2011, a year of innovation; 2012, a year to embrace new challenges

We interviewed Nerio Alessandri, president and founder of Technogym, to review the successes of 2011, talk about trends in the Wellness industry and look forward to 2012, which promises to be a challenging year.

What was your most significant professional achievement in 2011?

Visioweb launch - the first integrated display which is available on all Technogym cardiovascular products and offers internet, TV and iPhone connection during workouts. Visioweb represents a revolution for the club business model both in terms of new client attraction and retention.

Thanks to Visioweb, no one has excuses for skipping physical exercise and for not joining a club. On the other hand, clubs are now able to offer a higher perceived value experience to existing customers through Visioweb.

What surprised you this year?

In 1998 when everybody in the market was still talking about fitness, CBI magazine dedicated a cover story on me titled “Nerio Alessandri, The Wellness Champion – This man is betting in a new trend”.

Almost 10 years later in 2007, with great satisfaction, CBI revisited this topic with a story titled “Winning with Wellness”. Today Wellness has become a global trend. After years of commitment in raising awareness on wellness as a social opportunity to build a better world, the most important organizations at a global level are finally coming to our side and sharing our beliefs: physical activity and prevention represent the only way to create a sustainable society based on people’s health.

In 2011, I was invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos to sit on the board of the Worldwide Wellness Alliance, a program promoted by 36 world class companies (Coca Cola, Uniliver, Johnson & Johnson, just to name a few) to promote workplace wellness. I was also invited in September to the UN within the Annual Head of State session who organized a Forum on non communicable disease prevention.

Which of Technogym’s new products would you like to boost more in 2012?

In 2011 we launched the Kinesis Stations Line, a very innovative functional training product line for gym users willing to approach the Kinesis discipline in an easy, comfortable and intuitive way. Kinesis Stations are the result of the best combination between the stability offered by a seated exercise station and the movement versatility offered by free cables.
Kinesis, patented by Technogym, is a totally new functional training discipline that simultaneously trains strength, core balance and flexibility as a result of a complete product line that caters to personal training, group training and individual gym floor training.

What is your goal for 2012?

2012 will represent a milestone in Technogym history. Within the same year, the company will have two once-in-a-lifetime opportunities: we will be Official Supplier of the London 2012 Olympics and we will inaugurate the Technogym Village, the first wellness campus in the world. This will include the Technogym Headquarters, Research Center, Manufacturing and a destination venue open to all those willing to learn more about wellness.

My goal is to fully capitalize on these great opportunities by creating value for our customers in terms of innovative products, content, marketing opportunities and branding.

What is the most pressing issue right now for you and your business?

Helping our customers to increase revenue.

Innovation in terms of products, design, programs and content have always been fundamental to Technogym’s growth. As a forward thinking organization, it is very important that we focus on the final result and the outcomes of our innovations. This is why I share with my team the “obsession” of helping our customers to reach their full potential and maximize their profits as top priorities within the creative process every day.

How would you like 2012 to be different?

I am positive and I do not like to complain. I am working every day with my team within the company and in the international markets to give my contribution. I believe this is the best way to invest in a better future

How do you think the fitness industry performed in 2011?

I believe this is our time! The request for health and wellness is growing very fast worldwide and I believe 2011 has been a great year for the industry: all the leading players including both manufacturers and club operators have experienced interesting growths in their business.

What is ahead for 2012?

Even if the international financial situation has shown in the final month of 2011 some incertitude signals, I believe fitness and wellness operators should bear in mind that, consumer wise, wellness is an emerging trend: this is still a huge potential to be developed and unexplored opportunities to take advantage of.

If you had your way, how would the industry change in the next five years?

Technogym has always invested in the industry growth through innovation, training and communication. The price battle we have been experiencing in the last years, including dumping in some cases, is killing the club industry.

To support the growth of our industry in the long term, I believe that suppliers and operators will need to invest together in innovation and communication to enlarge the consumer base to ensure that the industry sees continuous growth.

In this respect, operators when investing in products and technologies for their club businesses, should carefully analyze the investment total cost of ownership in a long term perspective and not only focus on the purchase price. The total cost of ownership of the project represents the real value in terms of reliability, quality, buy back value and business model.