Virgin Active’s digital exercise pays off
Gym group says it is back on track after lockdown woes
● When Virgin Active was forced to close its doors when hard lockdown kicked in it sweated to survive. But with the rapid development of its digital offering, the group says it is now on the road to financial recovery.
Within two weeks of level 5 lockdown, the health club chain implemented its fiveyear digital strategy to supply online services to its members.
Nikki Cockcroft, chief marketing and technology officer for Virgin Active, said this week: “It will never be what it’s been before, but that’s for the better”.
Cockcroft was referring to the group’s digital strategy, which includes placing videos, exercise and nutrition plans and information about being healthy on every possible channel — including everything from its website to Showmax.
Despite the financial setback “our goal was to maintain brand presence and keep people active”, she said.
The company took a massive financial hit, with no revenue for five months — all of its 760,000 members’ debit orders were frozen until August 24.
Memberships linked to Discovery Vitality and Momentum also came to a halt, while revenue generated from renting space to personal trainers dried up.
The group recently offered existing members, who are not yet comfortable returning to the facilities, an option to freeze their memberships until the end of October.
The cost of membership ranges from R300 to R2,490 amonth, depending on what type of clubs you want access to and what time of day you want to exercise.
Cockcroft said Virgin Active used to compete for members’ time, whether it was because of commuting or social engagements, but that this now extends to parents working from home, with the additional pressures of home schooling.
“When it comes to the couch or the gym, the couch always wins.”
She said convenience is a huge issue and the group realised that to retain its members and grow its membership base — which is typically aged 36-45, it needed to acknowledge that regular gym visits are no longer possible.
But by providing online exercise services, she expects the group to attract younger members who are either nervous about committing to a contract or who prefer receiving classes on their devices.
The digital offering, called Virgin Active Coach, provides live classes during the week as well as 350 on-demand workouts that members can access on any device.
Yoga, pilates and boxing are popular, and the addition of meditation classes has gained significant traction, Cockcroft said. “Many people are battling with their mental health.”
Virgin Active Coach is free to all current gym members, but non-members can buy the entry-level package for R89 and the Online Plus package, which offers videos and workouts and one gym visit per month, for R300. About 400,000 of Virgin Active’s 760,000 members are using the online platform every day, Cockcroft said.
All of the group’s clubs in SA are now open and revenue is slowly recovering, she added.
When the clubs reopened, only 50 members were permitted to train at a time, but they can now operate at 50% capacity.
Cockcroft said the clubs’ floor plans have been changed, with equipment placed further apart. Masks are mandatory, but those engaging in vigorous exercise can remove them.
She said fresh air is circulated through the clubs every 9-12 minutes and the gyms are deep-cleaned every four hours. Children’s facilities have not yet been reopened.
Cockcroft says they have seen their membership base split into three parts.
The first are back in training, the second prefer online training and trickle into the clubs, and the third are nervous or have lost their motivation to exercise.
When it comes to the couch or the gym, the couch always wins
Nikki Cockcroft
Chief marketing and technology officer for Virgin Active