Each month Blair McHaney, the CEO of MXM, sits down with Rachel Zabonick-Chonko, the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine, for a frank discussion on the current state of the fitness industry.
BLAIR MCHANEY’S POV SHOW NOTES
Indoor Cycling
- Blair and Rachel discuss the recent news of Peloton and SoulCycle’s retail closures and layoffs.
- Despite the news, the market is looking positively at Peloton’s changes.
- At his own clubs, indoor cycling has not really came back yet. They are around 50% full in some of those classes.
- Hot yoga is bouncing back nicely.
- He advised to have spaces in your gym that are flexible. Cycling studios that haven’t bounced back yet could be transformed into recovery spaces, considering recovery is still booming.
Future of Virtual Fitness and At-Home Trends
- We need to do a better job looking at the omnichannel experience through the customer’s eyes.
- At-home trends include people taking more of a personal responsibility towards getting their workouts in.
- For example, people are working out in airports even if there isn’t a gym present.
- Airport gyms could become a trend in the future because of this. More and more people are working out in airports if they have a long layover.
Other Top of Mind Thoughts
- McHaney recently took part in the FitLife Conference. It was their first in-person conference since COVID-19 hit. He said it was well-attended, and he was impressed by the level of sharing by operators.
- One theme that kept coming up is how much operators were looking at recovery. Some have been wildly successful with recovery.
- It’s even more important now than when COVID-19 shutdowns happened to find and establish a good network of connections.
- He also gave an update on his own clubs. They are net positive in memberships through the summer months for the first time in their history.
For more insights from Blair McHaney and to learn more about MXM, the world’s leading experts on Operational Member Experience Management, visit mxmetrics.com.
