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15 November 2022

As the balloon bursts, have suppliers been too greedy?

The last few years have certainly been a rollercoaster for the Fitness Industry and, as we enter another dip, businesses find themselves once more having to make difficult decisions.

With the economy undoubtedly being the major contributory factor, has supplier greed compounded the situation in which they now find themselves?

If you ask any business owner in any sector it is very hard to find a single one who says they're having "a good time" right now. As foreseen some time back, the "perfect storm" of economic and societal challenges are now starting to hit. Certainly, many in the fitness industry are starting to see membership cancellations and failed payments rise.

The news is awash with big brand names making considerable cuts to projections, facilities, personnel, products & services. Those are just the ones that have been announced publicly. Behind the scenes there is even more slashing and cost-cutting.  Many of the recently acquired businesses in the industry are struggling to justify the enormous valuation put upon them - and any chance of a favourable return in the foreseeable future seems virtually zero.

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of fitness software vendors getting more directly involved in the processing of membership payments. For them, this has proven very lucrative and it is a model that has had investors and shareholders salivating.

Now, as fitness facilities start to 'feel the pinch', they are beginning to scrutinise every penny that they are spending - and many are concluding that extraneous (and sometimes exorbitant) "transaction fees" are more than they are willing to bear on top of the base monthly charges.

At Quoox we are seeing a trend that, for customers migrating from existing systems, transaction fees are increasingly a factor in their decision making. Upon further exploration most then start to realise that, not only do they save money on transaction fees by switching to Quoox Ultimate, but that they have greater control; can typically reduce staff overheads; and can often provide a better service to their members.

It is standard business practice (and not unreasonable) to levy a charge for processing services. However, some of these fees have become higher than might be fairly justified. The current squeeze being felt by the industry is beginning to bring these into focus. It is not a practice likely to change in the short term because, for many gym owners, the thought of changing business system is not something to be relished. Many vendors take advantage of their "captive audience".

Quoox is designed to provide all of the key functions required to effectively manage a modern small group training gym, all in one place.  As such, Quoox Ultimate customers often find that they can replace as many as 8-10 disparate systems. Not only does this save them money, but also provides much greater insight into their business; increases efficiencies; and often allows gyms to provide their members an improved level of service.

If you are interested in learning more about how you could save money and deliver more with Quoox Ultimate, please book a call.

Written by Chris Windram.

QUOOX

Quoox provides the system, resources, and practical advice & support that gym owners need to operate a profitable, "high ticket" membership, small-group training gym. Discover the ultimate "SGPT toolkit".
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