BENCHMARK
By Kristen Walsh
YOUR WAY
TO BETTER
The 2018 IHRSA Profiles of Success facilitates strong, steady performance by clubs.
I
t’s become an important
and much-anticipated
tradition—the release of
the findings from IHRSA’s
annual Industry Data Survey
(IDS) and the resulting
publication, IHRSA Profiles of
Success.
In October, the association
published the 36th annual edition
of ‘Profiles’, the exhaustive and
authoritative report that many clubs
use to benchmark their operations,
comparing their performance
with that of their peers to identify
their strengths, weaknesses, and
opportunities for improvement.
“Highly successful organisations
understand the importance of
benchmarking and the value of
measuring key performance metrics
against those of comparable
businesses,” observes Brent Darden,
a principal at Brent Darden
Consulting, in Dallas, Texas, and
past chairperson of IHRSA’s board of
14
directors. “As the saying goes, ‘what
gets measured gets managed,’ and
Profiles of Success offers a credible
foundation for reinforcing this
management habit.”
The former owner and general
manager of the TELOS Fitness
Centre, in Dallas, Darden recalls,
“At my club, it provided a useful
platform for learning and growth.”
“Along with The IHRSA Health Club
Consumer Report, Profiles is a must-
have resource for any operator who
wants to better understand how well
their club is doing, what consumers
want, and, ultimately, how to grow
their business.”
Positve Indicators
In general, how did clubs fare in
2018?
In total, 112 club companies,
representing 12,289 fitness facilities,
contributed their time and effort to
complete the 2018 survey, which
addressed their 2017 performance.
“This 76-page report provides
detailed analysis of the
accomplishments of leading IHRSA
member clubs, providing key metrics
on income, payroll, other expenses,
non-dues revenue, membership
growth, club traffic, retention, and
EBITDA,” explains Melissa Rodriguez,
IHRSA’s senior research manager.
“Club operators can use it to
compare their performance across
profit centres and a wide range of
other categories.”
“Results from the IDS indicate that
leading operators have continued
to grow revenue and membership at
healthy rates,” reports Jay Ablondi,
IHRSA’s executive vice president
of global products. “Clubs posted
strong financial and membership
numbers, with results varying by club
type and size.”
Overall, the respondents reported
increases of 5.3% and 2.8% in
revenue and membership,
respectively. Clubs that are part of
a chain reported higher revenue
growth (+7%) than independent
ones (+2.8%). Conversely,
independents, with a retention
rate of 72.4%, outperformed chain
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - SUMMER 2018