28 WOMEN ONLY
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When Jamie Cartwright set up his first ladies-only gym two years ago, he had big plans for the brand. Mary Ferguson went back to the flagship club in Sheffield to get the story so far.
Jamie knows what women want ... MOST pioneers of female-only fitness don’t have stubble, but Jamie and business partner Anthony Carpenter say that despite being male, they know what women want. The first Ladyzone opened in Sheffield in August 2006, followed by another in the city eight months later. Now, at the start of 2009, the pair have sold franchises in five towns, with plans to increase that to 20 by the end of the year. Jamie said: “The one thing we’ve always had is the humility to accept advice and ask if we need help. And at the start it was usually my mum that we turned to as she embodies our core user – a woman in her fifties who hates gyms.” Ladyzone clubs are aimed at a core user of between 40 and 60, designed for women who have had bad experience at other gyms and lack confidence when it comes to fitness. They operate using a 30-minute circuit based workout, which Jamie says is
an even bigger selling point than the fact that it’s single sex. And although they were originally faced with some scepticism, the pair are now building themselves a reputation within the industry. “We came into the market at 26 years old with an idea of opening a gym and originally people just paid us lip service, but now they are taking us more seriously. “And our age actually works in our favour now because people see that we have a lot of years ahead of us and the drive to succeed. “As a company we moved forward very quickly because we had the point to prove. But now we don’t have to anymore, we can pick and choose where we go from here.” As well as the two sites in Sheffield – run by the boys – franchises are in operation in Wakefield, Pudsey, Shipley, Stoke and Widnes. And next year will see sites opening nationwide, including Slough, Leeds
and West London. Jamie admits that it’s unusual for two young men to be behind a ladies-only gym concept but said it hasn’t caused any problems. “I don’t have to be female to understand my customers, I just need empathy. I used to work in a health club which was mainly used by middle aged women and when I was a personal trainer my clients were the same.” They claim the key to keeping their female members coming is to make them feel they belong. Every lady gets a free branded T-shirt when they join, and the vast majority wear it every time they work out. Jamie added: “It makes them feel like they are in a club, where no-one cares what you look like. If Fitness First gave out free T-shirts, I’m guessing most people would think they were too ‘cool’ to wear them.”
‘We try to make our franchises entry level’ JAMIE told Workout the credit crunch hasn’t affected the business yet, but he is realistic about the possibility that it might. He said: “If I was an operator of an independent conventional gym I’d be worried, but because we are so niche I don’t think it’s an issue for us.
“We have seen members come to us from Esporta and other big chains because they can no longer afford the prices and at £22 a month I’d say we are nearly under the ‘budget’ umbrella.” Jamie said that if the economic climate was going to bite, it would attack the fran-
chising rather than the number of members. “It’s not the risk of the business, it’s purely down to people being able to raise the capital. They are too scared for example to release money from their houses and it’s harder to get loans.” He added: “We try to make
our franchises entry level – as we had to work and scrimp and save to open our first – so the price is still very competitive. “However the downside is that the type of person that takes our franchises is literally borrowing everything they can.”
Working out during pregnancy has always divided opinions, leaving many women concerned about what the best options are for them and their baby. Melinda Nicci created Baby2Body – a total fitness and wellness programme for pregnancy – when expecting her first child and is now franchising the scheme.
Melinda creates pregnancy programme while expecting baby IN 1994 Melinda was pregnant for the first time and while searching for advice and information on how to stay fit and healthy discovered a gap in the market. She put her experience as a personal trainer and aerobics instructor to work creating a combination of fitness classes for women pre, during and post pregnancy. She said: “When I got pregnant I was looking around for a fitness programme to follow, but found that many doctors and midwives recommended giving up exercise all together or just sticking to low impact classes like yoga. “Most gym instructors do not have the experience or training to deal with pregnant women and the specialist care they need - but they shouldn’t be expected to - they can’t be experts on everything. “So I realised that there was a gap in the market for specialised, result oriented care.” Over the next ten years what had started out as a fitness programme turned into a more holistic approach, including nutrition and lifestyle coaching and advice.
Her clients first fill out a series of lifestyle questionnaires covering diet, motivation and goals and Melinda is then able to recommend changes. She works as a consultant to the local antenatal clinic, the first fitness
expert they have ever had involved, and has also been asked to speak at the Royal College of Midwives’ annual conference. The classes have now become so popular that Melinda has started franchising the Baby2Body concept. She is in the process of getting the training course REPS accredited and the first has already been sold in south west London and is due to open in April. Melinda is now hoping to get 20 franchises up and running by the end of this year. Her next project is to create a similar programme for women over 40, Body4Me, which she is aiming to launch by the end of this year. She added: “In many ways this period of a woman’s life is just as challenging as the childbearing years. “As they approach the menopause the metabolism slows down, muscles atrophy and nutritional needs change - so they need to exercise in a different way.” “I think more specific care for different areas of life is important as it can make a big difference and I really believe it is the future for the fitness industry.”
Melinda Nicci