Fitness lifestyle

From the outside, there’s nothing about the building along Wilson St. in San Juan that identifies it as a fitness club except the name, Clark Hatch.

"We have been in the Philippines for 14 years. We were the first to put up a club in a hotel, " said Clark Hatch International Sdn Bhd. president Randy Bozeman.

The Malaysia-based company has 60 clubs in the Asia-Pacific region, two of them in the United States. In the Philippines, Clark Hatch has six clubs, three of which are based in key provincial cities like Cagayan de Oro. Of the three based in Metro Manila, two are located in hotels.

"Ninety percent of the fitness business in the country still comes from hotel-based clubs. There is, however, a growing trend to locate near residential communities. For example, our club along Wilson St., Clark Hatch Center, Inc., serves the Greenhills community," said Bozeman.

For purposes of control, Clark Hatch is the majority stakeholder in most of its clubs in the region. The Philippines, where it holds a maximum 40% equity in local corporations involving different shareholders, is one of the few exceptions. Aside from equity, the company also has management contracts with three of the clubs operating in the country.

Lifestyle

The Wilson St. club is owned and operated by Clark Hatch Fitness Center, Inc., which is 60% owned by a group of Filipinos.

"For many of our members, fitness has become a way of life. They are serious about working out," said Clark Hatch Fitness Center shareholder Kenneth Ti. "We are not sales-driven; we are customer-driven. We keep our customers happy by giving them what they want. For example, they want to work out in private, not to entertain passers-by looking through floor-to-ceiling windows. They want customized work-out programs supervised by qualified trainors. We have a good ratio of one trainor for every 20 members, which is almost like having a personal trainor."

Clark Hatch members are generally older and predominantly male although there is a current effort to attract younger and female members through trendy group work-out programs such as kick-boxing and the setting up of separate spas, branded LifeSpa, for both men and women.

To date, the club has a customer retention rate of 80%, higher than the industry average of 70%, largely due to a combination of superior service and regular upgrading of equipment.

"Many of our staff have been with us from the beginning. Our corporate culture nurtures the staff because they create stability," said Ti.

Upgrading

By design, Clark Hatch clubs tend to be smaller than competitors although the constant need to provide more and better equipment have somewhat crowded the available floor areas.

In the case of Clark Hatch Fitness Center, the company instantly grabbed the opportunity to lease the ground floor when the lease contract of a commercial bank expired. As a result, cardiovascular training equipment such as treadmills have been moved from the second floor to the ground floor. Weights training is done on the second floor while the spas are located on the third and fourth floors.

"When we started out, we were way above the crowd but we have been quiet for a long time," said Bozeman, who became president only in 2000. "Our goal is to be number one in terms of programs and services We have been upgrading our equipment and facility."

The market potential for fitness clubs remain very attractive. Unlike the United States, where 20% of the total population work out, the Philippines currently has a market base of less than 5%.