Pages

EuropeActive Releases European Health and Fitness Market Report

EuropeActive Releases European Health and Fitness Market Report images: EHFA 

EuropeActive, formerly known as the European Health & Fitness Association, has released the 2013 European Health and Fitness Market Report.

The European Health & Fitness Market – Report as of 31.12.2013, released by the independent not-for-profit organisation EuropeActive and the consulting company Deloitte, was published yesterday and can be ordered at EHFA.eu.com.

The report covers the current trends in the health and fitness market in Europe, using information collected from detailed research to provide a comprehensive picture of the current state of the market. The report looks at the health and fitness industry from various angles, including leading players, overview of the fitness equipment industry, top markets, mergers and acquisitions, and key facts on sports and physical activity across Europe.

The EHFA/Deloitte report reveals that Europe’s largest fitness club operators have chalked continued growth and that their expansion had significant support from investment companies. The number of health and fitness club memberships in European countries has increased to a total of 46 million members. The top 20 fitness companies held 17 percent of the estimated total membership, amounting to 7.8 million members, at the end of last year, and growth was strongly driven by low-cost fitness operators promoting the concept of affordable fitness. These include companies like Basic-Fit, Fit For free, and Pure Gym.

The leading operator by total revenue is the UK-based Virgin Active, followed by David Lloyd Leisure, Health & Fitness Nordic, and the German operator McFIT.

McFIT, whose members pay only €19.90 a month for membership, is the market leader by members, with 1,204 million customers in almost 200 clubs in Germany, Austria, and Spain. McFIT is followed by HealthCity/Basic-Fit, Virgin Active, and Health & Fitness Nordic.

ehfa report

The report also shows that the seven leading European fitness equipment manufacturers have almost 50 percent of the market share. These are Icon Health & Fitness (12%), Life Fitness (12%), Technogym (8%), Johnson Health Tech (8%), Precor (6%), Nautilus (6%), and Cybex (2%).

The European Health & Fitness Market report also reveals that sports participation in health and fitness centres across Europe has increased from 2009 to 2013. The number of people playing sports regularly at fitness centres went from 11 to 15 percent, while the number of people with memberships at health and fitness centres increased from 9 percent in 2009 to 11 percent in 2013. The highest participation is Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK, and Austria.

Niels Gronau, industry expert at Deloitte and author of the report, predicts, "In 2013, the ten leading fitness companies in Europe had total revenues of EUR 2.8 billion and operators needed revenues of at least EUR 150 million to be part of the top 10. Given the current developments, it is very likely that the aggregated revenues will grow to over EUR 3 billion already in 2014. Moreover, particularly driven by the commitments of investment companies, discount operators will extend their presence in the top 10 in the near future."

Herman Rutgers, EuropeActive board member and co-author of the report, is optimistic about the future of the industry. "At the end of 2013, a total of 46 million members exercise in one of the 46,500 clubs throughout Europe,” he says. “We are very confident that this number will increase further in the future. Until 2025 we are aiming to achieve a total of 80 million members with our plan for getting Europe more active."

 

Online Enquiry