Samenvatting

Sportclub Exercise is a Sportclub in Voorburg, The Netherlands. Exercise has one location and about 1,500 active members. Exercise is a high-end gym competing with several other high-end gyms in Voorburg and its surrounding area. Aside from subscriptions for fitness and group lessons, Exercise also offers wellness facilities, a nutrition coach, personal training programmes, personal trainer services and several drinks and supplements at the bar. Members of Exercise vary from students to seniors, with the biggest group of members from 35 years and older.

This research is conducted on behalf of Exercises’ wish of raising secondary profits. Additionally Exercise also aims to offer the members something extra. Exercise is taking good care of its members and offers a lot of personal attention. The wishes of the members are a priority for Exercise, because they aim to offer something extra. The main question of this research is: “Which product/service expansion can improve the operating result for Sportclub Exercise?”. The key-objective of this report is to advise Exercise on the feasibility of a product/service expansion.

Methods of analysis conducted in this research are deskresearch and two fieldresearch methods. At the start of this research, deskresearch was performed to gather information on strategical choices for a product/service expansion. Several theories and models were reviewed and this resulted in a conceptual framework: the SPACE-matrix. Subsequently the SPACE-matrix was used to draw two hypothesis that later would be tested using fieldresearch. The main focus of the hypothesis was looking for a correlation between the Net Promoter Score and the interest for a product or service expansion.

After analysing product/service expansion theories, deskresearch was executed to look for product/service expansions done by gym’s around the world. Via email gym’s from America, Australia and The Netherlands were approached to share information about the expansions they offer members. Afterwards, the results of this deskresearch were used for fieldresearch among the members of Exercise. Exercise members were asked in what kind of expansion they were interested most. The members appeared to be most interested in Exercise branded supplements.

To test the feasibility of an Exercise supplement line, several subjects were explored. Firstly the market was analysed using deskresearch. The current trends, forecasts and threats in the supplement market were analysed. The supplement market has been growing for years and will continue to grow for at least five more years. Also private label supplements are making their introduction into the market, which would be a way for Exercise to start a supplement line. After analysing the market the suppliers and competitors were analysed. There are several private label supplement suppliers active. Triple Pharma turned out to be the most interesting supplier because of their wide range of products and high quality. There are a lot of competitors in the market. A great deal being big international companies with a big customer base and a wide rangeof products to choose from. Other competitors are several drugstores located in The Netherlands.

Subsequently to deskresearch two kinds of fieldresearch were performed to measure the interest and needs of the members. Firstly, two round table conversations were held to discover the needs and wishes of the members if an Exercise supplement line would be introduced. One of the conversations was held with members who use supplements and the other conversation was held with members who do not use supplements. After the round table conversations a questionnaire was conducted with the active members of Exercise. The questionnaire was used to collect data on customer profiles, general interest, specific supplement type interest, customer loyalty, distribution and willingness to pay.

The data results show that more than half of the members was interested in Exercise supplements. It was striking that a large part of vitamin-users also used minerals and a large part of the fitness supplements users also used sport supplements. Another compelling finding shows that more than half of the members would prefer buying Exercise supplements in the gym, while currently most of the members buy their supplements online. The results of the questionnaire also show that the members would be willing to pay more for good quality. Furthermore, the results show a high customer loyalty among the Exercise members. Lastly, the results show that a large part of the members were interested in advice on supplements.

After conducting fieldresearch another part of deskresearch was performed. This part of deskresearch focussed on finance and strategy. Firstly, costs and predicted turnover were drawn up. Three scenarios were used for this analysis. The turnovers were predicted using pessimistic, realistic and optimistic customer demands. In all of the three scenario’s the start of a supplementline would result in a profit for Exercise. Even if currently available supplements would be bought less, the new Exercise supplements would still have a positive effect on the operating result. Secondly, a strategy for Exercise was drawn up using the SPACE-matrix. All findings were used to fill the SPACE-matrix. The matrix resulted in a conservative strategy for Exercise. This strategy focusses on competitive advantages. Exercise has a competitive advantage on competitors because of high customer loyalty of Exercise members.

This research resulted in a positive feasibility for an Exercise supplement line. There is a high interest among the members and a supplementline has positive effect on the operating result of Exercise. The hypotheses’ tested were both accepted. A high Net Promoter Score correlated perfectly with the interest for a product/service expansion. Also the Net Promoter Score for Exercise was high and the interest in a product/service expansion was high among the members.

The final conclusion of this research resulted in a couple of recommendations. Firstly, Exercise is recommended to introduce an Exercise supplement line. They are adviced to start with three products members highly prefer, these products are protein powder, multivitamins and magnesium. Secondly, Exercise is recommended to invest in advice on supplements, which can be given in two ways. The personal trainers could take a briefing on supplements from a health coach, or a health coach could be hired for a few hours per week to advice members on supplements. Implementation shows that hiring a health coach for a few hours per week would be too expensive and would cause a deficit on the supplements.

Thirdly, Exercise is recommended to invest in both website and in-store selling. Doing so, none of the members will be excluded from the opportunity of buying the supplements. Additionally, Exercise is advised to promote the supplements via their communication channels. Exercise can also organize occasions for the members to test the supplements. This way the Exercise supplements can be introduced to members. Also a combination of products could be promoted, considering most vitamin users use minerals and most fitness supplement users use sport supplements. Finally, Exercise is recommended to keep on looking for expansions for their supplement selection. Not all of the members will be interested in the three supplements Exercise will start with, so by offering extra supplements more members can be approached for the supplements.