Introduction Virgin Active forms part of the major international Virgin Brand created by Richard Branson. Virgin Active is involved in a project called “Future Crew” which is aimed at trying to promote an active lifestyle for everyone in a positive way. Virgin Active sponsors events countrywide such as the 94.7 cycle challenge, Ironman South Africa, Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Momentum cycle tour and many other local smaller events throughout the country. Sir Richard Branson states: “A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.” Health Clubs Virgin Active is in the health and fitness industry and provides a service of gym equipment and fitness classes for its members. Gym members can use …show more content…
Virgin Active also have a partnership with Adidas which offers the right training gear to support fitness enthusiasts in the optimal environment that Virgin Active provides. Virgin Active personal trainers are also dressed by Adidas. A shifting focus Although Virgin Active is one of the leaders in the field of health and fitness there are demographic areas where I believe they could penetrate further. Currently, their major target market is those aged 18 to 40, this age group is the most conscious of not only their health but also of their body image. It is of course a prime age to most easily obtain your peak level of fitness. Generation Y customers are heavy users of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Fitness has become a major trend in these spheres, so although Virgin Active should remain focused on this market, younger children and the elderly should not be …show more content…
There is still the general consensus that the “weight room” is for men and body builders only. Many women are too scared or self-conscious to enter this section of the gym. There are gyms in some areas that have developed a designated area with free weights, kettle bells and power weight machines for women only, thus allowing the women to feel comfortable lifting weights. Virgin Active would do well to follow this trend towards a more “women friendly” training
In strategic planning, strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analysis is a tool used to identify those issues most likely to have an impact on a planned change now and in the future (Laureate Education, 2013f; Marquis & Huston, 2015). A SWOT analysis helps an organization further its mission, vision, and values by ensuring the planned change remains true to these statements.
...hat the facilities are at best decent and nothing relatively superior, is for the use of a gym that isn’t over crowded, and filled with like-minded individuals of the same age and race. My research methods such as an inductive method including participant-observation allowed me to observe the members and how they interacted amongst each other. Most of what I learned came from the women’s locker room, where many of them felt as ease as they discussed diets, workouts, and health issues. The one aspect that did change after using the facilities was that the price included within the membership was not for high end machines, or for state of the art locker rooms with luxurious amenities. The price is paid to be part of a network of older individuals, with like-minded ideas of staying fit for the sake of being healthy, and to work out in a crowd-free, judgment free area.
On the other hand the fitness industry does great things for the health and fitness of the public. There are thousands of great success stories out there where a forty year old man goes from 240 pounds with 30% body fat to 225 pounds and 6% body fat. These fitness websites motivate thousands of people to get off the couch and start their journey of obtaining a better body. Having instant access to professional tips and tricks to losing weight is a huge advantage that wasn’t around 25 years ag...
The gym is the world of gods and heroes, goddesses larger than life, a place of incantations where our bodies inflate and we shuffle off our out-of-gym bodies like discarded skins and walk about transformed. . . . Here, in this space, we begin to grow, to change. The transformation has begun, and our flawed humanity is falling off fast. We are picking up our shoulders, elevating our chins, shaking ugliness from our shoulders with a series of strokes, the glistening dumbbells, listening to our blood's rush. Our pasty misshapen bodies are developing clean lines. Our day's tribute of trials and heartaches is fading, for here, in this gym space, we become kings and queens. Larger, invincible, gods in ourselves. (Introduction, Bodymakers: A Cultural Anatomy of Women's Body Building)
According to Smithson, Walmart can expand its markets to new and emerging markets especially in the third world countries, which can significantly increase its revenues. Secondly, the company can reform is employment practices and improve the quality standard and in doing so, attract more customers and improve its brand image. On the other hand, the company faces threats such as the rising healthy lifestyle trend I that the company in most cases does not provide customers with healthy goods. At the same time, the company can capitalize on this aspect and increase its revenues. Aggressive competition from other discount retailers such as Target creates a great threat to the company (Smithson, 2015).
"LA Fitness grew out of three clubs, each owned by one of the founders. In 1990 Fred Turock, Jeremy Taylor and David Turner decided to get together to jointly manage these clubs, with the aim of building up a network of gyms with first class facilities. In 1996 they created the LA Fitness brand and the following year they joined the top ten health and fitness club operators, catering to a wide variety of people of all shapes and sizes and with a huge range of goals. In 1999 the growth and success of the LA Fitness group led to a listing on the London Stock Exchange. In 2005 the team decided they needed more control - they wanted to make sure LA Fitness could continue to provide affordable membership and a fun environment for its growing band of members. LA Fitness now has more than 88 clubs and over a quarter of a million members all over the United Kingdom" (LA Fitness, 2007).
Diageo is a multinational alcoholic beverage company based out of London, England. Diageo is the world's largest spirits producer and a major producer of beer and wine, trading in over 180 countries worldwide. Some of Diageo’s most notable brands include; Smirnoff (world’s best-selling vodka), Johnnie Walker (world’s best-selling blended Scotch whisky), and Baileys (world’s best-selling liqueur). (Refer to appendix I for Diageo’s strategic brands).
Nike's ad, "MAKE YOURSELF FIT," gives a strong central message that the female athlete is the only one who can take control of her life by getting fit. The bold, white, simple copy relays a message that excites the reader. The aggressive illustration motivates women to have confidence that they can get a body just like Sofia Boutella. The dominant design catches the female reader's eyes across the entire two page ad. Nike's message gives women the motivation and excitement that they need to accomplish their dream body by wearing Nike.
Members of the Y Generation include those born between the years 1982 and 1994. A generation is known as a group of people born in a particular period who would have experienced similar events or experiences while growing up. There are often negative connotations made against members of the Y Generation, as they are known for being spoilt, overly confident and too dependent on social media and technology. They are the first generation to have grown up with high-definition television, mobile phones, internet and social media. Generation Y are possibly more interested in the environment, caring and community orientated than previous generations. The majority of this generation is now in young adulthood and starting their careers. They make up most of the young singles and couples market and are a very critical group of consumers. Many of the claims made about Generation Y are based on little evidence and contradictory, this report seeks to examine these claims.
C-79). The company is also offering products and apparel intended for other healthy and athletic lifestyle pastimes rather than solely for yoga. These include swimwear, which were introduce for women in fiscal 2013 and men in the spring of 2014, dance apparel through its ivivva brand, as well as expected golf and tennis products (Thompson, 2014, p. C-80). Additionally, Lululemon offers such products as gear bags, water bottles, caps, gloves, headbands, and socks. This supports the company’s core component to “broaden the lululemon product line beyond yoga, running, and general fitness (specifically swimming, golf, and tennis) and include offerings for both males and females of many ages” (Thompson, 2014, p. C-79) for its fiscal 2014 business strategy. This indicates that the senior administrators of Lululemon have been transitioning the company’s competitive strategy from having a narrow market focus just on yoga
Although fitness centers and gyms may appear to be a place to break a sweat and work out with the intention of not being seen without makeup and in grungy clothes, this may not be the case, in particular when it comes to college gyms. Contrary to the findings Tamara L. Black displayed in her dissertation for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology from the University of California in Los Angeles, in which she depicts the situation of the classical fitness center as exercise dominated, after observations made while participating in the Boston College Recreational Complex, fitness centers may be more heavily focused on expressing sexual and social relations than for health related issues. Although she does not elaborate on this view of the gym, she does recognize that “popular media, cultural stereotypes, and some empirical literature depict gyms as places to meet people, where sexualized interactions are likely to take place, where bodies are on display as objects of desire” (pg. 40). This may be the perfect definition of the situation that I found in my observations. Shari L. Dworkin and Faye Linda Wachs, in Body Panic: Gender, Health, and the Selling of Fitness, acknowledge “mainstream media construct men as active and women as inactive. In this view, women are often shown as ‘being visually perfect’ and passive, immobile, and unchanging’” (pg. 40). Perhaps we have media to blame for this hyper-sexualization of a situation that was initially intended for self-fulfillment and health related practices.
The gym is relatively square with widows covering half of the room. The other half of the room has a wall of mirrors with the last wall having a hallway to bathrooms as well as the fitness trainer’s office. On one of the window walls it has a row of cardio equipment (that has attached TV’s on them) facing the outside. In the back corner near the cardio equipment is a stretching and body exercise area (kettle bells, mats, exercise balls, medicine balls, and stepping stands). In the center are weight machines that range from leg, arm, and abdominal equipment. The wall with the mirrors contains the free weights and other bench press and weight machines. Overall...
For those individuals seeking to improve their fitness levels, finding the will power to actually travel to the gymnasium and the internal fortitude to effectively workout is only half the battle; the other half of the adversity is the patronage already waiting at the gym. Even for the most outgoing personalities, hard core body builder types, and the similarly over exercised female equivalents are intimidating. These fanatically physically fit people spend most of their time at fitness centers and it shows. Massive, monster sized, muscles and popping veins help to identify the male of the species. The presence of these body building beasts is a little overwhelming to most other gym members. The massive size of each individual and the fact that they usually collaborate can make a trip to the free w...
The SWOT analysis is a useful tool for identifying our personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to our plans and goals. According to a “Fuel My Motivation” article (2010), this analysis considers internal influences that can positively or negatively affect our ability to achieve our goals. The internal factors are our strengths and weaknesses. Also considered are opportunities and threats, which are external influences that can have a positive or negative impact on the ability to achieve our goals. I will share how the self-assessment instruments and self-exercises in this course have contributed to assessing and understanding my strengths and weaknesses. I will also discuss techniques I will use to leverage my strengths and understand my weaknesses. In addition, I will consider opportunities that I can take advantage of and the threats that can possibly impede my progress.
It is true that most entrepreneurs typically have a flair for the creative and a lot of energy. They are born with it. But having these characteris...