Five questions with...
CHRIS SKINNER
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF HF INDUSTRIES
WNIF: Describe your typical day. My
office day starts around 5am when I talk
with our US based partners and by day’s
end I’ll be talking with the NZ, Australian
and Asian markets. During any day, there
are three major concerns: sales, service
and cash flow. My job is the logistics of
all three. Saturday is my day of catch up,
when I can reflect on the past week and
try and plan the next. As a small family
business, it’s still one in, all in, so if there
are containers to unload, we all unload.
WNIF: HF Industries has been distributing
fitness equipment for more than three
decades. What’s your secret to longevity
in this highly competitive industry?
Service and reputation is everything,
and the longer you are in the game the
harder you have to work at it. As a small
family business the secret is to find your
niche in the marketplace. And at all times
to be aware that whatever you do, if it
smells of any success someone will want
part of it!
Every year we look to introduce
something new to the industry. We
specialise only in offering equipment that
is out of the ordinary, compared to what
everyone else is offering. We hold firm
on our price, but we only offer products
with very distinct points of difference,
which means our prices return great
value for the buyers. For example, we
offer a treadmill in our range but ours –
the Incline Trainer – goes to minus three
and 30 per cent incline. Elite athletes use
them at the Australian Institute of Sport,
but these features are also ideal for the
everyday exerciser or beginner who
wants to achieve weight loss.
WNIF: What other innovative things is HF
Industries doing and how do you stay
at the forefront of people’s minds? The
product lines we offer are truly unique
and the products we represent are often
synergistic with each other. For example,
Sandbells are very popular and when
coupled with our Surfset provides a
completely different exercise format to
make multiple extensions for a club’s
patrons. Similarly, the Activ Motion bar
is just a weighted bar when you look at
it; but when you pick it up, the rolling
weights that run the full length of the bar
take over which forces the user to control
its movement. On its own, it’s a great
exercise product, but when coupled with
others it becomes a whole new group
workout never before seen in the industry.
Our Rip 60 and Bodhi systems are taking
Suspension training to the third and fourth
dimensions. Our Marpo Rope machines
deliver both cardio and strength workouts
in one machine, and allow users to
obtain so many goals using so many more
muscle groups, with just one pull of a
rope. And our line of FreeMotion Strength
machines is truly the most functional line
of equipment on the market.
Our latest introduction of a product
from outside our traditional market is
introduction of a pushbike, via Priority
Bicycles. We produced a bike that went
back to the 1960s, with a back pedal
brake, a big comfortable seat, a bell,
we took all the cogs and chains out and
added a Kevlar belt with three gears in
the hub (light, medium and high). This
bike is specifically designed to attract
that 90 per cent of the market who don’t
want to wear the right gear or have the
best accessories before they get into
riding. It’s a bike you can just jump on
and go; sit nice and upright and you can
only buy it online, not in a shop. We’ll be
showcasing this at FILEX and the Fitness &
Health Expo this year but you can see it in
the meantime at prioritybicycles.com.au.
WNIF: In terms of staying relevant and
retaining their members, what tips
or advice do you have for clubs? Be
different. Our industry has become lazy;
we mimic or copy each other to the point
that the only difference between one
another is price. In your region, look at
the marketplace to see what is available
and offer your clients something different.
Bring back the party atmosphere to the
club! In our name, ‘HF’ stands for ‘have
fun’; people want to have fun because
if exercise and fitness can achieve that
in a person then the industry will grow
stronger.
WNIF: What are your thoughts about
wearable technology and the impact on
the industry? Fitness centres used to be
a great place to communicate faceto-face with each other, enjoy a social
atmosphere, and be part of a group
(even if participating as an individual).
This technology can provide a means for
one to move further into one’s shell and
become more of an introvert than ever
before. I’ve seen fads come and go and
return again. Our role is to continue to
provide products and services that move
the industry forward, support the industry,
and cater to the needs of the patron,
even when they don’t know what needs
they are looking for.