Augie In Action! Augie In Action! - Ihrsa

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Equipment Sales
Strong in 2007
If equipment sales are any indication, the fitness
industry enjoyed a very good year last year.
Recently released fourth-quarter and full-year
reports for three major manufacturers were
peppered with superlatives:
The Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC) had 4Q sales
of $1.44 billion, beating analysts’ predictions of
$1.31 billion, with the strong performance attributed,
in part, to the company’s fitness division, which
includes Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, and
Parabody. “Life Fitness capped off a very successful
year with solid growth in both sales and operating
earnings during the fourth quarter of 2007, seasonally
the unit’s strongest quarter of the year,” notes
Dustan E. McCoy, Brunswick’s chairman and CEO.
For the quarter, the division had net sales of
$214.5 million (up 11% over the same period in
2006); operating earnings of $32.4 million (+12%);
and operating margins of 15.1% (up from 15%).
For the year, it had sales of $653.7 million (up
10% over ’06); operating earnings of $59.7 million
(+3%); and operating margins of 9.1% (down
from 9.7%).
Precor, Inc., the fitness-equipment subsidiary of
the Amer Sports Corp., a Finland-based conglomerate,
reported that it had booked its sixth consecutive
year of record-setting gross revenues, with a 17%
increase in sales, taking it to $411 million in ’07.
That followed a 12% increase in ’06. The company
has produced increases every year since 2000,
resulting in a total increase, between ’00 and ’07,
of 240%. “Successive year-upon-year revenue gains
are an indication that we’re focused on the right
things,” observes Paul Byrne, Precor’s president,
“and reflect the momentum we’re building globally.”
Matrix Fitness Systems, the Cottage Grove,
Wisconsin-based manufacturer, announced dramatic
increases both for its fourth quarter and full
year. For the quarter, it registered a 120% increase
in domestic sales and a 62% increase in worldwide
sales; for the year, domestic sales were up 102%
and worldwide sales, by 58%. —|
Life Fitness’
95T Engage
36 Club Business International | MARCH 2008 | www.ihrsa.org
FitLinxx Cofounder Joins GlobalFit
Andy Greenberg, the cofounder of
FitLinxx, was recently appointed to the
position of senior vice president for
sales and marketing at GlobalFit, a leading
U.S. provider of healthy living benefits. One
of two cofounders of FitLinxx, he served the
company for 15 years in a variety of roles—
from engineering, to prototyping, to business
Greenberg
development. During that time, more than
700 facilities adopted FitLinxx’s coaching and
tracking technology to improve their members’ experience.
In his new capacity, Greenberg will be a key contributor to the
development of a collaborative initiative involving FitLinxx and GlobalFit:
an innovative new wellness product called Destination: You.
“We’ve been working with Andy for many months, and we’re very
excited to have him contributing to GlobalFit’s continued growth,
particularly as it pertains to our collaboration with FitLinxx,” notes
Frank Napolitano, the president and CEO of GlobalFit.
To create Destination: You, GlobalFit incorporated FitLinxx’s Fitsense
accelerometer technology into its proprietary motivational software,
allowing users to track—and increase—their daily activity rates.
Greenberg describes the new product as “a simple and convenient
program with broad appeal for customers who, traditionally, have been
underserved by our industry.” —|
Alexander Club Chain
Owner Indicted
Candy Tang confronts serious charges,
possible consequences
> In mid-January, Candy Tang, the chairwoman of the Alexander
Club chain, based in Taiwan, was indicted on charges of fraud and
breach of trust, and the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office has indicated that
she and her sister, Tang Shin-ju, could conceivably receive prison
sentences of more than five years.
The prosecution claims that Tang, the founder and owner of the
30-club chain, ordered a company-wide membership-recruitment
drive last August, even though she was aware that the business
would soon cease operating. The company, which Tang has been
running for more than 20 years, abruptly closed the doors of
all its clubs in early December, without giving prior notice to
members. Prosecutors also allege that the Tangs intended to
pocket the $7.6 million in contract fees produced by the sale of
8,900 new memberships.
During a press conference in January, Tang told reporters that the
Alexander Group had been losing money every month for two years
and that she’d been swindled out of approximately $3 million by a
business associate. Just before closing, the company’s monthly revenues
had plummeted from approximately $7.8 million to $2.5 million.
At press time, no trial date had yet been set. —|