October 2009
The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine
Caan backs new £2m venture
Complicated contracts are ditched Exclusive by Mary Ferguson BRAVE independent gyms are ditching complicated contracts – but still managing to win the war on attrition. Workout has spoken to an increasing number of operators who are scrapping binding agreements, branding them the biggest barrier to people joining. And more and more new gyms are choosing not to insist on them from the start. Contracts have also taken a beating in the media, with both Fitness First and – most recently – Total Fitness, being forced by the Office Of Fair Trading to revise their terms and conditions. Ray Algar of Oxygen Consulting is developing a website that allows people to ‘trade’ membership contracts if their circumstances change. He said: “While many industries are embracing contracts, health clubs seem to be going in the opposite direction. “And most gym contract disputes that get picked up by the media and online can be traced back to clubs that used a contract to hide behind mediocre service. An attitude that says: ‘if we can’t smother them in great service, let’s tie
them in knots with a contract’. “It is disappointing that it sometimes requires the Office of Fair Trading to intervene and advise certain club operators how to issue a membership contract that is consumer-friendly.” Dave Stalker of the FIA said he would support the idea of flexible contracts that allow people to transfer between clubs, regardless of the operator. Ian Mahoney, who represents independent operators on the FIA board, operates without contracts – but his annual member life span is 14 months. He said: “There is an argument that you should get people to stay at your club on the merits of what you do with them, not because you have locked them into a contract. “But it would take guts to go from year long contracts to nothing, as it’s possible that attrition rates would initially jump off the scale. “I think the answer is to give people options. Offer contract-fee memberships at a higher price and then at least they have the choice.” I What do you think about contracts? Let us know by emailing Mary Ferguson at mf@whpl.net or call 01226 734712. Look for a special debate on the issue in next month’s Workout.
No 193 £3
Personal trainer Paul ‘PJ’ James has revealed how piling on six stone in a bid to understand his overweight clients has revolutionised the way he works. A former model, Paul scoffed up to 18,000 calories a day to shoot up 40kg in four months, and told Workout he has gained new respect from members at his gym. Full story and pictures, Page 14
A NEW chain of gyms is being launched with the backing of Dragon’s Den star James Caan. Former LA Fitness national sales manager Ben Silcox will spearhead the new £2m venture and will be joined by other senior members from the gym sector – to be announced later in the year. Nuyuu Fitness will launch with three gyms bought from LA Fitness with a further three sites identified within six months. It is forecasting significant growth within two years and is looking for new sites to acquire. James said: “This was an opportunity that was too good to miss. We are talking about giving people what they want, at a price they want, without sacrificing quality and with a hugely experienced team behind it.” Membership will be £19.99 a month on a year-long contract, or £24.99 contract-free. I Next issue: full interview with Ben Silcox