you have dollar stores on the one side and brand name stores on the other.
Sports enthusiasm instead of marketing strategy
Many fitness studios are characterized by the enthusiasm of their proprietors and associates. The spectrum ranges anywhere from the classic “muscle factory” all the way to a wellness oasis for holistic bodywork. Just like with sporting goods stores for instance, at the opening oftentimes it is not the commercial aspect but the enthusiasm for sport that is at the start of it all. This also has an impact on the ambiance. In many places, exercise equipment is so dominating that everything else is secondary. There are no clear routes and lines of sight and no coherent design. The counter is not there to greet visitors, but is placed wherever there is room for it. As a result, cross selling through consultations does not often take place. Additional products, energy bars, drinks or sporting goods are casually being sold without contemplating whether they could be moneymakers.
This is also something Irmengard Reitschuster notices, who together with her husband has specialized in designing fitness facilities. Under the name n-form they design spaces of 1000 to 2000 square meters in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, in which the Alpine countries, considering their size, carry a lot of weight. She says many proprietors lack the ability to see things from the customer’s point of view. She thinks a great deal of eye tracking measurement, as offered for instance by the Siegfried-Vögele-Institut in Bonn, Germany. Test persons with head cameras show where people subconsciously look at. ”Retail has already internalized this far more“, says Irmengard Reitschuster.
In her experience, every seven to ten years, fitness studios are due for a new ambiance. A lounge atmosphere has been in great demand for some years now with dark wood floors and simple lines, yet there are no clear fashion trends. The owner profiles are too varied. Owner-managed studios are Reitschuster’s clientele. ”We are too individualistic for the large fitness chains.“ They want low-cost modular solutions for their studios. In contrast, n-form emphasizes harmonious design and custom-made furniture, like counters for instance that are made by artisans based on their CAD plans.
20 years ago, mint was the trendy color. ”Then people wanted to get out of the muscle factory.“ This was followed by “loud logos“ in blue and yellow. Wellness and health awareness came along. Now it is increasingly about ”selfness“ and body awareness with Yoga and meditation. ”Harmony is more and more important to people.“ In the future, Reitschuster believes in ”communication through colors and shapes.“ The wall color is meant to communicate something. Parquet hardwood flooring is coming back again. Parquet is natural and stronger than laminate flooring. The “over 50s” (“baby boomer”) customer group is getting more and more important. It has great buying power and great body wellness awareness. However, according to Reitschuster, this group does not have any standard preference when it comes to interior design.
These assessments do not just fit fitness studios, but also many other leisure facilities. Customers are becoming ever more discerning and heterogeneous. If you want to be successful, you have to find your niche. The right ambiance helps with this. There is no panacea as to what is right. There is only one rule that always applies: harmonious concepts are more successful than piecemeal.
René Schellbach, iXtenso.com
01/05/2012
