Interview to Manel Valcarce, director of the Sport Business Symposium

The sportive sector and, in concrete, the one of the fitness and the healthy physical activity, perhaps the one who has more business concept, enjoys of very good social acceptance, mainly by the services that offers to his customers linked with aims of health, integration, self-esteem or aesthetic, so necessary in these moments.

Obviously the crisis is affecting to our sector, and notices , especially, in the level of investments and of openings. These, in proportion, have diminished, except in the case of the phenomenon Low Cost, based in covering the demand to low cost.

Yes, does necessary the differentiation between the competition, and this has favoured the wit, the creativity and the development of new proposals and improvements.

According to the data little halagüeños of the I Quarterly Observatory that evaluates the impact of the rise of the VAT in the sector of the fitness, elaborated by The National Federation of Employers of Sportive Installations (FNEID), the sector experiences a fall of the employment and the turnover.

During the first quarter of force since it went in in force the rise of the VAT (September-November), have destroyed 3,32% of the places of work by own account and 7% of the employments by extraneous account. But this measure brings more effects achieve.

A decrease of turnover and of customers: the turnover of the centres of fitness has fallen 14% comparing with the previous period. This explains because it has lost 8% of customers and because some centres have assumed directly the rise of the VAT, well in his whole or in a part.

Yes, besides, as it gives off of this I Quarterly Observatory, 82% of the respondents have repercutido the rise of the VAT to his customers, however, the application has been uneven, since no all the centres have applied the 13 points and some only have repercutido this rise in determinate services, as the ones of aesthetics, swimming or spa.

One of the appearances to my understand more worrisome, is that 65% of the employers have not realised any investment and this does not favour the innovation and the competitive improvement.

The key for the improvement of any business is, on the one hand, the innovation and the differentiation, and by another, the optimisation of costs. In the Sport Business Symposium, centre us in contributing resources and experiences that improve and boost the innovation and the differentiation, to all the levels, already was in technical services as in gestión of human resources, of the marketing or simply improve the motivation of the team.

Definitely, can find two complex appearances in his gestión. On the one hand, the control of the costs with two very stood out games: the one of personnel and the one of energetic fixed costs.

In these cases will have to implement tools that improve these costs, optimising the resources and proposing put of stable employment with qualified personnel that can develop diverse tasks inside the company.

The attention to the customer. More than 60% of the users that give of drop is by fault of attention. This appearance has to improve and cuidar with actions of loyalty, personalised plans and with clear politics of company oriented to the attention and care of the customer.

Yes, is a fundamental appearance, since one of the games of costs more important for a gymnasium or sportive centre are the energetic supplies. It is thus that are developing numerous plans and actions to be able to reduce these costs and do them more sustainable. The energetic saving is a measure that is implanting in the efficient gestión of the centres and to all level them —light, water, gas, diesel, telephone…—, giving step to proposals more efficient and ecological.

This is a delicate question. At present, in our country, except in Catalonia, does not exist a regulation for the professions of the sport. That is to say, any person with any type of learning or without her, can be personal trainer. This is a clear example of the situation.

The truth is that, in general, the professionals of the sector are highly qualified for the exert of his functions, and exists an interest in the majority for following improving and expanding his knowledges.

From a managerial punto, every time are more the people that access to these places and have an academic learning related with the sportive gestión, however, always is necessary to improve the knowledges and adapt to the new tendencies, for example in areas like the sales and the marketing, the gestión of resources or the attention to the customer.

The equipment of our Spanish centres is very similar to the of the European context. The international and Spanish signatures offer similar concepts in his proposals although with differences of quality and design.

Our country is considered like an innovative point, where develop new technical proposals, in spite of the big North American influence, German or Italian.

Spain is in command developing of software and proposals linked to the sportive centres. At present, we find complete applications of gestión of customers no only economically speaking but also in the field of learning, relational marketing, etc. These applications already find available through the mobile of the user, of Internet and, even, are interactive in the own centre. The technology advances and the sportive sector and of fitness is not an exception.

Surely, the challenges are the same that for any citizen of our country or for any company of the productive sectors: confidence and motivation to follow working and surpass these moments. This challenge is one of the pillars stood out of this evento, but logically there is more, and these are more practical and related with the fields of the gestión.

The marketing, the human resources, the technical services, the attention to the customer and the positioning and the differentiation.

The aim is to contribute optimism and confidence in these moments. Give tools, the council and the experience of big speakers that each day treat with situations of crisis and of push with his customers and in his companies. Also pretend be a meeting point for the sector, to debate and share feelings, experience and develop business.

Sport Business Symposium: How improve the gestión and generate business

The Sport Business Simposium pretend to be some only surroundings and pioneer of meeting between companies of the sportive sector and of the fitness. For this, has educational experts that will explain how improve the gestión and generate business between all the participants. The evento, as it explains his director Manel Valcarce, heads to all that public interested in improving personal and professionally in the field of the Management and, specifically in the sportive gestión: directors and agents of installations, owners and employers, students, technicians and coordinators, and, in general, all that related with the field of the business gestión.