Despite increasing awareness of the benefits of healthy
eating and physical exercise, going to the gym in France is still a niche
activity that has yet to capture the mainstream.
France's
generous healthcare system, its cultural preference for outdoor sports and its
lack of affordable good-quality clubs are seen as reasons behind the country's
low rate of gymgoers, even relative to laid-back neighbors Spain or Italy.
"It
appears to me that more people are sitting in cafes smoking cigarettes and
drinking coffee than working out ... the French don't see fitness as a
lifestyle," says American-born fitness consultant Fred Hoffman, who has
lived in Paris for 21 years.
Only 5.4
percent of French people belonged to a health club in 2008, according to the
International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, compared with 9.5
percent for Italy, 11.9 percent for the United Kingdom and 16.6 percent for
Spain.
The
figure doesn't include France's numerous community fitness groups, or
"associations", which are entitled to government subsidies and tempt
many consumers with cheap prices despite their often unsophisticated
facilities.
Even
taking into account this potential numbers gap, mass-market chains Club Med Gym
and Fitness First say the $2 billion French market is a particularly tough
slog. Property and staff are costly while competition from other sports is
fierce.
"Football,
tennis and cycling, those are the top three activities of the French,"
says Nadege Gaillard, marketing director for Club Med Gym, a Paris-focused
brand that has not opened a single new club in nearly a decade. It is due to
open a new venue in Paris in 2011.
Although
rival Fitness First has had more luck opening clubs in and out of Paris, it is
feeling the heat from the growth of no-frills centers that are stealing
customers from pricier venues in a stagnating market.
"No
services, no staff, that's what's growing ... It's a lot simpler just to open a
shoebox and throw in some machines," says Michel Parada, who heads Fitness
First's French operations.
Working
out also has an image problem in France, where few celebrities seem keen to
publicly endorse the mucky business of sweating and straining on a cardio
machine.
Even the
sight of President Nicolas Sarkozy in running shoes jogging after his election
in 2007 proved too much for some.
"I
would rather see the president in his suit than in his sweat," said
philosopher Alain Finkielkraut at the time.
Consumers
seem to prefer the aesthetic appeal of creams and cosmetics that claim to have
slimming properties, according to Christophe Anandson of the IHRSA fitness club
association.
"The
credulity of the French isn't favoring the growth of the fitness market,"
he said.
For those
who can afford it, there is also designer gym "L'Usine," a chain of
three discreetly chic clubs in Paris and Geneva, which is said to boast singer
Lenny Kravitz and actress Melanie Laurent as clients.
L'Usine
co-founder Patrick Rizzo says the club's high prices, luxury layout and upscale
equipment serve a "niche" and manage to rise above the troubles of
the mass market in France.
But even
he thinks there is a limit to luxury gym growth in Paris and is eyeing possible
expansion in Italy or the US.
Some
industry figures believe the French market will have a brighter future once the
government does more to promote working out as a health measure that could
potentially save the healthcare system a lot of time and money.
Gyms
could also do more to respond to French consumer tastes, says consultant
Hoffman. He does not think low-cost gyms will be able to hold on to a broad
client base, as most French consumers are not experts and need assistance to
work out.
Just as
Starbucks and McDonald's have had to fit their menu to France's cultural
preferences, clubs could change as well.
“You've
got to get into the French psyche...Maybe a cafe, or a little area for
food," Hoffman says.
"But
(the problem) is bigger than that. I don't think it can come from the clubs
alone. It's getting people more aware of their wellbeing.”
