Competitive Strategies of Fitness Gyms in International Business Environment. Empirical Findings Through Observation

Contemporary society faces various challenges arising from the refocus and redefinition of consumer mentality. Currently, an important goal for consumers is to lead a healthy and natural life. However, no matter how “healthy” the diet, a healthy lifestyle is not possible without regularly practicing team or individual sports. Attentive to changes and current developments in the lifestyle, attitudes and preferences of consumers, small entrepreneurs in the sports industry are trying to benefit from this wave of amplified demand for sports activities. In Romania, this trend is apparent not only in the increased number of sports fields, but also in the growing number of fitness gyms. This exploratory research aims to highlight the specific marketing strategies that gyms employ to gain market share. The secondary objective of the research, carried out through observation, is to determine the degree of differentiation among fitness gyms and their positioning strategies. In total, over 50 observation sheets have been collected, corresponding to the most important gyms in Transylvania. Regardless of being part of a national or international chain, or independent, all businesses try, through specific means, to attract and retain their clientele. This approach highlights a number of practical and theoretical implications, emphasizing, among others, differences between the strategies used by leader, challenger or follower fitness gyms