Company History - Publications - Faculty & Research

November 2004 (Revised September 2019)
Background Note

The U.S. Health Club Industry in 2004

By: John R. Wells, Gabriel Ellsworth and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2004, the $16.8 billion U.S. health club industry continued its strong record of growth. There were almost 27,000 health clubs in the United States, up from 6,700 two decades earlier, and these clubs claimed 41 million members, over 14% of the U.S. population.... View Details

Keywords: Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Obesity; Exercise; Personal Training; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; YMCA; Gold's Gym; Curves; Franchise; Franchising; Subscription; Promotional Sales; Promotions; Fixed Costs; Body; Accrual Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Customers; Demographics; Age; Income; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Retention; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Operations; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Private Ownership; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Nonprofit Organizations; Welfare; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Segmentation; Hardware; Health Industry; United States

Citation

Educators

Purchase

04 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 4

disasters had a positive impact. Firms' philanthropic history and communities' inter-corporate network cohesion moderated some of these effects. This study extends institutional and community literatures by illuminating the geographic... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

02 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 2, 2019

country can reap the benefits of these efforts. Therefore, additional economic outcomes that enhance France’s competitiveness are also considered. The results show that within France, the regulation led to a 0.6%–5.4% yearly increase in View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Dec 2010
News

This Is What I Do

Lorraine, the smitten high schooler who wants to be his girlfriend, even though history requires that she become his mother.) Ultimately Marty’s most urgent race is against time: He must get to the town square before the village clock... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; time travel; Health, Social Assistance; Accommodation; Hospitality; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Apparel Manufacturing; Manufacturing

12 Dec 2018
News

Lesson Plan

long-standing tradition of being one of the state’s few Democratic pockets outside Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, with a history of labor unrest and unionization dating back to the 19th and early 20th centuries. That energy carried workers... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographed by Chris Sorensen

27 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 27

both in business history courses and more generally to teach political risk management by multinational corporations. Beiersdorf, a German personal products company, expanded globally before 1914, but had its foreign factories and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

31 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: Jan. 31

existing theory would predict. We discuss how these findings advance understanding of how organizational structure and corporate leadership interact and of how organizations can more effectively realize the strategic value of corporate social responsibility activities.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne & Carmen Nobel

Web

Year in Review | Annual Report 2024

advance the HBS mission by preserving the history of business, acquiring data for groundbreaking scholarship, disseminating research to high-value audiences, and championing new ways to thoughtfully harness artificial intelligence. 20th... View Details

Web

Supplemental Financial Information | Annual Report 2024

accounted for 45 percent of total operating revenues in fiscal 2024. Cash Received from Gifts (in millions) FY24 $ 157 FY23 158 FY22 151 FY21 149 FY20 121 More than 1,000 discrete funds comprise the HBS endowment, which has been built over the School’s 116-year View Details

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