Abstract
In France, the term fitness characterises a broad family of sport and physical activities aiming to improve participants’ health conditions, body shape, relaxation and wellness, independently from where it is exerted. This chapter highlights that the French fitness sector is almost equally structured around commercial and voluntary organisations. Although similar in terms of market penetration rate, voluntary and commercial organisations do not offer the same activities and levels of service quality that in turn attract different types of publics. Indeed, participants remain heterogeneous and highly segmented creating a challenging environment for the industry and generalist offers, from the commercial sector in particular, because it creates an intense competition on specific participant segments that has simultaneous implications in terms of costs, flexibility, individualisation, innovation and employment.
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Notes
- 1.
http://www.sports.gouv.fr/organisation/missions-organisation/Missions-11062/. Accessed 21 August 2018.
- 2.
https://www.associations.gouv.fr/liberte-associative.html. Accessed 23 July 2018.
- 3.
http://www.injep.fr/article/le-poids-economique-du-sport-edition-2017-11631.html. Accessed 22 August 2018.
- 4.
Defined here as all sport and physical activities aiming at developing well-being: exercise and health gymnastics, fitness gymnastics, aqua-gym, fitness, gymnastics, relaxation, indoor biking, yoga and stretching.
- 5.
The comparison of these figures should be done with caution as the definitions and perimeters of the studies may not be exactly the same.
- 6.
https://www.ipsos.com/fr-fr/la-france-adepte-du-fitness. Accessed 13 August 2018.
- 7.
Ibid.
- 8.
http://www.sports.gouv.fr/guide-creation-entreprise/files/centre-de-remise-en-forme.pdf. Accessed 3 May 2018.
- 9.
https://fitness-challenges.com/le-fitness-en-france-un-marche-de-franchise/. Accessed 21 August 2018.
- 10.
Ibid.
- 11.
http://www.sports.gouv.fr/guide-creation-entreprise/files/centre-de-remise-en-forme.pdf. Accessed 3 May 2018.
- 12.
https://fitness-challenges.com/le-fitness-en-france-un-marche-de-franchise/. Accessed 21 August 2018.
- 13.
Ibid.
- 14.
i.e. The amount of adoption or sales compared to the overall theoretical market.
- 15.
https://fitness-challenges.com/le-fitness-en-france-un-marche-de-franchise/. Accessed 3 May 2018.
- 16.
https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2017-12/infog_fitness-def.pdf. Accessed 21 August 2018.
- 17.
Ibid.
- 18.
Ibid.
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Routier, G., Vignal, B., Bodet, G. (2020). Fitness in France: A Mature Sector Looking for Growing Markets and Segments. In: Scheerder, J., Vehmas, H., Helsen, K. (eds) The Rise and Size of the Fitness Industry in Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53348-9_9
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