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Technogym | Fit Tech promotion
features

New opening: Easy does it

Abigail Harris pays a visit to easyGym’s new flagship site in the heart of London, and speaks to its CEO about plans for the premium low-cost model

Published in Health Club Management 2013 issue 9

“For us, it’s always about location,” explains Paul Lorimer-Wing, CEO of easyGym, as he leads me into the company’s new flagship site in The Plaza on London’s Oxford Street. “London was key for us – a statement of intent to show we’re a serious player. There’s no better location than this for our model: it’s convenient to thousands of people and nothing in the area comes close to beating us on our two defining factors: size and price.”

Size is certainly something no-one can deny this new site has – it’s so vast I can’t take it all in at first glance – and at £19.99 a month, it undercuts the nearest competitors by at least £50.

“There’s no better way to enter the central London market than with a 26,000sq ft gym right in the middle of Oxford Street for under £20 a month!” says Lorimer-Wing.

Opened on 24 June, easyGym Oxford Street is the company’s seventh site, following Slough, Wood Green, Birmingham, Cardiff, West Croydon and Ilford. It’s managed by Fore Capital Partners, who founded the concept and have a brand license agreement for the famous ‘easy’ name.

In Oxford Street, the fitness area is split into distinct zones, but this does nothing to detract from its vastness. It comfortably houses 42 treadmills, 30 cross-trainers, 27 bikes and 14 Adaptive Motion Trainers (AMT) – all from Precor’s 880 Line, with P80 consoles offering Preva Networked Fitness. There are also 10 Concept2 Rowers, two Stairmaster steppers and an 8.5m TRX frame – and still room to spare.

Moving through the gym, a fixed resistance zone houses the Precor Discovery line – three pieces of every kind of selectorised equipment, plus two of each plate-loaded – as well as 15 cable machines. Meanwhile the functional Freedom Zone is a space where, according to Lorimer-Wing, members can “pick and choose… an empty space for people to do exactly as they wish”. But here, ‘empty’ still means stacked with Escape Fitness and Absolute Performance kit, as well as a Power Plate Pro 7 vibration platform.

Just when I thought there could be no more, round the corner I find the huge free weights zone, with an extensive array of Precor Icarian plate-loaded equipment and Escape free weights.

Size matters
“It’s certainly huge,” says club manager Kelly Rush. “The sheer amount of kit – 25 per cent more than the average easyGym – means people are sold the minute they walk through the door. They already know the price and there are no contracts, no catches. If they want out, we ask for just five days’ notice. I don’t think anyone does budget quite like us.”

“Since the first site, our philosophy has been to provide a quality, affordable experience,” says Lorimer-Wing. “We strip out the frills to give great value, but still have top of the range equipment, tasteful décor and quality fittings. That’s what being part of ‘easy’ is about, creating a product that doesn’t feel weak or cheap. Low-cost doesn’t have to mean basic.”

In terms of interior design, raw blockwork and metallic finishes give the gym an urban feel. Lorimer-Wing explains: “Our primary focus was pure functionality. We took the site right back to its core, then extensively reconfigured it to meet our standards. We didn’t take shortcuts – for example, the gym has a high-spec floating floor and we commissioned a graffiti wall – but we saved money by leaving the steel girders exposed and keeping the décor simple.”

Costs are also kept down by eliminating front desk – members join at kiosks by the entrance, and gain entry by using a personal pin or by pressing a bell to call one of the two staff members always on duty on-site. “One of the reasons we’re not 24/7 is that I like gyms to be staffed,” explains Lorimer-Wing. “I don’t dispute the convenience of 24/7, or discount it altogether as we may adopt it in the future, but when and if we do, clubs will still always be staffed.”

Speaking personally
But if members do want ‘frills’, these are available – and in line with the easyGym philosophy, costs are transparent. “Unlimited access to 50 classes a week in our 1,800sq ft studio costs £11.99, or £4 per class. And anyone can walk in off Oxford Street and pay £5 for a full day pass,” says Rush.

Meanwhile the Preva Media Package – available on all cardio kit and allowing members to watch TV, browse the web, check emails and track workouts – is free for four weeks and £1.99 a month thereafter. Jez Whitling, director of sales for Precor, says: “This new feature enabled easyGym to purchase top of the range Precor equipment but still charge a low membership fee. Members can decide whether to pay a little extra, with the fee generating income to help pay for the initial equipment investment.”

All memberships come with a free, voluntary induction, but there are also six PTs available for follow-up sessions – easyGym puts a cap of six self-employed PTs in all its clubs, each charging whatever they choose within easyGym’s agreed parameters of £20–£50 a session.

“Capping numbers in this way helps us ensure the calibre of our PTs, as well as enhancing their earning capacity,” says Lorimer-Wing. After paying a monthly retainer fee, PTs are free to keep 100 per cent of their profits.

Lorimer-Wing continues: “We don’t look to make money out of our PTs and we charge them less than they’d pay anywhere else; the making of any easyGym is not about the success or failure of its personal trainers. All we demand is that they give quality, affordable service. We look to them to use that freedom to monitor members and identify those who need assistance.”

The bottom line
Breaking even in a site of this size and location can’t be easy, and attracting enough members to make a profit has to be a worrying consideration – especially as full capacity is 7,500 members.

The site was acquired from Virgin for a “significant spend”, but Lorimer-Wing remains unfazed: “I don’t for a minute think we’ll struggle to attract members here. Yes, if you’re only charging £19.99 a head it’s a volume business, but this is a unique offering and we already have more members than we needed to break even on the refurb and build costs.

“Our very first member was the MD of an investment bank. He could afford any gym, but he chose us. That’s just one example of the huge spectrum of members we attract.

“Oxford Street is a world-famous shopping hub, so we’re surrounded by workers and businesses. These are our peak members for whom convenience is key. Thanks to the volume of equipment in the club, they can come in at 6.00pm and be guaranteed a quick workout.”

The club can accommodate up to 500 people at any one time, and because of this easyGym has been forced to adapt its model slightly – installing 10 showers instead of the usual four, for example, to prevent queuing.

So what about the ‘tumbleweed times’ – all the more noticeable in such a large space? “There are three universities within walking distance, so students will visit at irregular times and we’ll be marketing hard during Freshers’ Week,” says Rush. easyGym is also marketing on Oxford Street itself, outside tube stations, and using online SEO and PPC ads to keep the buzz going.

“Across our portfolio, all gyms are well attended during the day and we believe Oxford Street will be no different in time,” says Lorimer-Wing. “In addition, as a city centre location, we have very defined high and low usage points. Members may chose to rearrange their schedule to make use of the gym during quieter times, potentially further increasing membership capacity.”

It seems worries about acquiring members won’t keep the team awake at night, but – particularly with so many members to look after – what about keeping them? “Our studio will be one of our biggest retention tools. Classes will create a community to keep people coming back,” says Rush. “I also plan to run small, impromptu classes on the gym floor – CrossFit, TRX and functional training – creating little hubs using PTs to encourage people to work out in different ways to maintain interest.”

Never stand still
Although he now has his flagship site, Lorimer-Wing has no intention of stopping there. At the time of going to press, the next site was days from opening in Southampton, and the company is looking to ramp up its rollout and add a further six to 10 sites during 2014. Although unwilling to say exactly where the easyGym expansion machine is heading next, Lorimer-Wing admits: “It will be important for us to continue our London focus.”

The aim is to build a portfolio of 50 clubs in the next few years, opening a maximum of 10 a year, and alongside this take easyGym into Europe. “We continue to enjoy strong support from our investors [a Middle Eastern consortium and South African private equity fund] and we’ll most likely enter the European market next year,” he says.

“Although we talk about 50 sites, we may well go further. We’re looking to build a brand for the very long term – there isn’t an end date in mind.”

Returning to Oxford St, he adds: “Our strap line – and philosophy – is ‘freedom to do more’, and although we can’t be everything to everyone, with this site we can and will be a lot of things to a lot of people.”

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features

New opening: Easy does it

Abigail Harris pays a visit to easyGym’s new flagship site in the heart of London, and speaks to its CEO about plans for the premium low-cost model

Published in Health Club Management 2013 issue 9

“For us, it’s always about location,” explains Paul Lorimer-Wing, CEO of easyGym, as he leads me into the company’s new flagship site in The Plaza on London’s Oxford Street. “London was key for us – a statement of intent to show we’re a serious player. There’s no better location than this for our model: it’s convenient to thousands of people and nothing in the area comes close to beating us on our two defining factors: size and price.”

Size is certainly something no-one can deny this new site has – it’s so vast I can’t take it all in at first glance – and at £19.99 a month, it undercuts the nearest competitors by at least £50.

“There’s no better way to enter the central London market than with a 26,000sq ft gym right in the middle of Oxford Street for under £20 a month!” says Lorimer-Wing.

Opened on 24 June, easyGym Oxford Street is the company’s seventh site, following Slough, Wood Green, Birmingham, Cardiff, West Croydon and Ilford. It’s managed by Fore Capital Partners, who founded the concept and have a brand license agreement for the famous ‘easy’ name.

In Oxford Street, the fitness area is split into distinct zones, but this does nothing to detract from its vastness. It comfortably houses 42 treadmills, 30 cross-trainers, 27 bikes and 14 Adaptive Motion Trainers (AMT) – all from Precor’s 880 Line, with P80 consoles offering Preva Networked Fitness. There are also 10 Concept2 Rowers, two Stairmaster steppers and an 8.5m TRX frame – and still room to spare.

Moving through the gym, a fixed resistance zone houses the Precor Discovery line – three pieces of every kind of selectorised equipment, plus two of each plate-loaded – as well as 15 cable machines. Meanwhile the functional Freedom Zone is a space where, according to Lorimer-Wing, members can “pick and choose… an empty space for people to do exactly as they wish”. But here, ‘empty’ still means stacked with Escape Fitness and Absolute Performance kit, as well as a Power Plate Pro 7 vibration platform.

Just when I thought there could be no more, round the corner I find the huge free weights zone, with an extensive array of Precor Icarian plate-loaded equipment and Escape free weights.

Size matters
“It’s certainly huge,” says club manager Kelly Rush. “The sheer amount of kit – 25 per cent more than the average easyGym – means people are sold the minute they walk through the door. They already know the price and there are no contracts, no catches. If they want out, we ask for just five days’ notice. I don’t think anyone does budget quite like us.”

“Since the first site, our philosophy has been to provide a quality, affordable experience,” says Lorimer-Wing. “We strip out the frills to give great value, but still have top of the range equipment, tasteful décor and quality fittings. That’s what being part of ‘easy’ is about, creating a product that doesn’t feel weak or cheap. Low-cost doesn’t have to mean basic.”

In terms of interior design, raw blockwork and metallic finishes give the gym an urban feel. Lorimer-Wing explains: “Our primary focus was pure functionality. We took the site right back to its core, then extensively reconfigured it to meet our standards. We didn’t take shortcuts – for example, the gym has a high-spec floating floor and we commissioned a graffiti wall – but we saved money by leaving the steel girders exposed and keeping the décor simple.”

Costs are also kept down by eliminating front desk – members join at kiosks by the entrance, and gain entry by using a personal pin or by pressing a bell to call one of the two staff members always on duty on-site. “One of the reasons we’re not 24/7 is that I like gyms to be staffed,” explains Lorimer-Wing. “I don’t dispute the convenience of 24/7, or discount it altogether as we may adopt it in the future, but when and if we do, clubs will still always be staffed.”

Speaking personally
But if members do want ‘frills’, these are available – and in line with the easyGym philosophy, costs are transparent. “Unlimited access to 50 classes a week in our 1,800sq ft studio costs £11.99, or £4 per class. And anyone can walk in off Oxford Street and pay £5 for a full day pass,” says Rush.

Meanwhile the Preva Media Package – available on all cardio kit and allowing members to watch TV, browse the web, check emails and track workouts – is free for four weeks and £1.99 a month thereafter. Jez Whitling, director of sales for Precor, says: “This new feature enabled easyGym to purchase top of the range Precor equipment but still charge a low membership fee. Members can decide whether to pay a little extra, with the fee generating income to help pay for the initial equipment investment.”

All memberships come with a free, voluntary induction, but there are also six PTs available for follow-up sessions – easyGym puts a cap of six self-employed PTs in all its clubs, each charging whatever they choose within easyGym’s agreed parameters of £20–£50 a session.

“Capping numbers in this way helps us ensure the calibre of our PTs, as well as enhancing their earning capacity,” says Lorimer-Wing. After paying a monthly retainer fee, PTs are free to keep 100 per cent of their profits.

Lorimer-Wing continues: “We don’t look to make money out of our PTs and we charge them less than they’d pay anywhere else; the making of any easyGym is not about the success or failure of its personal trainers. All we demand is that they give quality, affordable service. We look to them to use that freedom to monitor members and identify those who need assistance.”

The bottom line
Breaking even in a site of this size and location can’t be easy, and attracting enough members to make a profit has to be a worrying consideration – especially as full capacity is 7,500 members.

The site was acquired from Virgin for a “significant spend”, but Lorimer-Wing remains unfazed: “I don’t for a minute think we’ll struggle to attract members here. Yes, if you’re only charging £19.99 a head it’s a volume business, but this is a unique offering and we already have more members than we needed to break even on the refurb and build costs.

“Our very first member was the MD of an investment bank. He could afford any gym, but he chose us. That’s just one example of the huge spectrum of members we attract.

“Oxford Street is a world-famous shopping hub, so we’re surrounded by workers and businesses. These are our peak members for whom convenience is key. Thanks to the volume of equipment in the club, they can come in at 6.00pm and be guaranteed a quick workout.”

The club can accommodate up to 500 people at any one time, and because of this easyGym has been forced to adapt its model slightly – installing 10 showers instead of the usual four, for example, to prevent queuing.

So what about the ‘tumbleweed times’ – all the more noticeable in such a large space? “There are three universities within walking distance, so students will visit at irregular times and we’ll be marketing hard during Freshers’ Week,” says Rush. easyGym is also marketing on Oxford Street itself, outside tube stations, and using online SEO and PPC ads to keep the buzz going.

“Across our portfolio, all gyms are well attended during the day and we believe Oxford Street will be no different in time,” says Lorimer-Wing. “In addition, as a city centre location, we have very defined high and low usage points. Members may chose to rearrange their schedule to make use of the gym during quieter times, potentially further increasing membership capacity.”

It seems worries about acquiring members won’t keep the team awake at night, but – particularly with so many members to look after – what about keeping them? “Our studio will be one of our biggest retention tools. Classes will create a community to keep people coming back,” says Rush. “I also plan to run small, impromptu classes on the gym floor – CrossFit, TRX and functional training – creating little hubs using PTs to encourage people to work out in different ways to maintain interest.”

Never stand still
Although he now has his flagship site, Lorimer-Wing has no intention of stopping there. At the time of going to press, the next site was days from opening in Southampton, and the company is looking to ramp up its rollout and add a further six to 10 sites during 2014. Although unwilling to say exactly where the easyGym expansion machine is heading next, Lorimer-Wing admits: “It will be important for us to continue our London focus.”

The aim is to build a portfolio of 50 clubs in the next few years, opening a maximum of 10 a year, and alongside this take easyGym into Europe. “We continue to enjoy strong support from our investors [a Middle Eastern consortium and South African private equity fund] and we’ll most likely enter the European market next year,” he says.

“Although we talk about 50 sites, we may well go further. We’re looking to build a brand for the very long term – there isn’t an end date in mind.”

Returning to Oxford St, he adds: “Our strap line – and philosophy – is ‘freedom to do more’, and although we can’t be everything to everyone, with this site we can and will be a lot of things to a lot of people.”

Sign up here to get Fit Tech's weekly ezine and every issue of Fit Tech magazine free on digital.
Gallery
More features
Editor's letter

Into the fitaverse

Fitness is already among the top three markets in the metaverse, with new technology and partnerships driving real growth and consumer engagement that looks likely to spill over into health clubs, gyms and studios
Fit Tech people

Ali Jawad

Paralympic powerlifter and founder, Accessercise
Users can easily identify which facilities in the UK are accessible to the disabled community
Fit Tech people

Hannes Sjöblad

MD, DSruptive
We want to give our users an implantable tool that allows them to collect their health data at any time and in any setting
Fit Tech people

Jamie Buck

Co-founder, Active in Time
We created a solution called AiT Voice, which turns digital data into a spoken audio timetable that connects to phone systems
Profile

Fahad Alhagbani: reinventing fitness

The team is young and ambitious, and the awareness of technology is very high. We share trends and out-of-the-box ideas almost every day
Opinion

Building on the blockchain

For small sports teams looking to compete with giants, blockchain can be a secret weapon explains Lars Rensing, CEO of Protokol
Innovation

Bold move

Our results showed a greater than 60 per cent reduction in falls for individuals who actively participated in Bold’s programme
App analysis

Check your form

Sency’s motion analysis technology is allowing users to check their technique as they exercise. Co-founder and CEO Gal Rotman explains how
Profile

New reality

Sam Cole, CEO of FitXR, talks to Fit Tech about taking digital workouts to the next level, with an immersive, virtual reality fitness club
Profile

Sohail Rashid

The app is free and it’s $40 to participate in one of our virtual events
Ageing

Reverse Ageing

Many apps help people track their health, but Humanity founders Peter Ward and Michael Geer have put the focus on ageing, to help users to see the direct repercussions of their habits. They talk to Steph Eaves
App analysis

Going hybrid

Workout Anytime created its app in partnership with Virtuagym. Workout Anytime’s Greg Maurer and Virtuagym’s Hugo Braam explain the process behind its creation
Research

Physical activity monitors boost activity levels

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have conducted a meta analysis of all relevant research and found that the body of evidence shows an impact
Editor's letter

Two-way coaching

Content providers have been hugely active in the fit tech market since the start of the pandemic. We expect the industry to move on from delivering these services on a ‘broadcast-only’ basis as two-way coaching becomes the new USP
Fit Tech People

Laurent Petit

Co-founder, Active Giving
The future of sports and fitness are dependent on the climate. Our goal is to positively influence the future of our planet by instilling a global vision of wellbeing and a sense of collective action
Fit Tech People

Adam Zeitsiff

CEO, Intelivideo
We don’t just create the technology and bail – we support our clients’ ongoing hybridisation efforts
Fit Tech People

Anantharaman Pattabiraman

CEO and co-founder, Auro
When you’re undertaking fitness activities, unless you’re on a stationary bike, in most cases it’s not safe or necessary to be tied to a screen, especially a small screen
Fit Tech People

Mike Hansen

Managing partner, Endorphinz
We noticed a big gap in the market – customers needed better insights but also recommendations on what to do, whether that be customer acquisition, content creation, marketing and more
More features