Nida Tunsuttiwong
With a network of 18 health clubs in Thailand, Fitness First’s foray into the country has so far proven to be a stunning and sustainable success.
Once responsible for overseeing the company’s operations in Scotland and Ireland, Mark Buchanan, Fitness First (Thailand)’s managing director, is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable executives in the health and fitness industry.
Buchanan has a solid understanding of the health and fitness industry as a whole, having worked as a fitness instructor, in sales (of equipment) and as a manager of a significant number of health and fitness clubs.
Strategic Inspiration
During a recent exclusive interview with TANNetwork.tv, Buchanan shared some insights into the company’s strategy, as well as explaining more about its core values and its methods in terms of retaining and expanding its membership.
Buchanan says that when Fitness First ventured into the Asian market, it decided to buy local management companies to assist in the opening and operation of its clubs. The company launched in Hong Kong (in 1999), after which it later expanded into Thailand (in 2004). Now the company has a much stronger presence in the region, which includes operations in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
The health and fitness industry itself is very young (20-30 years old), according to Buchanan, who says that while the company made a lot of mistakes during its growth stage, clubs in Asia actually benefit as it means the company is now in a position to get everything right first time.
Word of Mouth
“Fitness First has fairly broad marketing strategies across every country. We don’t tend to do much above-the-line marketing and most of our membership and its growth stem from referrals,” Buchanan points out. “Our strategies are steady and safe, with growth driven by the high quality services [at the club].”
Above-the-line marketing refers to advertising through the mass media, such as through print media, radio and television.
Mutually Beneficial
This strategy has allowed the company to spend more on its staff, raise the quality of the services it offers, as well as providing internal incentives aimed at rewarding those who bring along their friends to the club.
Buchanan says Fitness First’s business model is completely different from those used by competitors. While several rivals offer lifetime membership options, Fitness First’s members pay on a monthly basis, in the same way many people pay their mobile phone service provider. With this system in place, it pays Fitness First to focus on the provision of good value and means that it's even more important that the company maintains a positive relationship with every single one of its members.
Fitness First also limits membership numbers based on a club’s size, according to Buchanan, so that it can provide a comfortable service level for each member, which ensures they attend regularly. This is clearly a benefit for both members and Fitness First unlike clubs that offer unlimited memberships, which can often become overcrowded, impacting negatively on the overall service since members of staff are subsequently not able to facilitate them properly.
Realistic Approach
Another strategy that ensures regular participation is ensuring that members see with their own eyes some of the results they set out to achieve.
“There’s a fine balance between providing the necessary education, range of activities and staff and programming with the objective of achieving results, while still ensuring it’s great fun.”
Buchanan says the key to success is employing the right people and providing them with the right education.
Based on his rich experience in the fitness industry, Buchanan also kindly shared with us some of his insights into the successful management of health and fitness clubs.
“When you work in clubs, you never forget how hard it is. I know what a terrifying experience it can be for some new members when they join a class for the first time,” he says, “which means that they need an environment that’s very welcoming and not aggressive.”
Key Interlocutors
The affable executive says he also understands how hard it can be for staff to maintain their levels of energy and expertise.
“My job is to make sure that the 1,000+ staff here in Thailand are well educated, well looked after and offered good incentives,” he says. “If we look after our staff, they will, in turn, look after the members properly.”
Since Fitness First’s philosophy is ‘Real People, Real Results’, the Thai business has been trying to identify some ‘stars’ among its own team. Rather than hiring models to appear in commercials and other media, several genuine trainers have been cast in these roles and their faces have gained some recognition since they are featured on posters throughout the region.
The company’s most recent launch took place in Chon Buri earlier this month, marking the opening of the chain’s 18th outlet. Fitness First now has over 50,000 members in Thailand and most of them remain active, Buchanan reveals with a good deal of pride.
According to Buchanan, the average member in Thailand visits the club eight or nine times a month. This compares favorably with UK members, who only tend to visit four or five times a month, he says. This statistic completely tore through the mistaken idea that Thai people don’t like to exercise, he says.
“Currently every single club is highly profitable. I’m proud to say that Thailand is the company’s biggest income earner in Asia and one of the most profitable countries [for the company] at a global level.”
Going ‘Glocal’
With regard to the company’s strategy in terms of selecting new locations for clubs over the next few years, Buchanan says that Fitness First is a business that works globally but thinks locally.
The company is seeking to produce sustainable growth rather than rapid growth, and so, for that reason, it will open “the right number” of clubs in locations that offer potential success over a period of 20-25 years, according to Buchanan.
Buchanan also revealed that Fitness First had the chance of opening a new club in the provinces roughly every 90 days. But instead of following that aggressive approach, the company decided to spend one year training staff within an in-house apprenticeship program before giving them the chance to gain experience at an existing club.
About 75% of staff members completed the apprenticeship program in Bangkok-based clubs, after which they were posted to new outlets in the provinces. So this means that only 25% of current staff can be considered to be new recruits.
“This approach might seem rather slow, but we want to make sure that when we open, we get it right and the club will be both great and sustainable, providing an excellent experience that is on a par with any other Fitness First outlet around the world,” according to Buchanan.
Lose Weight Safely
Last year, Fitness First joined up with the ‘Biggest Losers’ television program, which is broadcast on the Hallmark Channel.
While an audition for contestants took place in Malaysia last year, this year Fitness First will be involved in an audition aimed at the Thai market. As well as organizing the audition, the company will also provide throughout the process advice on matters relating to healthcare, nutrition and nutritional education, as well as physical training.
Buchanan says what contestants on 'Biggest Losers' try to achieve in a TV-based format in many ways reflects the philosophy being practiced at every branch of Fitness First, which is based on the idea of, ‘Real People, Real Results’.
After identifying that there is a huge market for people who wish to lose weight safely, and without the use of diet pills, Fitness First Thailand launched a special 13-week program called Lose Big, which is available to both members and non-members.
Designed by Dave Nuku, a trainer from 'Biggest Losers', the Lose Big program is currently available at six Fitness First outlets - Central Plaza Bangna, Central Plaza Chaengwattana, Fashion Island, Future Park Rangsit, Landmark Plaza and at The Mall Bang Kae.
|
|
|
