Gym Wars
The Age
Friday September 1, 1995
It's a tough business, the fitness business, and only the fittest make it. At least a dozen of Melbourne's 250 gyms have collapsed in the past year, leaving members high and dry and out of pocket. As well, the Office of Fair Trading has received many complaints about the industry. Rachel Buchanan reports.
One business where survival of the fittest is the whole point of the exercise.
FEELING unfit? It's your lucky day. As the fitness industry sharpens its competitive edge, Melbourne gyms are cutting membership fees in half, or giving away sports shoes, mobile phones and air tickets to entice new members.
In central Melbourne, where there are 50 health centres in a five-kilometre square, gyms are caught in a discounting spiral.
``One month, (the opposition) offers a 25 per cent discount, and the next month we offer it to get back it devalues the whole industry," Mr Darryn McKenzie, the acting facility manager at the City Baths, said yesterday.
As well as cutting fees, the baths had given away shoes, sports bags, and bathers.
The membership scramble has been fuelled by a spate of gym closures. At least a dozen of Melbourne's 250 gyms, including the once-exclusive Ultimate, off Toorak Road, have closed in the past year.
In this time, the Office of Fair Trading has received 39 complaints about fitness centres, 40 per cent of which were related to the closure of Ace Fitness centres, in Moonee Ponds, Prahran and Doncaster, in January.
In the past two weeks, two gyms Just Aerobics, in Brighton, and Fitness Edge, in Lyndhurst have shut, leaving about 1200 members out of pocket.
The best they can hope for is a discounted rate at another gym.
The Victorian Fitness Industry Association, which has 50 members, wants to set up an indemnity fund to compensate members after a closure. At present, consumers can make a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading, but they are not entitled to compensation.
Gyms, which charge between $299 and $1300 for a year's membership, are competing for a fussy market dominated by women.
Mr Nathan Shafir, the association's president, said about 4 per cent of Victorians belonged to gyms, a slightly lower percentage than 20 years ago.
``A lot more people are doing sport, jogging or walking, and don't belong to gyms," Mr Shafir said.
Mr Jack Dix, a former Australian aerobics champion and physiotherapist, said Victoria had reached saturation point in off-the-rack fitness. ``But there is a big growth in personal training, " he said. ``People were a little bit sick of the traditional gym membership." To keep up their appeal, gyms were discounting.
On offer were mobile phones, holidays in Noumea, pairs of sneakers, two-for-one memberships and scratch-and-win tickets with membership prizes. ONCE people joined (mobile phones tucked into leotards), they expected more for their money than barbells and stomach crunches.
At the $1300-a-year Re-Creation, in Armadale, there is a creche, jacuzzi and ``cardio theatre", where members can ride an electric bike and watch movies or listen to their favorite CD.
Last year, the centre offered new members a $495 Motorola mobile phone.
Zaks, in neighboring Prahran, offered $299 full-year memberships (cut from $499). ``Hundreds of people have taken it up," said Mr Simon Royall, the marketing director.
Mr Chris Kemp, the co-owner of Equinox, in Chapel Street, said the gym offered cut-price membership of $40 a month for customers from other gyms that had gone broke, but, in general, did not do discounts or giveaways.
It did have membership drives, though the most recent was a mail-out, to 100,000 homes, of cards showing Mr Kemp cuddling Elle Macpherson.
Industry workers said yesterday that heavy discounting could compromise service.
Mr Nello Marino, the program development manager for VicFit (part of the Department of Sport and Recreation) said he was concerned about the type of service gyms with cheap memberships would be able to offer.
WHAT`S ON OFFER.
City Baths, Swanston Street, City: swim, sauna and spa membership, $356 a year, VIP membership (gym and aerobics included) $845.
Now a 25 per cent discount on all memberships.
YMCA of Coburg, Bell Street, Coburg: weights, aerobics, spa and steam room, $499 a year. The gym has just given away 200 pairs of Saucony jogging shoes to new members and has other promotions free towels or water bottles planned. Body Challenge, Dandenong Road, Carnegie: one-facility membership of aerobics, fitness assessments and creche, spa and sauna, or circuit, or gymnasium, $440. Full club membership, $660.
From the second week in September for a month the gym is offering two memberships for the price of one. Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre, Victoria Road, Northcote: Indoor and outdoor pool (10 lanes, 50 metres), aerobics, weights, $540 a year. Does not discount but ``adds value" by specialist abdominal workouts in memberships, for example.
Zaks, High Street, Prahran: full membership, weights, aerobics, spa, steam room and fitness assessment for $299 a year until the end of this month (reduced from $499).
Equinox, Chapel Street, Prahran: Full membership for $800, includes weights and aerobics and 45 pieces of electronic fitness equipment. Does not discount.
Re-Creation, High Street, Armadale: Full membership is $1300, includes an indoor pool, aerobics, weights, creche, jacuzzi and ``cardio-theatre". In its last membership drive it gave away $495 Motorola mobile phones, this year it is planning to give two flights to Sydney or Queensland.
East Keilor Leisure Centre, Quinn Grove, Keilor East: full membership $395 includes gym, aerobics, steam room and spa, indoor and outdoor pools, creche. Gold pass membership for $495, includes circuit room and Boxercise classes.
© 1995 The Age