ALL CHANGE AT
FITNESS FIRST
When Fitness First conducted a survey to establish how it was perceived by the general
public, the responses prompted some deep soul searching – and some radical changes,
writes Pete Manuel.
C
hange is never easy. So when
Fitness First decided to
undertake a total rebrand on a
global scale we knew it would take more
than a little soul searching to find the
way forward.
In 2011 we conducted extensive
research to ask the general public what
they thought of us. We really listened
to the feedback we received, taking on
board a lot of insights, and we accepted
it was time for a major change.
We learnt that making a difference is
as simple as supporting our members
and investing in things that matter
to them, like clean, innovative clubs,
helpful people working as a team, and
fitness innovations to help them stay
motivated.
2012 was a pivotal time for Fitness First
and gave us the fresh start we needed,
following an acquisition by leading
global private equity house, Oaktree
Capital Management. Since then the
business has undergone widespread
restructuring to reposition itself once
more as the fitness leader and industry
expert.
The changes we have made have not
been superficial. We have worked on
the DNA – the very fibre of our business,
including the culture we create and the
attitude of our people. We have seen
that we can no longer take a ‘one size fits
all’ approach to the way we do things.
We’ve made structural changes to
support an obvious truth in our business
– that our members are different, and
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NETWORK AUTUMN 2014 / WWW.FITNESSNETWORK.COM.AU