Quick Health Club Growth Leaves Empty Treadmills

Mintel Report Shows Number of New Health Clubs Outpacing New MembershipsChicago (June 19, 2006)- With the growth of new health clubs reaching 14 percent from 2004 to 2005, it is surprising that Americans are not sprinting off to the gym. During the same period, health club memberships grew only five percent. A recent Mintel report cites that while overall industry revenue increased to $15.6 billion last year, the expanding number of health and fitness clubs shrunk revenue per member by 10 percent between 2000 and 2005. All of this is occurring as American obesity rates reach extremely concerning levels.These differences in growth are pointing to a less than successful attempt to meet the specific needs of members. Without the necessary cross-selling of products to customers, there has been increasing reliance on signing up new members to stimulate revenue growth.