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The year 2020 will go down as a pivotal one for many sectors across the UK, and worldwide. Everyone\u2019s been affected differently, but one thing all industries can agree on is that things won\u2019t be the same as they were before.<\/p>\n
The fitness industry is in a unique position. For those of us in the industry, the value of health and exercise has always been high. It\u2019s now probably even higher. However, this hasn\u2019t been reflected in government support when compared to sectors that have struggled as a result of UK lockdown. And that\u2019s us putting it politely.<\/p>\n
Everyone\u2019s got an opinion about what\u2019s going on. From BBC reports<\/a><\/span> about the industry being on the verge of meltdown, to the more optimistic figures on recovery<\/a><\/span> that others have reported. Can we hope to return to the \u2018golden age of fitness\u2019 that Leisure DB<\/a><\/span>‘s 2019 state of the industry report predicted? Or, will this turbulent time last for much longer that originally expected?<\/p>\n In part one of this three-part content series, we\u2019re investigating the real impact of lockdown on gym operator revenues and offering some surprising and underreported findings.<\/strong><\/p>\n “There has been an initial surge of paused members coming back and a positive spike of new joiners since clubs re-opened. Most operators I\u2019ve spoken to actually hit their membership targets by the second week of August, but the general consensus is that this pent-up demand is\u00a0 comparable to the mini-bubble reported in the housing market. The sustainability of this demand is the bigger challenge for the operators I have spoken to.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.7″ text_font=”Euclid Circular B Light||||||||” text_font_size=”16px”]<\/p>\n This is the view of the Head of Sales here at Hussle, Jamie Owens. Jamie is uniquely qualified within the fitness industry having held senior management positions across several of the largest operators in the sector including Nuffield Health, Virgin Active and LA Fitness before joining Hussle to work as a marketplace supplier to the sector.<\/p>\n He\u2019s spent the last month on the (virtual) road talking to operators from across the industry to get the real picture of performance and recovery. Having hosted roundtables and industry meet-ups to get an understanding from those at the heart of the operation since gyms have been able to reopen, he’s got the insight to offer.<\/p>\n “Operators recognise that there are going to be some real challenges out there. Whilst early new member volume has been positive, the fear is that this level of demand is temporary. It\u2019s an initial surge.”<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSeptember will therefore be a key month for the sector and will give a much clearer understanding of how consumers are feeling. By the end of September, most clubs are expecting to see between 10-25% fewer members than March<\/strong> and just as many again that will remain paused on some basis.<\/strong> Very few operators we have spoken to expect to fully recover before mid 2021.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial _builder_version=”4.4.7″ body_font=”Euclid Circular B Medium||on||||||” body_text_color=”#ffffff” body_font_size=”20px” background_image=”https:\/\/www.hussle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Qoute-Image-3.jpg” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false”]<\/p>\n “By the end of September, most clubs are expecting to see between 10-25% fewer members than March and just as many again that will remain paused on some basis. Very few operators we have spoken to expect to fully recover before mid 2021.”<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.7″ text_font=”Euclid Circular B Light||||||||” text_font_size=”16px”]<\/p>\n That\u2019s a big chunk of people who will decide not to renew a membership that was a regular payment for them beforehand. There are several factors at play which help to understand what\u2019s in the mind of the \u2018lockdown lapsed\u2019 member.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems obvious, but the level of gym usage pre-lockdown is a good indicator of how likely someone is to return to it. If going to the gym was a huge part of someone\u2019s life beforehand, the chances are, it still is now. If the gym was less integral to their daily routine, they might have found alternatives such as working out from home.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.7″ text_font=”Euclid Circular B Light||||||||” text_font_size=”16px”]<\/p>\n Interestingly, operators are reporting a big shift in where their customers are working out.<\/strong> Whilst a proportion of customers have moved towards WOFH, there is also a marked difference in which clubs are getting used and when they are busy.<\/p>\n “Although overall member usage is creeping up to around 60% of visits compared to last year, this is dominated by suburban venues. Corporate biased and City centre locations are being impacted the most. Their\u00a0usage is down to as little as 5% compared to pre lockdown which is pretty shocking<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIf this becomes a longer-term trend, many operators will find that their estate is now in the wrong location to attract members, especially single-club members. I think it\u2019s reasonable to expect future club investment to be increasingly focused on suburban and residential venues.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial _builder_version=”4.4.7″ body_font=”Euclid Circular B Medium||on||||||” body_text_color=”#ffffff” body_font_size=”20px” background_image=”https:\/\/www.hussle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Quote-Image-4.jpg”]<\/p>\n “Corporate biased and City centre locations are being impacted the most. Their usage is down to as little as 5% compared to pre lockdown.”<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.7″ text_font=”Euclid Circular B Light||||||||” text_font_size=”16px”]<\/p>\n The budget sector has already acknowledged this with The Gym Group<\/a><\/span> recently announcing their intention to focus on property deals in areas where people are home working.<\/p>\n This is perhaps an understandable location-based impact, as what once was a convenient location near work is no longer as accessible if members are working from home most days of the week.<\/p>\n