BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Fitness First Health Club



Fitness First health club

Company Profile

Fitness First is the world's largest privately owned global network of health clubs and has more than 430 established outlets in 11 countries. The business has a massive global clientele with more than 1.2 million members in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, India and Indonesia. Moreover, it has a strong presence in the many countries in the Middle East. This paper serves to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the business in order to identify the leading factors that play an integral role in its continued success in specific regional markets and that pose challenges for the business.

PESTEL Analysis

This analysis serves to highlight the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal aspects that affect Fitness First. The primary purpose and significance of carrying out a comprehensive PESTEL analysis is to provide the business with a strong framework that aids it in setting the stage for the development of specific tactics that mitigate imminent risks that prevail in unfamiliar regions (Craig & Campbell, 2005, p. 501). Due to its expansive operations in a highly diverse and variegated global market, Fitness First has a high exposure to various political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal threats that are specific to certain countries and regions. This PESTEL analysis serves to help the business determine the risks it courts and the potential opportunities that it enjoys in certain global markets as a result of global expansion.

Political

It has been observed through past trends that the total membership volume of Fitness First is somewhat subjective to government policies and regulations. This is especially the case in the Asian sub-continent where the introduction of certain policies by the governments of India, Thailand and Philippines has had an adverse effect on the market share that the business enjoys in the region. As a result, it is clear that the business demonstrates a high susceptibility to government policies. However, governments of European and Asian countries have repeatedly stressed upon the need to adopt healthy eating habits and promoted nutritious-enriched diet. This is an indicator that a greater number of people from these countries will seek the help of a fitness club to maintain the ideal fitness level.

Economic

From an economic point of view, factors such as wage rates and prices of utilities will certainly influence various aspects of the business. For instance, major businesses have gone bankrupt as a consequence of economic recession and workers have been at the receiving end of cost-cutting measures and policies enforced by surviving businesses (Farago, 2002, p. 85). As a result, with a significant reduction in income and wage rates, potential customers of countries in Europe and Asia have become highly price sensitive and are increasingly prudent in how they spend their disposable income. This phenomenon has had an adverse effect on the influx of new members to Fitness First. Moreover, inflation and prevailing market uncertainty has also caused a major rise in the operation costs of Fitness ...