Strategy

                                                           LA Fitness Strategy 

LA Fitness was founded in 1984 in Los Angeles California. Their strong and successful growth stems from their commitment to understanding and meeting the distinct needs of each community they serve. LA Fitness offers apparel products ranging from shirts to hats to towels and offers services classes like yoga, zumba, and several other amenities. Our team will be interviewing Rimoun (Ray) Malaki, the General Sales Manager at LA Fitness in Clark, NJ. Ray has been working as a Sales Manager for four years, has a vast history within LA Fitness and is a master in the art of customer service industry.

Bargaining power of customers	Medium	Initially high-priced, LA Fitness will work with the customer for a more comfortable and affordable price
Threat of substitutions	High	With threats like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig to consumers considering using home gyms or simply utilizing workout videos like “P90X” or “Insanity”, it is important to satisfy customer wants/needs
Bargaining power of suppliers	High	LA Fitness is only supplied by LifeFitness gym equipment, leaving the supplier with a high bargaining power with the gym. It is also critical for the company to value its employees because they have an important role in maintaining the gym and satisfying the customers.
Threat of new entrants	Low	There are already numerous gyms to compete with in the same area
Rivalry	High	Biggest competition is 24 hour Fitness, offering similar amenities and prices, only they are open 24 hours

LA Fitness’s competitive strategy is industry-wide differentiation because they offer a better product and service within the business. For example, they offer babysitting services and swim school for your little ones, state of the art equipment, and classes without an additional charge-just to name a few.  

Threat of substitutions: In order to compete with the high threat of substitutions, LA Fitness negotiates with customers to reach a comfortable membership price for both the gym and customer.

Bargaining power of suppliers: Because our company only has one supplier, if LifeFitness Equipment (supplier) was to hike up their prices, the only way to deal with this threat is to change our supplier entirely because LA Fitness remains consistent in being supplied by only one brand.

Rivalry: Because our biggest rival is 24 hour Fitness, we would address this problem by being competitive with prices, offer premium customer service, and overall quality.

A business process is a network of activities that bring value to a company by transforming inputs into outputs.  The sales process starts with meeting the customer, giving them a tour that its customized to their specific goals, answering and overcoming any questions and objection, and finally getting them to commit to a monthly plan.

Inbound Logistics	We do not make our own equipment. La Fitness buys from a third party.
Operations/Manufacturing	Transforming ideas into products and services the customers can benefit from.
Outbound Logistics	Selecting and purchasing the gym equipment. Strategically placing the equipment around the gym.
Sales and Marketing	Promoting the gym in a way where customers are drawn in and want to sign up for a membership.
Customer Service	Assisting customers with the knowledge of the membership guidelines. Also assisting customers when it comes to how to use the equipment properly to get maximum results.

An example of an information system that is used by the company is the computer systems they use to allow customers to scan their membership cards. This information system helps the gym no what member’s are apart of LA Fitness, and it holds all of their information. Including their names, number, how much they are paying, how often they come, if there account is frozen, a picture ID, and even utilizing social media platforms such as twitter to gain more publicity and raise awareness about the gym and its amenities and what it has to offer.

A product that gives our company the upper edge in comparison to other gyms is the LA Fitness app. The app provides clientele easy access to their account at any time no matter their location. It also allows customers to pay their account bill, add guest passes for their friends, check class schedules, and reserve racquetball courts, and scan in without using their membership card. This locks in customers by fulfilling their needs through the app. This fits into figure 3-12 because the company created a new service to enhance one’s daily gym experience which differentiates them from their competitors.