Gold's Gym Swot Analysis

Strengths Endorsed by celebrities- Gold’s gym enjoys several celebrity endorsements such as Dwayne Johnson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. This means that any followers of these celebrities will immediately see Gold’s gym as the only option for a gym membership.

In addition, the endorsements act as publicity that simply draws attention to the gym which will encourage prospective members to look into the gym and its equipment. Established in American culture- Gold’s gym embodies the American dream due to its nature of being a small start up business conceived by the mind of American Marine Joe Gold. Gold’s opened its doors at Venice Beach to cater to the small and outcast subculture of Bodybuilders. In addition to all this, it Featured in the American docudrama “Pumping iron”, establishing Gold’s as “the Mecca”( “About Gold’s Gym”) of bodybuilding. After it rose to prominence, Gold’s began to host many well known American actors which further ingrained it in American culture. Numerous locations- Ever since Gold’s began franchising itself, it has opened up hundreds of locations all over the world including “Russia, India, Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Spain, Poland, Venezuela, Mongolia and the Philippines.” (“Gold’s Gym International, Inc. is an American chain”).

This has expanded the market that Gold’s exists in and has opened the door to thousands of members and allowed Gold’s to put their foot in the door of every one of the aforementioned countries, paving the way for future locations. Numerous supporting services- Gold’s offers more than just dumbbells and squat racks to its customers. Members can take advantage of several other services that range from smoothies to t-shirts. To see the effectiveness of offering such services, one need look no further than Gold’s own history, “The logo of a bald brooding lifter, caught Sprague’s attention, who instantly began putting them on Gold’s Gym T-shirts... The strategy paid off too. At one point Sprague was selling t-shirts faster than he could mail them out” (Heffernan, 2015). Weaknesses Involved in many scandals- Over the years, Gold’s gym has been involved in many scandals that have damaged the trust that Gold’s has with its members and prospective members. One such case occurred in 2006 when Gold’s attempted to change a contract that had been signed seven years prior.

The most recent case occurred in 2017 in a class action suit filed for fraudulent misrepresentation. Daunting to newcomers- To see why Gold’s might be intimidating to newcomers, one must look back at the type of consumer that Gold’s was originally intended for, bodybuilders. Seeing a room full of muscle bound men may scare off newcomers who feel self conscious that they are not at the same level of performance as some of the older members. This has the potential to limit the growth of the business. Big chain gym- Gold’s gym is seen as a big chain gym and as such can easily be seen as an impersonal entity. This may distance some prospective members who would much rather have a local gym that makes them feel welcome and like someone close to the employees rather than just another member. High employee turnover- A look into employee satisfaction revealed that it is rather low. This may be due to several factors such as low pay, getting paid off commission, and poor management. Some perks were listed such as getting a free membership after working for Gold’s for a set amount of time, but the pros did not seem to outweigh the cons in the eyes of the employees, which results in many employees leaving the company. This leads to time and resources being spent frequently in order to train new staff members. Opportunities Growing fitness movement- In recent years, there has been an increase in the public’s interest in fitness. When Gold’s was founded, it was one of the first health and fitness businesses and catered to a niche market that found fitness and aesthetical fitness to be very important. Nowadays, there are Instagram models showing their workouts who have thousands of followers, and it’s quite common for the average American to spend an hour or two at the gym.

Advances in equipment - When Gold’s was founded, Joe Gold was making his own equipment to meet his needs. In today’s modern world, there are thousands of companies developing gym equipment. A shift in the materials used in manufacturing has increased the longevity of nearly every piece of gym equipment. In tandem with changes in materials, new technology has been introduced into weight machines allowing connectivity with smartphones and the internet. Having new equipment with unique features could possibly be a selling point. Gyms are becoming a social space- Possibly due to the growing fitness movement, gyms are becoming a place to meet and make new friends. The advent of group classes has made it easier to connect with other people trying to get fit in fun new ways such as Zumba or CrossFit classes.

It has also become a point of pride to be seen going to the gym and many people use social media to display their loyalty to a workout routine by posting videos of them or their friends at the gym. Offering classes such as these could possibly attract these gym socialites. 24 hour gyms are becoming popular- To meet growing demands for more time in the gym, many fitness clubs have begun to keep their doors open all the time. This allows access to a pool of people, such as nurses or people who work nights, that otherwise would not see Gold’s as a viable option. Threats Lots of competitors- Due to the recent increase in attention that the fitness movement has gotten, competitors have sought to tap into the market in order to make money. This has led to new chains opening up such as 24 hour fitness, crunch, and planet fitness, not to mention local gyms. Each of these gyms will be competing with Gold’s for members and can potentially cost the company thousands of dollars. Alternatives to a gym- With easy access to the internet, there is a wealth of information available to people on how to get fit without the use of a fitness club. Bodyweight exercises are very common as well as outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. There are other clubs that people can join to stay active as well such as running clubs, or intracity sports teams.

Dissatisfied members - With Gold’s being notorious for its scandals and not every member being completely satisfied with its service, Gold’s can suffer from bad publicity that can take many forms. Many consumers look to reviews on the internet for guidance when purchasing a good or service. Sadly, not every satisfied member posts about their good experience, but many irate individuals see a negative review as a way to get back at a company. This can lead to decreased sales because of the bad reputation that Gold’s can garner.

Rise of media streaming - TV shows are becoming more popular and when coupled with streaming, consumers have easy access to them. With companies like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon all entering the media streaming arena, consumers have many different options to choose from which can pose a question to consumers as to whether or not they want to go to the gym or stay in and watch their favorite TV show. Gold’s might be the answer to that question every time which can lead to a disinterest in joining a fitness club which is not conducive to signing up new members.