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your understanding.
I will use the term fitness club/gym interchangeably in this answer.
Body Pump is an export from Les Mills Aerobic International, a New
Zealand firm that uses agencies across the world as sales and support
points-of-presence. In the US and Canada, the Atlanta-based "The STEP
Company" [AKA Body Training Systems] is the exclusive representative.
This new program is designed to "reduce body fat, improve muscular
conditioning and reshape your body in ways you wouldn't get from any
other exercise program" says the president of Sportslife, an
Atlanta-based chain of health clubs that helped launch the program.(1)
The revenue model is a simple licensing-fee based setup. Each
participating fitness club pays a monthly fee to license each of the 5
exercise programs [the last 2 programs are free]. If the club attends
one of their GFM, or Group Fitness Management seminars, the monthly
fees are lessened. The fee structure is as follows:
Program 1:
Without GFM: $300/month
With GFM: $250/month
Program 2:
Without GFM: $200/month
With GFM: $175/month
Program 3:
Without GFM: $200/month
With GFM: $175/month
In return for the licensing fees, the club receives a training on the
Body Pump system and on-going marketing materials to promote the
program [such as posters, brochures, etc.] to current and prospective
customers.
These licensing fees are typically absorbed by the fitness club and
are not *directly* passed on to the clients of the club, although the
club is free to do that if they wish. Like a treadmill or an exercise
bike, The Step Company views the Body Pump program as just "another
draw" for the fitness club to use to attract more customers to their
business.
Besides the licensing and related fees, the Step Company or Les Mills
see no additional revenue from the product, if 5 or 500 people are
utilizing it at a particular fitness club. And a club itself normally
sees no additional revenue from users of the product directly, but may
see substantial increases in overall revenue from customers who sign
up to their club to use the program.
See this page for testimonials:
http://www.bodytrainingsystems.com/clubs/html/main.htm
Sources:
(1) Beauty Buzz
http://www.beautybuzz.com/fitness/detail.asp?ArticleID=9
http://www.thestep.com/participants/html/frameset.htm
phone numbers:
800.729.7837 toll free
770.424.8161 phone
770.424.1590 fax
Karen Mclanahan in sales
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