Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM
Interview with Jim Mizes, CEO of Club One
Mizes talks about branding, Kranking, corporate fitness and expansion for this California company on the move.
Q: Any club purchase plans in the works for this year or next?
A: Last year, we opened a half-dozen work-site health and fitness locations, one community center and one 60,000-square-foot club. This year we have a number of work-site health and fitness locations that we are in final discussions with. We have expanded our consulting in the community center business to multiple sites right now, and [we are] in discussions with others. And there are numerous club opportunities that we continue to work through. Nothing is penciled in, so until the deal is signed, I don’t think it’s something we should talk about. But I can tell you there are numerous opportunities both ground up and takeovers that we are in discussions with here in the Bay Area and across the country.
Q: Any new partnerships in the works beyond Johnny G and Kranking?
A: We have a couple new wellness programs that we are working on. I’m confident one of them will launch later this year—second or third quarter—and one other one that’s in development. I think it’s a good likelihood that we will have more to come in that area as well.
Q: If I were to talk to you a year from now, where do you see your company being in a year in terms of the number of clubs and your programs?
A: Where we’d like to be a year from now is moving towards that goal of creating blue oceans of separation from the industry, yet remaining part of it, again through innovation and integrity. I hope that we will have a couple of new deals done so that the industry and others outside the industry will see Club One as a management-services company that can deliver on our own brand if that’s the kind of management service we are providing or deliver on the partner’s culture and brand (or the organization in the case of work-site health and fitness) so that we seamlessly integrate into those organizations. And so that’s really it—that we continue to push the needle on our management services, integrity and innovation.
Q: If we were to talk three years from now, do you see any additional things in your longer range plans?
A: I think we are on a journey that’s going to take at least that long to develop all that. We believe there will be a lot more facilities that we serve, but many of them may not have our name on them at all, and you wouldn’t know that we were running them.
Q: Do you have a goal of being as large as 24 Hour Fitness in the next several years?
A: We’re focused on quality partnerships, profitable ventures. Really, the number of units is not so critical as continuing to build the business, and our excellence in operations and in service to the communities and partners we serve. We stayed away from ‘it’s all about growth and size.’ If you consider that I come from a background of adding 50 to 100 units a year, that’s a big switch for me, as well as for all of us here to focus on doing things well and living up to our purpose.
Q: Right now, your clubs are all in California. Do you plan to expand beyond California in the next three to five years?
A: We certainly hope so. Primarily, again, in partnering with developers who see the value of Club One as part of their development, whether that’s multi-unit retail or multi-tenant arrangement. And more and more developers—as we tell our story and highlight how we can make a difference for their development—are beginning to see that that’s a path that has value.
Q: I appreciate your time and your willingness to talk to us.
A: You’re welcome.
Talk Back
Pamela Kufahl
Editor
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