TOULOUSE BUSINESS SCHOOL (TBS)

Form’in: Creating customer value for

a fitness club

Term paper for Service Marketing

Winter Semester 2014/2015

Lecturer: XXX

Anton Wischnewski, XXX (Names of other group members are excluded)

BA12 in International Business / International Trade

Student-No. XXXXXXXX

Table of Contents

1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 4

2 External Analysis: Porter’s Five Forces .................................................... 4

2.1 Industry rivalry ................................................................................................. 5

2.2 Threat of new entrants .................................................................................... 5

2.3 Threat of substitutes ........................................................................................ 5

2.4 Bargaining power of the suppliers ................................................................... 6

2.5 Bargaining power of the buyers ...................................................................... 6

3 Internal Analysis: The Marketing Mix ........................................................ 7

3.1 Product ............................................................................................................ 7

3.2 Price ................................................................................................................ 9

3.3 Place ............................................................................................................. 10

3.4 Promotion ...................................................................................................... 10

3.5 Physical Environment .................................................................................... 12

3.6 People ........................................................................................................... 13

3.7 Productivity, process and quality ................................................................... 14

4 Target analysis and current positioning ................................................. 17

4.1 Target analysis .............................................................................................. 17

4.2 Positioning ..................................................................................................... 18

5 Diagnosis .................................................................................................... 18

5.1 SWOT Analysis ............................................................................................. 18

5.2 SWOT Strategies Matrix ............................................................................... 20

5.3 SWOT Summary ........................................................................................... 21

6 Recommendations and conclusion ......................................................... 22

7 Appendices ................................................................................................ 25

Appendix 1: Region Saint-Orens-de-Gameville 1 .................................................. 25

Appendix 2: Region Saint-Orens-de-Gameville 2 .................................................. 25

Appendix 3: Industry and residential area in Saint-Orens-de-Gameville ............... 26

Appendix 4: Neighbour villages Saint-Orens-de-Gameville ................................... 26

Appendix 5: Distance to competitors ..................................................................... 27

Appendix 6: Distance to competitors ..................................................................... 27

Appendix 7: Old fitness club design ....................................................................... 28

Appendix 8: New fitness club design ..................................................................... 28

Appendix 9: Old and new website design .............................................................. 29

8 References ................................................................................................. 30

1 Introduction Amongst that of all the nations of Europe, the French gym market is undeniably one of

the most interesting to study. It is by its very nature segmented unlike almost any other,

due to the incidence of government-backed community fitness groups; a concept fairly

unique to France. These offer rudimentary facilities for a vastly reduced price, which

can be offered due to the subsidies that are ploughed in by the government, as well as

the low quality of the equipment on offer. This may go some way towards explaining

why, in 2008, only 5.4% of French people belonged to a health club, as opposed to as

many as 16.6% in Spain (Reuters, 2010).

2 External Analysis: Porter’s Five Forces In this chapter we going to start with the external analysis of the French gym market

by applying Porter’s Five Forces model, illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: The Porter’s Five Forces

Source: HBR, 2014

2.1 Industry rivalry

To commence with the industry rivalry, the vast majority of gym space in France is

dominated by large corporate providers, such as Fitness First, who operate in a

number of countries, with the remainder being filled by small firms like Form’in. As

such, it is an unusual structure, in that at first glance, one would assume it to be

Oligopolistic; few, large firms who dominate the provision of service. However, the

existence of small gyms implies that a main feature of such a structure, high barriers to

entry and exit, are either not there or are drastically lower than one would expect of an

Oligopolistic market. What the large gyms do have as a large benefit are the

economies of scale that allow them to offer equivalent facilities to the smaller gyms at a

significantly lower price.

2.2 Threat of new entrants

To continue on to the threat of new entrants, it is actually quite high. The costs involved

in setting up a gym are low; all that is needed is some floor space and equipment,

which can be purchased very inexpensively, and a licence, and it’s ready to go. This is

also compounded by the unlikelihood of retaliation from the incumbent firms, since the

majority of small start-ups that enter the market can only afford to move into

undesirable locations and pose no major threat to their national operations. These

points must be tempered with the qualification that, in France, the relative lack of

demand in the market reduces the threat of new entrants, since many do not consider

gym-going a worthwhile pursuit, a point that shall be elucidated later in the analysis.

2.3 Threat of substitutes

The threat of substitutes is also high, coming in this case first and foremost in the form

of the aforementioned community fitness associations. The far lower cost of these, as

well as a host of other, “more French” activities such as playing team or individual

sports, jogging and other such pursuits, offer a distinct threat to the profitability of the

market. It all comes back to the issue of culture. In France, the culture is very much

one of La belle vie, in which it is considered normal to eat rich foods, drink alcohol,

smoke cigarettes and negate physical exercise for its own sake, a category into which

gym-going unquestionably falls. As such, fitness is not seen as a lifestyle or indeed

something to be enjoyed and embraced, it is seen as something which runs counter to

the French way of living. It’s seen as odd amongst many in France to go only to the

gym, whereas to play tennis, football or go swimming is seen as far more culturally

acceptable. This is unquestionably the most significant of the five forces in the French

case.

2.4 Bargaining power of the suppliers

The bargaining power of the suppliers is mixed, since the ratio of suppliers to firms is

relatively high; that is to say that there are a reasonable number of suppliers and not a

great number of firms. The suppliers unquestionably have more power over the non-

chain firms, as they only represent a small portion of a supplier’s revenues, but the

suppliers’ power over large corporate providers is limited, due to the percentage of

turnover that such companies provide to the suppliers. Furthermore, the inputs, in this

case the gym equipment, are to a degree standardised, although there are different

types of equipment that suppliers may specialise in, handing a modicum of power,

perhaps, back towards the suppliers.

2.5 Bargaining power of the buyers

Finally, the bargaining power of the buyers is limited, although could grow very rapidly

should the market grow and diversify. Presently, the buyer to firm concentration ratio is

low, by most countries’ standards, and they have little bargaining leverage by which to

force firms to lower their prices. This is because relatively few of the French go to the

gym and the costs of switching between providers are often high, with it being

customary to charge up to 40€ in signing on fees and for the provision of a membership

card, as well as the inflexibility of the membership options meaning that one is often

tied to a long-term contract. Furthermore, the French consumer is not particularly well

informed of the alternatives, as such activity is not part of the mainstream, the

information requires searching for as opposed to receiving, as one may find in

countries such as Canada. To expound, however, on the point made about growth

potential, we believe that this state of affairs will not remain the status quo for too much

longer. In France, the majority of demand comes from young, image concerned men.

They are often rugby players, for obvious reasons, but also those who have been more

exposed to Anglicised culture growing up, and are more receptive to the idea of

working out as something that is done regularly. As these people grow older, and youth

with an even greater exposure to Anglo-American culture follow them into adulthood,

the potential for growth in the market is huge. The trailblazers will continue perceiving

gym-going as a worthwhile activity, but their desires will doubtless change to a more

luxury service to allow for category-specific growth in the high-end health club market,

with their place in the rougher-around-the-edges gyms taken by the new younger

generation who prefer to have only a gym, than a more costly gym, health spa,

swimming pool and so on.

In conclusion, the French market is characterised by reasonably low, segmented

demand, and an uncompetitive, expensive supply side, which work together along with

the culture in France to currently shackle the gym market somewhat. However, as

Anglo-American culture begins to seep into France through the younger generations,

the market has the potential to grow extremely rapidly, and become more similar to that

of the US, UK and Australia, characterised by extreme competition, high buyer power

and good value for money.

3 Internal Analysis: The Marketing Mix This chapter focuses on Form’in internal analysis, which is based on the extended

Marketing Mix including: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, Physical environment,

People and Productivity, process and quality.

3.1 Product

Form’in is a fitness club located in Saint-Orens-de-Gameville, region of Toulouse.

Form’in’s core value proposition is the variety of gym equipment and collective courses

(see: Figure 2). Gym equipment includes cardiovascular training machines, weights

machines, free weights and Olympic lifting materiel and services include group-based

classes, like Zumba, body pump, spinning, which are most popular amongst female

clients. Form’in is a small firm that has a staff of 6 people, including 2 temporary

workers. Speaking to Alain, the manager of the gym, he described it as followed:

“Form’in is a warm, family club that welcomes you all year round in a relaxed, friendly

and professional atmosphere. Here, where friendliness is the magic word, our fully

qualified coaches are constantly available for you to help you discover many new

activities” (Form’in, 2014).

His statement reinforces the image of a non-corporate gym that provides a more

idiosyncratic, yet personalised service than one might find at a larger chain gym. As a

result, there are more women members here than at some, more homogenised gyms,

as they are made to feel welcome, unlike the occasional intimidating atmosphere that

one can find at larger gyms.

Figure 2: Flower of service

Source: Own illustration

3.2 Price

Form’in pursue the strategy of bundle pricing and differential pricing strategy (see:

Figure 3).

Figure 3: Bundle and differential pricing strategy

Source: Own illustration

Membership fee and Subscription fee

When a new customer registers at the gym Form’in for the first time he will have to pay

the membership fee plus a subscription fee. The Membership fee is valid for one year

and costs: 75€ for a normal customer and 55€ for a student.

10 Session Card

Besides, there is the option to go for a 10-sessions Card that allows you to visit the

gym up to 10. After the 10th use a new subscription is necessary.

Bundle Pricing

There are various membership options. The customer can subscribe for one, three and

six months or one-year membership.

Differential Pricing Strategy

Form’in promotes discounts for longer periods of subscription and gives a discount for

students, as they usually have lower or no income. Furthermore, there is a

differentiation between the activity packages offered. The 1. Package is offered for a

lower price than the 2nd package (see: Figure 3). No customer data is gathered to help

Form’in understand which activities customers value the most out of weight training,

cardio, or group classes.

3.3 Place

Form’in is located in Saint-Orens, a suburb 13 km away from the city centre of

Toulouse (see: Appendix 1). The location is easy to access via the motorway and the

village’s main road (see: Appendix 2). Form’in is in close proximity to the residential

area as well as to the industrial area (see: Appendix 3). The small villages of

Lauzerville and Auzielle have an easy and convenient access to the gym (see:

Appendix 4). Form’in’s geographic competitors in the Saint-Orens area are Nouvelle

Formule Energie and Piments Instituts. Those are located within a 2 km radius (see:

Appendix 5). Larger competitors are located in proximity of the shopping mall

L’Occitane in Labège, at the distance of approximately 4 km (see: Appendix 6).

To sum up, Form’in focuses on the customer base in the Saint-Orens area and offers

them easy access through the motorway and the village’s main road. The location is a

good choice, as the gym is placed between the customers from the industrial area and

the residential area. Unfortunately, large competitors are located in Labège only 4 km

away from Form’in. They also offer a good access to their gyms and are based in the

middle of the shopping mall L’Occitane, which may well be a reason for some

customers to choose there over Form’In.

3.4 Promotion

Customers get a 20€ discount plus one trial workout session if they present a printed

copy of Form’in’s homepage. In reality, everyone can get the trial session and discount

if they ask for it. Form’in also organises social events that are very admired by

permanent customers. Those events build relationships, trust and customer’s

satisfaction, and are a key part of the family ethos espoused by the management.

Social Media Analysis

The social media analysis table (see: Figure 4) indicates that there is little customer

engagement. Mostly young customers are involved in social media, especially, which

can be identified from the feedback on Facebook. We can infer that young customers

could be attracted through better social media marketing.

Figure 4: Social media performance

Sources: Facebook, 2014; Google+, 2014; Twitter, 2014

The 5 W’s Model

1. Who is our target audience?

(see: Target Analysis)

2. What do we need to communicate and achieve? • Social Events

• Discounts

• Promote quality activities

• Customers’ satisfaction and engagement

3. How should we communicate this?

The communication can take place over: • Facebook by sending a message or a public question post

• E-mail message

• Telephone

• Personal visit

4. Where should we communicate this? • Middle-aged customers (30-50+ years): print media, direct e-mail

• Young customers (16-30 years): Social media (e.g. Facebook)

5. When do communications need to take place? • Twice a week for promotion activities

• Avoiding peak times* as many customers,

• Two weeks before social events

• Customers questions should be responded during 48h

*Peak times: • Daily rush hour

• September (after summer holidays)

• January (after the New Years’ Eve)

3.5 Physical Environment

The Packaging Policy

Form’in offers a bright lighting and clean service environment for their customers. The

gym consists of white walls and light brown wooden floor (see: Appendix 7).

Sensory Costs of Service:

1. Smell

The cloakroom and the gym are a bit smelly. An automatic deodorant is placed in every

room to keep a decent scent. The automatic deodorants are not functioning properly.

Furthermore, it is noticeable that the colour scheme in each room is not uniform, which

can result in confusion of company’s brand recognition and different customers’

emotion. Also the colours used on Form’in’s website are mostly purple and pink, which

do not correspond with the colours in the service-scape at all.

2. Sound and Music

In the gym, radio music playing constantly during the customer workout. The volume is

moderate allowing people to listen to their own music with headphones.

3. Temperature

The room is kept at a balmy 20 degrees Celsius.

3.6 People

Form’in personnel are an essential element of the quality of service delivery (see:

Figure 5). Alain, the general manager and coach for collective courses, is very

engaged in customer relationship management. During his free time, he attends the

gym and talks to customers to build strong relationships and levels of satisfaction. All

team members are very welcoming and ready to help, which is a main factor of

customers’ satisfaction and loyalty.

In addition, we have recognised that Form’in’s management handle the customers

themselves, which means that they have no full-time receptionist. As Form’in

management often conduct sport courses and sport activities by their own, it results

often in time delays and long waiting times for customers. Note if there is no

receptionist at the front desk, new customers could be lost.

Figure 5: Form’in team members

Source: Form’in, 2014

3.7 Productivity, process and quality

1. Productivity

Especially, during the peak times: • Daily rush hour

• September (after summer holidays)

• January (after the New Years’ Eve)

Form’in is not able to run business operations efficiently, because little space is not

sufficient enough for a sudden large amount of people. Long waits and no customer

service are once again the consequences.

2. Process

Figure 6 illustrates the service blueprint of From’in, meaning a map that describes the

service steps involved in the process of utilizing Form’in gym.

Figure 6: Service Blueprint

Source: Own illustration

Payment options: • Cash

• Debit Card (= Card Bleu)

• Credit Card

Payment due: • Monthly

• At once

Form’in accepts payments by cash or debit card. Payment options are either made on

a monthly basis or at once for the whole subscription period.

Payment service: “Facilités de paiement (prélèvements automatiques)” -

Standing order

Facilités de paiement (prélèvements automatiques) means “easy to pay”. The

customer allows Form’in to draw payments from his bank account automatically. It is a

convenient service procedure for the customer and the company so that the payment is

received in due time.

Electronic member card

The customers have an electronic member card and have to pass through the scan

machine every time when entering the gym. The member-card is only used for check-in

purposes. No further data is recorded.

Customer data collection

The receptionist has the exclusive right to access customers’ data on the computer.

The computer records data about subscription period of the customers in order to

inform them when the membership is due.

3. Quality

Customer Service KPIs: • Customer service email count

• Customer service phone call count

• Customer service chat count

• Customer Satisfaction by reviews

Marketing KPIs: • Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest followers or fans

• Chat sessions initiated

• Site traffic

• Pay-per-click traffic volume

• Brand or display advertising click-through rates

Sales KPIs: • Weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual sales

• Average margin

• Market share

• Product affinity

(which product packages are purchased together: 1. Package or 2. Package)

• Competitive pricing

4 Target analysis and current positioning

4.1 Target analysis

Form’in is currently targeting a wide range of customers starting from young students

from university to middle-aged family members. By offering a variety of workout

options, Form’in appeals to both men and women, which could be considered crucial in

a market such as the French, in which there is not sufficient depth of demand to

specialise or segregate based on gender. Customers are often interested in their

wellbeing and wanting to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In this, they are a little unusual

amongst the French, as we mentioned earlier, not in that they want to keep healthy, but

that they choose to do so by attending a gym. It is a clear indicator of how the predicted

growth may even be coming earlier than anticipated. Since the gym is located outside

of the city centre, the audience needs to have access to either a car or to the metro

and bus system. The consumer benefits from the easy access, hours of operation, the

variety of workout opportunities and the well-kept facilities. Table 1 summarises all

relevant aspects of the target analysis.

Table 1: Target analysis

Source: Own illustration

4.2 Positioning

The current position of Form’in is as a local gym, instead of a standardised chain like

Movida. The gym has only one branch and is located in Saint-Orens, which contributes

to the local, community feel. It appeals to the locals as a family friendly, non-

threatening place where they do not have to worry about the feeling of pressure that

other gyms might create. This can be a problem for the casual gym goer, especially

when the vast majority of others there are much more physically imposing and seem to

know what they’re doing, and can put the person off from asking questions when they

don’t understand. One way that Form’in could better position itself to possible clients

would be to offer deals to university aged customers for a discounted price, since they

are students and are likely to be operating on a limited budget. Another position they

could take is to offer individualised classes to members that refer new customers to the

gym. Either one, or indeed both, of these promotions would change the way they

position themselves against the competition.

5 Diagnosis

5.1 SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

• The pricing strategy allows for

discounts when monthly or yearly

passes are purchased.

• Has a dedicated customer base that

keeps coming back and may also refer

their friends.

• Strong culture and community, with a

customer base who is interested, and

takes part in fitness-related activities

such as ski trips.

• Presence on the Internet and social

media, to notify customers of

upcoming events.

• Form’in is located in a suburban area,

which is far from any dense population

centres.

• Public transportation is limited to reach

this location, and taking a car is the

most popular mode of transportation

(~90%)

• Opening hours are much less than

that of its competitors.

• If there are many people at the gym at

once, there is not enough equipment

for all to weightlift at the same time.

• It is not possible to go to this gym for a

• Personal coaching and classes are all

included in the cost of the membership

– There are no additional fees for

these services.

• Friendly and helpful staff there.

Owner is also frequently around,

showing that management cares well

for the gym.

single drop-in session. You must

purchase a pass, minimum of 10

visits, or else an unlimited monthly or

yearly pass.

• Has minimal added facilities on site

such as a juice/snack bar or a hot tub.

• No facilities for court sports

(basketball, squash, tennis).

Opportunities Threats

• To manage demand, Form’in could

introduce passes that are valid on

evenings only, or weekends only.

• To expand events to attract friends

and family of current members in order

to attract new members.

• Create additional value-added

services such as snack bars to retain

and attract customers.

• To open a new location to capture the

demand for gyms in an underserved

area based on their same business

culture.

• Customers may move to a large gym

for added facilities or longer opening

hours.

• The gym is becoming more popular,

which reduces from the culture that

the gym has. They must decide how

to manage the culture if they are to

attract more members.

• The French gym-culture may not be

expanding their gym-use as quickly as

required in order to be successful.

• No advertising might make consumer

awareness low, inhibiting an increase

in visitors.

• Customers will be less likely to pay for

a membership if they are a casual

gym-user

5.2 SWOT Strategies Matrix

Strengths Weaknesses

Opp

ortu

nitie

s

• Form’in can market the group culture

that they currently have, to use it as an

opportunity to expand to a fitness &

events centre, focussing equally on

activities in the facility and excursions

that go outside of the facility.

• Form’in could highlight the fact that

they are located outside of the city

centre, in order to promote the fact

that they are more private, more

laid-back, and not in the “busy” city

centre.

Thre

ats

• As larger an more established fitness

centres pose a threat to Form’in, they

should leverage their advantage as

tight-knit and community based gym in

order to gain advantage in the

marketplace.

• The number of customers may not

be increasing because of a lack of

advertising or because the gym

culture is not changing. This can be

positive if Form’in can keep the

strong close culture of the group,

while trying to gain additional value

from current customers.

5.3 SWOT Summary

Strengths

Internally, Form’in has many advantages to offer. It has a pricing strategy that allows

for discounts when passes are purchased on a yearly or monthly basis, benefitting

frequent users. Form’in corporate culture is tightly knit and dedicated. They keep

coming back and may even bring friends. Its community takes part in fitness activities

such as ski-trips or hiking trips. Form’in is involved in social media and the Internet, and

information on upcoming events can be found on Form’in’s website and Facebook

page.

Weaknesses

Form’in is not a major gym in the city centre and faces some weaknesses because of

it. It is located in a suburban area, which is far from any dense population centres.

Public transport is very limited to reach the gym, which is why most users chose to take

a car. When compared with other gyms, Form’in’s opening hours are far more reduced;

for example they are closed Sundays and only open for 3 hours on Saturday. The

facilities lack added bonuses such as a juice or snack bar or even a hot tub. There is

also no place for court sports such a basketball, squash and tennis. Another major

weakness, which may impede casual users from coming, is that it is not possible to

purchase access each visit. You may only test the gym once, if deciding to buy a

membership pass.

Opportunities

There are many external opportunities upon which Form’in could capitalise. To help

manage their domain, they could have passes that only work during off-peak times

such as evenings. This could allow them to have a cheaper category of memberships,

and to manage demand. If they expand their outings to include the friends and family

members of Form’in gym users, they can potentially attract a much larger membership

base to their gym. Furthermore, if they were to implement 5 or 10 time passes for a

reasonable price, they could gain more customers who are not willing to commit to a

long term contract at first, but could then be persuaded, or alternatively those who will

only be in the area for a short period of time, but still need a place to work out. Form’in

could also add more value-added services such as a snack bar to attract and retain

more customers. If Form’in is successful with these plans, then another opportunity

could be to open a new location in an underserved area, with the same values as they

have currently.

Threats

Form’in faces many threats as a small, stand-alone fitness centre. Customers may be

tempted to move to a larger gym with added facilities or longer opening hours. Gyms

are becoming more popular in France. However, this will hurt the small, tight-knit

culture that Form’in is proud to have. Even though the trend in France is moving more

towards fitness centres, it may not be moving fast enough for Form’in to capitalise and

find new members. Since Form’in does not advertise, consumer awareness of the

brand risks being low, inhibiting increased visitors. Also, as there is no drop-in pricing

strategy, customers will be less likely to sign up for a membership from being only a

casual user.

6 Recommendations and conclusion Membership Reform

One of the clearest opportunities for Form’in to improve the delivery of their service,

which has been a theme throughout our analysis, is changing the way that the

membership options are structured. In France as a whole, membership for gyms and

health clubs is delivered rather inflexibly, so were Form’in to radically change their

membership options, not only would it improve the service that they were offering, but

also have the double effect of putting them in a position to exploit a significant gap in

the market. Offering a combination of off-peak, anytime, fixed number and family

memberships would prove a significant differentiating factor in a market where

traditionally profit has been harder to come by.

Diversifying the Experience

Currently, Form’in offers only gym and shower facilities. It serves presently as

somewhere to work out, and little more than that. By installing a snack bar, a cafe and

perhaps even, should the first two prove a success, hot food service facilities, Form’in

be transformed from a strictly work-out based space to a more recreational, social hub

for people. As well as increasing the money made from the sales of food and drink, this

would go hand in hand with the new family memberships, with somewhere to leave the

children whilst the parents came to work out, turning the whole experience into a more

fulfilling and rounded one. Once again, such places are rare in France so it would serve

yet again to differentiate Form’in from its competition; it may not be able to offer the

variety of equipment and training that large chains can, but it can beat them on

supplementary services. Form’in has the potential to carve a true niche out for itself as

a family style health club with these recommendations. This also goes some way to

negating some of the threats about losing customers to bigger chains, as well as

building on its current brand strengths; if it offers a fuller experience, customers are

less likely to switch to bigger chains.

Intelligent Brand Awareness Strategy

Form’in does currently have a presence on Social Media, but it is not all that effective.

Emphasis in advertising and marketing is shifting more and more now away from

traditional channels and towards social media, particularly Facebook, and therein lies

the opportunity for Form’in to grow their brand. By effectively advertising on Facebook,

they can target very specifically, who they want to raise awareness of their brand with.

One of the suggestions we made was to offer reduced rates to students, and students

are amongst the most prolific users of social media, so a very effective way to engage

this segment of the market is to intelligently advertise and promote the brand to them.

Cohesion of Image

We mentioned also that there was no distinct, defined colour scheme for the firm as a

whole; rooms were painted different colours and the colours on the website bore no

resemblance to any anywhere else. Humans feel more at home in a coherent

environment, and one of the first and most important things that we perceive in a place

are the colours around us. We recommend that Form’in stick on a group of no more

than three complementary colours that feature in most places; on the website, in the

workout studios and also the changing rooms (see: Appendix 7, 8, 9). It also gives off

an air of professionalism to go with the family atmosphere that should be retained in

implementing these suggestions.

Staffing

Whilst it is a small firm, and therefore the lack of a dedicated receptionist is

understandable given the need to keep costs down, we recommend that the firm

appoint a receptionist as soon as it’s financially prudent to do so. Customers are likely

to be put off by long waits to be served, and vice versa, are likely to be attracted by

prompt service, so the appointment of someone to man the reception at all times

makes sound business sense. It also allows the fitness instructors to concentrate on

executing their duty more effectively, as they do not have constantly to check on guest

possibly waiting at reception. It enables instructors to give their customers their

undivided attention, which is also more likely to create a positive impression on the

customer, and retain their key competitive advantage.

Opening Longer Hours

This has some similarities to the previous recommendation, as the only way that this

would be practical is to hire more staff. This may have to wait until a little later in the

development of the firm, as it will increase costs by a reasonable margin, and the fixed

nature of the French labour market means that it’s not that easy to lay off workers

should the firm need to reduce costs - so doing it too early would be an unnecessary

financial risk for Form’in to take. However, when the funds become available, it should

become a priority, since the current hours are something of a weak point and rather

inhibit the family atmosphere that we believe they should attempt to continue to build

on. Families tend only to be together for long periods of time at the weekend, and if

Form’in is closed then, it bars a period of high probable revenue generation.

To conclude, we believe that the potential for growth of Form’in is huge. A combination

of a market all set to grow rapidly for some years, gaps in the market currently that it’s

perfectly poised to take advantage of, and a warm atmosphere that contributes towards

a very low churn rate mean that Form’in can make a significant success of itself in the

years to come.

7 Appendices

Appendix 1: Region Saint-Orens-de-Gameville 1

Appendix 2: Region Saint-Orens-de-Gameville 2

Appendix 3: Industry and residential area in Saint-Orens-de-Gameville

Appendix 4: Neighbour villages Saint-Orens-de-Gameville

Appendix 5: Distance to competitors

Appendix 6: Distance to competitors

Appendix 7: Old fitness club design

Source: Form’in, 2014

Appendix 8: New fitness club design

Source: Own illustration based on Form’in, 2014

Appendix 9: Old and new website design

Source: Own illustration based on Form’in, 2014

8 References

Facebook (2014). Retrieved 15/11/2014 from

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Formin-Toulouse-Saint-Orens-Lessentiel-de-la-

forme/134234133289842?sk=reviews

Form’in (2014). Retrieved 11/11/2014 from http://www.formin-toulouse.com/

Google+ (2014). Retrieved 15/11/2014 from

https://plus.google.com/107034803048702026184/about?hl=fr&gl=fr

“Gym Culture Not Working out for the French.” (2010). Reuters. Retrieved 21/11/2014

from http://www.reuters.com/.../us-fitness-france...

HBR = Harvard Business Review (2014). The Explainer: Porter's Five Forces.

Retrieved 14/11/2014 from https://hbr.org/video/3590615226001/the-explainer-porters-

five-forces

Twitter (2014). Retrieved 15/11/2014 from https://twitter.com/ForminStOrens