Another opportunity that Weight Watchers has is expanding their business by forming an alliance with local gyms. This alliance could aide Weight Watchers by providing clients with a membership to gyms that are close to them and providing a place to exercise. The gyms would benefit from revenues generated from one million Weight Watchers members, and the members would benefit by having access to personal trainers, exercise equipment, and nutritional products. This opportunity could help fill the gap between the lessons learned from Weight Watcher’s point system and a place to practice those lessons. Additionally, members could take advantage of learning how to correctly exercise to avoid injury, learning proper form, technique, and limitations. By combining these essential elements to a healthy weight loss program, the clients would have a higher success rate at not only losing the weight but also learning how to maintain their weight once it is gone. Lastly, threats to the company are changing buyer tastes, needs, and demographic changes that adversely affect the business. Everyone who wants to lose weight wants it quick and easy but Weight Watchers motto of teaching people to choose more healthy choices is not a fast process. With all the free apps online posing the threat of growing bargaining power of customers and suppliers (Abraham, 2012), it is easy to track your calorie intake. Many of Weight Watchers competitors take the guess work out of calorie counting by
Weight Watchers has been around for almost fifty years and has seen some success in helping people lose weight. The need to revamp their entire program does show signs that perhaps this program was not showing the ability to keep participants maintaining the weight loss on the long-term scale as that they promise. A complete Weight Watchers Points Plus review shows that the program does show some great improvement from their older version.
An Analysis of the U.S. Health Club Industry in 2004 and the Role of Bally Total Fitness
Weight Watchers is an excellent program to aid in weight loss and healthy eating. It is an easy, healthy, and effective method for losing weight and eating correctly. Weight Watchers has based their program on a point system, making it easy to follow by counting points assigned to foods. It promotes healthy eating habits by regulating serving sizes, which are set by the United States Department of Agriculture. In addition to promoting healthy eating habits, it offers support for people who might need it. The support, along with the eating plan, helps dieters lose weight and eat healthy.
Purchasing decisions made by customers regarding weight management is biased and can easily be affected by many different things. Weight Watchers’ competition is anything that is perceived to be more effective or a more favorable weight management system. This industry is contingent on the customer demands, based on the popular appeal of the latest and greatest programs.
Weight Watchers is facing the issue of increased competition and cost concerns with a large majority of the population impacted in some fashion by the economic downturn. In addition they have to overcome the stigma of being viewed as the
The fitness industry is one that is rarely thought of as an electronic industry. However, in recent years, more and more fitness related smartphone applications including workout planners, calorie counters, support forums, and many more fitness centered resources have become available to the public. This big move from time sensitive face-to-face fitness instruction to convenient face-to-screen instruction has changed the way that the fitness industry operates. With the rising rollout of fitness apps geared toward the convenience of the user, fitness instructors, personal trainers, and the like have had to go to extreme measures in order to keep up with the rapidly changing digital fitness environment. This paper will outline the evolution of the fitness industry to illustrate its move from an entirely brick and mortar operation to a largely electronic industry. This paper will also discuss the reasons behind the switch and the pros and cons associated with each way of getting fit.
The final solution would be to create free fitness programs in local counties. The programs would include free nutrition classes, workout classes, and childcare. The counties would use money raised by local businesses to support the program. Although the lack of physical activity and poor eating habits impact regional health (Borak 153). The programs would counter act this problem. The classes and childcare will be ran by volunteers to keep the cost at a minimum. Although some would not want to just get off the couch because it is free; others would jump at the chance to be healthy. There can be prizes also donated by local businesses as an incentive. It would be a program for the whole family.
According to the 2007 research study by CSP, many men and women alike had failed to reach or maintain their weight-loss goals. Metabical had an answer for that: a support program that complemented the pill. The goal of the program was to give better results than what the pill alone could give. The support program gives CSP a significant advantage of their competitors in the market place because it would significantly enhance Metabicals’ users abilities to reach and maintain their weight-loss goals. Metabical users would have access to online weight-control tools (calorie counters, etc), meal plans and exercise plans. There would even be a community forum where members could get personal support from other members. Physicians agree that many patients need help losing weight. One healthcare provider said, “I am impressed with the tools and customized action plans provided in the proposed support program[5].”
The rise of health concerns continues to proliferate throughout the country from increasing obesity rates to the astonishing number of our population with high blood pressure or diabetes. It’s enough to make anyone want to second-guess everything they eat and put in into their bodies. We ask our doctor’s, and ourselves “what can be done?” Eat right, and exercise. Those are the parameters for maintaining a healthy life. So it’s only natural that across the board we’ve got numerous exercise programs to help you lose weight fast or build lean muscle. Then we’ve got every diet under the sun, the no carb diet, high protein diet and all juice diets. Through research we can find and utilize programs and healthy habits that we can practice
Weight Watchers has faced a number of issues in the past several years, many of which are highlighted in the case study for this assignment. The company was able to reach a financial high point earlier this decade in 2011 when it recorded a record breaking 1.8 billion in revenues. However, the company’s finances have slowly dwindled ever since then, culminating in losses for seven straight quarters and low stock prices at the beginning of 2015. The core of the problems it was facing were relatively straightforward. The weight loss industry was changing, and Weight Watchers was having difficult changing along with it. Specifically, the company had troubles modernizing its business model to account for the digital age as represented by increasing online options for weight loss. This fact was compounded by the reality that there was greater competition, including that from organizations whose primary business was to capitalize on digital technology to attract customers. Technologies such as mobile devices, mobile applications, cloud computing, and social media had made considerable strides in the way that people were monitoring and attempting to lose weight. Weight Watchers, however, had had only marginal success using these technologies, and faced the undesirable situation in which its methods were becoming rapidly outdated.
According to Alyssa Brown, “51% of adults want to lose weight, [but] barely half as many (25%) say they are seriously working towards that goal. This discrepancy between Americans’ weight-loss desires and behaviors has existed for years”(Brown). According to society, the definition of a healthy person is someone who exercises often and eats healthy foods. Even though people want to be healthy, becoming healthy is a hard task. Surely it is much easier to lay around at home and eat chips than to work out at the gym. Maybe this is why obesity rates are on the rise. A medical study estimates that “75% of the U.S. population will be classified as overweight or obese or obese by the year 2020” (NewsMax). People wonder, what is the solution to this
This means that Heinz is not willing to invest in any other type of market, no matter how promising the rewards. Cutting the Weight Watcher's segment as part of this commitment may have been a bad mistake as the trend of losing weight is becoming more popular everyday. Their international operations make them susceptible to the strengthening U.S. dollar.
Everywhere you look on social media there are fitness models, celebrity trainers, athletic apparel companies, healthy cooking sites, and fitness entrepreneurs. Americans are finally becoming aware of the obesity problem and taking steps to change it. Indiana was ranked as “the 15th highest adult obesity rate in the nation, per The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America released September 2016 (The State of Obesity in Indiana, 2016).” This is the opportune time to own a business in the fitness industry. Not only are you promoting a healthy lifestyle, you’re also creating new opportunities in a much needed and growing
In the vending machines all sorts of dried nuts and fruits can be found. For those employees who would like to lose weight, the company offers to pay the membership fee for the gym. With these type of helpful gestures employees will certainly stay healthy. “Companies are expected to spend an estimated $7,720 per employee this estimate is up from the $7,211 a few years ago according to NBGH. With health-care costs expected to continue to rise and cash-strapped employees less able to shoulder more premium increases, employers face a dilemma.”(Marshall P.53)
Many Americans struggle with difficulties of weight loss, not only losing the weight but keeping it off. Different methods are used for losing weight, such as, exercise, various types of dieting and some medically needed procedures. Even though weight loss is vital to many people’s careers and futures, it doesn’t mean that it’s easier for these people than it is for you and me. The difference is that most people have a state of mind that they can’t afford to fail. So they are willing to pay thousands