Are Fitness Chains in Good Shape?
With every new calendar year comes new resolutions to honor that gym membership and erase those additional servings of pie and egg nog.
Yet before the calendar turns to March, many such resolutions are forgotten. Could mass market gyms be missing that unique selling proposition that would keep their members sweating past January?
Using E-Score Brand we looked at three of the largest gym chains; Bally Total Fitness, Gold’s Gym and 24 Hour Fitness. Each brand is shown to lack a clear identity. Gold’s Gym has had a reputation for bodybuilders but have more recently been steering away from that direction towards the general public. Each brand’s appeal scores are surprisingly similar.
Not one of the three brands has an attribute score higher than 20% and all three look fairly similar in the eyes of the consumer. The average brand consideration score (among non-users) is a scant 4%. Close to 50% of the appeal scores for all three brands falls in the lukewarm “like somewhat” category.
This lack of character and differentiation may work to satisfy the average gym rat, but America’s ongoing collective weight-gain suggests that these gyms have the potential to grow their subscriber base. E-Score Brand reveals that despite the glut of excuses for not going to the gym, these brands have not adopted differentiated positions that might address specific complaints.