your landscape is shifting depending on what ’ s happening as a result of COVID . You want to be able to adapt and react to that as a brand with your messaging , and with mass media , the lead times and guarantees are too long . Once you commit your dollars , they are truly committed , whereas with social and digital you can adjust your messaging and targeting at a moment ’ s notice and ramp up or ramp down your spend depending on what you ’ re seeing .
Then , the second key is looking at demographic data , which , right now , the older demographics are more negatively impacted because of COVID . We ’ ve shifted toward a younger audience base that will drive higher conversions and joins . Social and digital is a place where that target audience is more active . we open . Everything that surrounds it for that week , you realize that , ultimately , it ’ s still about the club , still about the gym experience , still about the member experience .
In your opinion , what stands out about the Planet Fitness brand ?
Philip : The secret sauce of the PF brand is HQ and franchisees ’ commitment to the ethos of the brand . It ’ s easy to talk about the Judgement Free Zone ® and other things that come with PF , but difficult to ingrain it into your brand . As a brand , we rally around that ethos to the degree that our company and brand culture is unique and is felt across all 15 million members who have stepped foot in a club .
How important do you see data analytics being to the decision-making process for Easy Mile Fitness and the brand ?
Philip : Data and analytics are core tenets of what we do at Easy Mile all the time . We use data and analysis to make purchasing and inventory decisions . We use it for marketing , and we certainly use it for finance and budgeting . In any department , we always try to make true data-based decisions and stray away from anecdotal , “ gut-feeling ” decisions . As the brand has become more sophisticated , with 2,000 locations in the U . S ., data becomes immensely important because we have more of it than any fitness concept out there .
Peter , what opportunities do you see ahead for PF in the real estate market ?
Peter : COVID has accelerated underlying business trends , more so in the retail marketplace . As part of that , we will see a reshifting of what we have seen with the overall retail market , a move to Amazon-proof businesses – to more experience-based concepts whether it ’ s restaurant , dining or fitness . These work well with grocers and food-shopping tenants . As a lot of these accelerated closures happen , some of those older , larger businesses can be repurposed and reused as Planet Fitness .
We ’ re going to see consolidation in the fitness market . Concepts or franchisees that are not well capitalized will accelerate that process , especially in the fitness space . We ’ ve seen it already with the Gold ’ s Gym filing and 24 Hour Fitness . There will be a member side and a real estate side . There will be opportunity as a market flushes and becomes more consolidated around the more disciplined operators who have strong business models that can withstand these times .
As a growing organization , you both have been involved in a range of areas . What is your favorite aspect of operations and why ?
Peter : My favorite part is seeing team members develop and grow within the organization . It has been a priority for us in this transitional stage of hiring and developing our back office . One of the most fun parts is being able to work with people that you like working with and empowering them to go do great things in the organization and take ownership of that . That is when it gets a bit bigger than yourself .
Philip : Whether the first club or the 12th , we still get excited about a club opening and have nerves and butterflies for every club
Can you talk about how beneficial it is to have the partnership between PFHQ and the PFIFC ?
Philip : To have a unified franchise group and have real , productive conversations with HQ is unique in the franchise world and unique to Planet Fitness . We ’ re grateful for the work being done by the IFC and the relationship between the IFC and HQ .
What is the biggest opportunity you see ahead for the PF system ?
Peter : There are two opportunities . One is continuing to widen the moat and see the value of the network effect . PF has gotten to the stage where , with 15 million members , we have a competitive advantage that will become ever more valuable . It will continue to allow us to roll out and develop best practices and be more aggressive on the marketing side . It also creates more value for the member . It is viewed as a national brand . Think about Starbucks with a store on every corner , hopefully there is a PF accessible for every person .
Another opportunity allows us to have the ability , infrastructure , data and reporting to make intelligent decisions based on what we see from members .
Lastly , more COVID-related , we ’ ve seen a great job by Chief Marketing Officer Jeremy Tucker and his team accelerating our move to digital fitness . Digital fitness must be part of the offering if you think of Planet Fitness as a platform for working out . We ’ re really excited about the work-in videos , seeing where they take that and how we can integrate into our members ’ lives .
Tell us about your personal interests .
Peter : Both of us working in fitness , we love being outdoors and active . Being Italian , everything must be centered around good food and wine . Growing up in Vermont , we gained a huge appreciation for the outdoors , and we like being based in New England because we have access to four great seasons of cool stuff . Whether skiing , biking , hiking , going to a brewery or being on the water , food and fitness are a big part of it .
If I weren ’ t a franchisee , I would be …
Peter : If I weren ’ t a franchisee , wine sommelier would be not too bad of a job . I would like to be paid to drink wine and talk about wine .
Philip : I would like to be a National Geographic photographer . I ’ m a bad photographer , but I would love to travel , see the world and take photos of cool things . G
GearedUp | 2020 Issue 3
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