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If there is one industry that sees phenomenal continuous growth, it's the fitness industry. Since 1987, the number of core health club members has increased by 231 percent. The International Health, Racquetball and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) reports that as of January 2007, there were 29,357 U.S. health clubs boasting an impressive 42.7 million members. Total U.S. industry revenues for 2006 came to 17.6 billion.1
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, opportunities for fitness workers are expected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations through 2014 because of rapid growth in the fitness industry. More people are spending time and money on fitness.2
What accounts for this extraordinary growth? Increasing numbers of people are getting the message that physical inactivity is dangerous. Over 80% of the U.S. population believes in fitness, but only 20% are getting enough exercise. Many people have problems with self-motivation, which explains why over the last decade home exercise has been flat while the health club and personal training businesses have been booming. 3
Aging baby boomers concerned with staying healthy, physically fit, and independent have become the largest demographic group of health club members. The cutbacks on physical education and sports programs in schools, combined with parents' growing concern about childhood obesity, has resulted in rapid increases in children's health club memberships. Increasingly, athletic youth also are hiring personal trainers, and weight-training gyms for children younger than 18 continue to grow. Health club membership among young adults also has grown steadily, driven by higher incomes and concern with physical fitness.4
Although the many benefits of exercise have been proven and the number of fitness devotees is steadily rising, there are still plenty of Americans who do not exercise. This astounding potential of the fitness market is illustrated by these facts from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention's 2005 National Health Interview Survey:5
62 percent of adults do not engage in vigorous leisure-time physical activity
That leaves a vast target market for your Thrive Community Fitness franchise!
And Thrive has the edge on the competition when it comes to what the people want! In a recent survey of U.S. health club members, 31 percent of consumers ranked cost of membership as the number one factor in their fitness facility choice, closely followed by location and amenities.6
According the IHRSA, the top 10 programs offered at fitness clubs in 2002 were: 7
These are all programs that you can bring to your members as a Thrive Community Fitness franchisee!
Overall, Thrive Community Fitness' goal is to capitalize on the growing popularity of fitness as well as the lack of member-friendly, community-centered facilities in the market today. We believe that the key target consumers in the U.S. are the family (predominantly moms with children) and baby boomer segments of the market.
We believe that the key target consumers in the U.S. are the family (predominantly moms with children) and baby boomer segments of the market.
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The Fitness Advantage
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