Les Mills has launched a suite of digital solutions to help clubs future-proof by expanding their reach in the booming online fitness space while complementing their live offerings.
The group fitness expert is rolling out new products to support clubs with driving new revenue by meeting growing consumer demand for a ‘blended’ fitness offering. This combines the best of digital and live fitness to produce a connected solution enabling members to work out however they choose.
The culmination of two years of development work, Les Mills has accelerated the product launch to help clubs embark on a post-lockdown phase of growth. This follows the recovery support provided to clubs through lockdown in the form of free 60-day access to LES MILLS On Demand for members, temporary livestream solutions, a host of club recovery assets and Instructor support.
The newly-launched digital solutions include:
- Enhanced livestream workouts – Clubs offering live Les Mills workouts can now deliver the latest versions of many of the world-famous classes to their members via livestream. Clubs can livestream using whichever platform they prefer, provided the necessary music licenses are in place with their local performing rights societies.
- App workout content – Clubs can bring the world’s best workouts into their own member app without the need for CapEx and mass content creation. Spanning various Les Mills programs, clubs host the content via their own branded ecosystem and set the price members pay them for access.
- LES MILLS On Demand Affiliate Program – Clubs can support their members’ entire fitness journey by providing home workouts via LES MILLS On Demand and receiving a share of the revenue for each sign-up. Members have access to the full LMOD ecosystem, including Les Mills workouts, training programs and community support.
- Online training – Les Mills Instructor training and Group Fitness Management (GFM) training have now been digitized, making it easier than ever for clubs to upskill their teams and improve their business with world-class training.
Les Mills Europe CEO Martin Franklin said: “The who, what, why, where, and how of delivering exercise have been changing for the past few years and this has been rapidly accelerated by COVID-19.
“We’re now entering a new age of fitness, where clubs are uniquely placed to meet growing consumer demand for a blend between online and offline fitness services.
“With health and fitness now a top-tier priority for people of all ages, there are huge opportunities for club growth through a connected member experience. Live fitness remains the pinnacle, and a key differentiator for clubs, while online offerings can help clubs expand their reach and break down barriers to fitness for people you might not typically see in the gym.”
The updated offering comes as COVID-19 accelerates the nascent growth of consumer appetite for digital workout options. The 2019 Global Consumer Fitness Survey showed that before COVID-19, 85 percent of gym members were already exercising at home as well.
With global club membership numbers enjoying a decade of year-on-year growth from 2009-2019, the findings indicated that smart use of digital fitness platforms was helping to grow the fitness market and reach new audiences, rather than cannibalize existing members.
Having provided a number of digital services to support clubs and Instructors during lockdown, Les Mills is now working with club partners, including Nuffield Health, Bannatyne’s and Everyone Active, to accelerate their business.
For Everyone Active, this meant supporting the 190-site operator to create a digital fitness platform to transform its member offering, bringing additional revenue and long-term retention benefits.
Duncan Jefford, Regional Director for Everyone Active, says: “We don’t want anyone to have to make the choice between the gym and their favourite on-demand session, so that’s why we’ve launched our digital fitness platform Everyone On Demand to give our members the ultimate flexibility when it comes to how and where to train.
“It’s the most comprehensive on-demand collection offered by any operator and we’re delighted to have expert programming from Les Mills. LMOD is packed with workouts our members know and love from live classes at our centres, so it made total sense to bring LMOD into our own solution.”
“The combination of live, on-demand and livestream solutions we’ve received from Les Mills has played a big part in helping us to emerge from lockdown with an enhanced digital offering for our members and bright prospects for the future. Being flexible and open-minded to new ways to dovetail digital and physical fitness solutions will enable us to not only survive but thrive.”
For more information on the suite of digital solutions, visit: https://www.lesmills.com/uk/clubs-and-facilities/