Fitness Industry Potential in Hong Kong: A Survey Study

Introduction and Research Significance

Hong Kong is a densely populated, coastal city in Asia where Eastern and Western cultures converge. In this city-state of 7 million people, the potential for the fitness industry — specifically fitness clubs — to find consumer demand is evident in the government's recent emphasis on health and fitness, as well as in the entertainment industry's use of body image to inspire consumers to emulate what they see. At the same time, Hong Kong has a distinctly Asian preference for fitness workouts that are more dance-oriented than those typical in the West. Choreography is a significant draw for Hong Kong fitness club users, and the more complex the choreography, the stronger the appeal. Fitness clubs also attract older consumers who want the social experience of club membership and who seek to remain active in a city with very limited open space. This study examines the potential of the fitness industry in Hong Kong through a survey-based approach and finds that for the industry to succeed, it must study Hong Kong's culture and provide consumers with what they demand: an appealing fitness club experience with quality service.

The topic of this research project is the potential of the fitness industry in Hong Kong. The significance of this topic lies in the fact that Hong Kong is a service economy — the tertiary sector of the three-sector economic model. It is one of the most prominent financial centers in the world and one of the most densely populated city-states as well. With more than 7 million people residing in a community of coastal skyscrapers, Hong Kong displays a wide range of economic activity among both higher- and lower-income groups, with clear evidence of economic disparity across classes. The central question this paper poses is whether there is potential for the fitness industry — a distinctly Western phenomenon — to find traction in Hong Kong. Because Hong Kong is multicultural and most of its inhabitants are multilingual, the idea of this Western industry taking root there is not far-fetched. For those who can afford it, fitness clubs offer the opportunity to engage with Western workout culture through an Asian emphasis on choreography (Vassallo, 2010).

A brief history of fitness in Hong Kong shows that since the 1980s, more than 100 research studies have been conducted to determine the health and fitness levels of its residents (Fu, Nie, and Tong, 2004, p. 77). Hong Kong's Sport Community, Department of Health, and a number of foundations have been instrumental in supporting and assessing this research (Fu, Nie, and Tong, 2004, p. 77), while the government has taken a specific interest in promoting healthy living and physical activity. Hong Kong's appreciation for Western culture, combined with governmental support of fitness, has allowed the fitness industry to gain a foothold in the coastal metropolis. Today, expatriates from the West are routinely employed in Hong Kong's service industry, drawn by high wages and the opportunities the city provides — and this is especially true in the fitness industry (Vassallo, 2010). High wages are offset, however, by a high cost of living: the average cost of a pair of jeans in Hong Kong exceeds 125 USD, while a cup of coffee costs close to 8 USD (McCafferty, 2016). Hong Kong is thus a city where fortunes are made and lost, and where ambitions are put to the test — a reality that is particularly apparent in the rising (and sometimes falling) fitness industry (Yeung, 2016).

Taking into account the recent California Fitness scandal — in which the fitness chain closed its doors just months after opening — this paper will discuss the potential of the fitness industry in Hong Kong. Understanding that potential requires understanding Hong Kong's culture. As Mattel demonstrated with its ill-fated entry into China in the past decade, it pays to research the background and culture of any market a firm seeks to penetrate (Marquis and Yang, 2014). The fitness industry in Hong Kong has found a considerably better reception than Mattel did in China, partly because the ground was already prepared by Hong Kong's own cultural emphasis on perceptions of fatness, beauty, and fitness (Lee, 1999). Having cultural roots in both Western and Eastern systems — Hong Kong was a British colony for most of the twentieth century — the city is uniquely positioned to be receptive to ideas from both traditions.

Still, Hong Kong's health and fitness culture has not been as intensive as that of the West, which saw the rise of the "fitness craze" throughout the twentieth century, shaped by fashion, food, politics, lifestyle, and body image (Tavel, 2013). As Adab and Macfarlane (1998) showed in their late-twentieth-century study of exercise and health in Hong Kong, "in Hong Kong, 59% of all adults lead a fairly sedentary lifestyle and only one in three exercise at levels that are thought to offer significant health benefits" (p. 389). In other words, as the twenty-first century began, Hong Kong lagged well behind the West in its orientation toward fitness as a substantial industry. Nonetheless, Hong Kong began promoting a fitness culture in conjunction with research studies in which sports, physical activity, and fitness figured prominently (Fu and Hao, 2002). By the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century, Hong Kong was making a conscious effort to address health and fitness levels in its society, thereby situating itself to be receptive to the fitness industry. To some extent, the fitness industry responded (HKTDC, 2015) — but at the same time, firms like J.V. Fitness, owner of California Fitness, mYoga, and LEAP (all of which suspended operations in 2016), failed to meet expectations and brought negative attention to the sector through what appears to have been severe mismanagement and a lack of quality service (Yuen, 2016).

The research questions this paper addresses are: (1) Is there potential for the fitness industry to find traction in Hong Kong? and (2) What does the experience of individuals engaged in the fitness industry in Hong Kong reveal about the likelihood of the industry achieving considerable longevity? Considering that Hong Kong's Eastern cultural heritage is partly responsible for the popularity of martial arts and dance, there is reason to believe that the fitness industry — given the right orientation — can find both traction and durability in Hong Kong. As Mattel learned in China, when carving out a niche, firms must understand the culture of the market they are entering and adapt to meet consumer needs. If fitness industry firms in Hong Kong successfully adapt to local culture, the industry should fare well.

This study uses a survey methodology. The sample consists of individuals living in Hong Kong — not only those who work in or are consumers of the fitness industry, but also individuals who are not members of fitness clubs. Those affiliated with the fitness industry may range from fitness instructors and managers to personal trainers, membership sales agents, and club members. The targeted sample size is 100 individuals. The survey is conducted online using social media — Facebook and Twitter — to attract participants. Fitness clubs are contacted and their stakeholders invited to participate, while online communities where Hong Kong residents engage are used to reach non-stakeholders. Survey data are analyzed using the Likert scale for closed questions and through qualitative thematic assessment for an open-ended question at the end of the survey. Questions are designed to approximate the stability and acceptance of fitness clubs in Hong Kong and individuals' appreciation for the fitness industry. An open-ended, qualitative question asks respondents who are members of a fitness club why they joined, and those who are not members why they have not.

Background research for this paper was gathered and continued through late January. Survey questions were prepared alongside a review of the relevant literature. The sample was selected by the end of January, and the survey was posted online at the researcher's Facebook page so that Hong Kong residents could complete it. Data were gathered over the following week and analyzed in early February. A first draft of the study was prepared in February, followed by revision and a final draft submitted for instructor review by March.

Chapter 1 serves as an introduction to the project. Chapter 2 provides a literature review. Chapter 3 discusses the project's methodology, including the survey questions and method of analysis. Chapter 4 discusses the research findings. Chapter 5 provides a conclusion and recommendations.

Literature Review: Body Image, Service Quality, Advertising, and Consumer Base

The case for the fitness industry in Hong Kong can best be gauged by understanding the rise of the fitness industry in the West, where it first emerged, and then applying those principles to Hong Kong to assess whether they hold. This literature review examines studies on the rise of the health and fitness industry in the West, the role of body image, and how these principles translate to a Hong Kong context. The hypothesis of this paper is that the potential of the fitness industry in Hong Kong depends on the culture, expectations, and demand of Hong Kong residents: if fitness and health are viewed as worthwhile goals, the fitness industry should find traction in the highly dense city. This review focuses on how a culture becomes attracted to fitness and how Hong Kong's culture might relate to the rise of fitness culture in the West. Topics covered include the importance of body image, the role of service quality, the role of advertising in promoting a fitness lifestyle, and the way business uses these cultural variables to build a consumer base.

The keyword phrase "body image" was used to explore the relationship between fitness and culture. This search produced a number of sources examining how individuals view themselves as fat, unfit, healthy, or attractive, and how these conceptions motivate them toward a particular lifestyle. Hong Kong's embrace of the fitness industry will depend in part on how conscious its residents are of body image. Historically, the East has been more concerned with conformity and discipline than with personal self-expression (Parker, 2001). The aspect of body image that does not align well with Hong Kong's fitness culture is the Western notion of the body as a vehicle for self-expression and pride: in the West, one's physique expresses one's values, whereas in the East, values are more often expressed through adherence to social norms, duties, religion, work, and industry (Kirkland, 2003; Parker, 2001).

As Stearns (2002) shows, the fitness industry in America was cultivated on several fronts simultaneously: advertising agencies played a fundamental role in establishing and nurturing a cultural desire for health; business sectors manufactured and provided fitness-related products and services; and celebrities depicted the kind of health and fitness ideal that Westerners could emulate. Consumer demand for fitness apparel — and the cultural consciousness that accompanied it — was as essential a driver of the fitness industry as the gyms themselves (Stearns, 2002). In Hong Kong, these same variables have recently come into play, from the projection of martial artists like Jackie Chan in Hong Kong cinema to advertising that promotes celebrity fashion and physical ideals for consumers to emulate. While Hong Kong is far denser and more Asian than the average Western city, certain elements are similar — including governmental advocacy of fitness for a healthy society. The strength of this topic is that it supports the idea of fitness industry traction; its weakness is that body image may not be as important a motivator in Hong Kong as it is in the West. Studies do indicate that body image affects how Hong Kong women diet, suggesting that eating disorders may be a more common outcome of body image preoccupation in Hong Kong than fitness commitments (Lai, Mak, Pang et al., 2013).

Because Hong Kong is a service economy, the level of service quality provided by fitness clubs is a strong indicator of how successful those clubs will be. The keywords "gym industry Hong Kong" were used to find articles related to service quality in Hong Kong fitness clubs and its effect on sales and membership renewals. As Yu, Zhang, Kim et al. (2014) show, excellent service quality for fitness club members aged 60 and older is a major factor in whether these individuals renew their memberships. Because older persons constitute a significant segment of the fitness industry's consumer market in Hong Kong, understanding what motivates them is important. Yu et al. (2014) find that "provision of high-quality services for older adult consumers in a sport and fitness center elevated perceived value, enhanced customer satisfaction, reduced complaint behavior, and ultimately increased the likelihood of renewed membership and continued use of the center facilities" (p. 757). In other words, the higher the quality of service that fitness clubs provide, the more likely the overall fitness industry is to thrive in Hong Kong.

Because Hong Kong is increasingly becoming a tourist destination, Chan (2014) notes that the city should establish more venues that appeal to its ever-increasing number of visitors. With this in mind, the fitness industry could offer shorter-term memberships — such as week-long or month-long passes — to tourists seeking a place to exercise. Given Hong Kong's lack of open spaces, a daily gym pass could appeal both to tourists and to local residents who do not want a full-year membership. Thompson (2016) shows that the global fitness trend is intensifying as globalization continues to influence nations toward healthier and more active lifestyles. This trend is evident in Hong Kong but depends upon the quality of service that individual fitness clubs offer. Cheung and Woo (2016) note in their empirical investigation of fitness and recreational facilities that the quality of the club experience is the primary driver of membership sales and retention — more so than abstract goals of health, fitness, or activity. In Hong Kong, fitness club members enjoy both the status of membership and the experience of belonging to a club that caters to their needs without being overly aggressive about promoting personal training or additional sales (Cheung and Woo, 2016).

The strength of service quality as a topic is straightforward: Hong Kong is a service economy, and research confirms that service quality matters greatly to its residents. This topic correlates substantially with the hypothesis that the fitness industry's potential in Hong Kong depends upon the culture and receptivity of its residents — and specifically upon whether the industry can provide a positive, enjoyable, and high-quality experience.

Keywords for this topic included "advertising Hong Kong" and "advertising fitness West." The fitness industry in the West would not have achieved what it did without the power of twentieth-century advertising, which set the visual standard that individuals sought to emulate (Cederstrom and Spicer, 2015; Tavel, 2013; Kasson, 2001). As Tavel (2013) indicates, advertising plays a fundamental role in shaping how people view themselves and the ideals they believe hold value. In the West, the association of fatness with immorality gave the fitness industry a moral imperative on which to build its market. In the East, morality was historically defined by traditional values rather than materialistic qualities such as physique — however, with the rise of smartphone-based advertising and the Internet in Hong Kong, Western advertising tools are increasingly shaping the attitudes and beliefs of Hong Kong adolescents regarding body image and fitness (Chan, 2017).

The strengths of this topic are well-supported by the literature: Tavel (2013) shows how advertising works on the mind; Cederstrom and Spicer (2015) demonstrate how the fitness and health industry uses advertising to shape consumer behavior; and Kasson (2001) traces the history of advertising the "perfect man" and its effects on people in the West. Chan (2017) highlights how advertising is expanding in the East and how this creates an opening for Western business models to penetrate markets and shape future behavior. As this process is currently underway in Hong Kong, the fitness industry should be able to use it to its advantage. The main limitation is the shorter history of advertising in Hong Kong relative to the West: in the West, advertising has had a century to shape culture, whereas in Hong Kong that history spans fewer decades.

Keywords for this topic included "consumer Hong Kong," "Hong Kong fitness consumer," and "fitness health consumer business." The goal was to find articles related to Hong Kong consumer habits as well as to establish broader context for consumerism in Hong Kong and the West.

He, Cerin, Huang, and Wong (2014) show that adolescents and children in Hong Kong find creative ways to be active — whether in subway stations or through active video games. The video game culture in Hong Kong is strong and incorporates many dance-type games into its market. Choreography and dance are also central to the Asian cultural experience, and much of the advertising associated with music groups depends on this combination of movement and image. For children seeking to be active, mimicking these moves or finding opportunities to move in any available space is common.

Suzuki, Naito, Sakamoto, and Hui (2015) find a clear divide between the amount of time men and women spend being active in sports clubs, with women less likely to reap health benefits from sports club participation due to lower levels of activity within them. This finding reveals a clear opportunity for the fitness industry to appeal specifically to women, who are not currently gaining the health benefits associated with physical activity in sports clubs and who may be drawn to fitness clubs by the body image promoted through advertising.

McKenzie (2013) shows that the "in-shape" lifestyle promoted in the West by celebrities such as Jane Fonda was highly instrumental in cultivating the consumer base for the fitness industry. Cederstrom and Spicer (2015) likewise show how the industry used medical science research to facilitate its goals among consumers. In Hong Kong, the same type of cultivation is currently underway through the combination of medical research on fitness and health and targeted advertising. The strengths of this topic are evident in the research; the primary weakness, in terms of the paper's hypothesis, lies in the need for the industry to more actively tap into recent research findings and promote itself to targeted audiences, particularly women.

After examining the relevant literature on the potential of the fitness industry in Hong Kong, it is clear that many issues are in play. These include the role of advertising in developing the market, the role of body image, the critical importance of service quality, and the challenge of retaining a consumer base. Each issue is intertwined with the others. In terms of the study's hypothesis, the most important factors affecting the fitness industry's prospects in Hong Kong are: (1) the quality of service that fitness clubs provide, and (2) the industry's ability to harness new values being promoted via advertising — pop culture, dance culture, and body image culture — to attract and develop a consumer base. The literature indicates that there is ample potential for the fitness industry to succeed in Hong Kong, as the market exists, the consumer base is being developed through research, governmental support, and advertising, and the culture is actively promoting the value of an attractive body image, which aligns well with the goals of the fitness industry.

Research Methodology and Data Collection

With a combination of chain gyms, independent gyms, CrossFit facilities, and martial arts studios, Hong Kong's fitness culture is alive and vibrant. However, there is considerable variation in the quality of consumer satisfaction across these options — California Fitness being a prime example of a gym that failed to meet consumer expectations. The outcomes of the questionnaire are expected to show that, among the many options available in Hong Kong, individuals are more excited and satisfied with the fitness industry than not.

The survey, combining closed and open-ended questions, should serve to indicate that there is great potential for the fitness industry in Hong Kong. From both a cultural and a practical perspective, Hong Kong is ready to embrace the fitness industry: its densely populated city of 7 million offers little open space or opportunity for outdoor recreation, and gyms give residents the chance to be active while meeting the health goals set by government initiatives. It is expected that the surveys will indicate that individuals who can afford gym memberships and who desire a gym experience will join fitness clubs and use those facilities to stay in shape. As Hong Kong is a service economy, the fitness industry aligns particularly well with the city's culture and professional orientation.

This study uses survey methodology. The sample consists of individuals living in Hong Kong, and includes both fitness club members and non-members. The survey was posted via social media (Facebook and Twitter), and followers were invited to participate. The researcher had over 400 social media followers at the time, providing a substantial potential sample. Fitness clubs were also contacted and their patrons invited to complete the survey. Non-members were drawn from the researcher's social media followers who do not hold a club membership, as well as from online communities where Hong Kong residents engage.

The survey questions consist of the following:

1) What is your age?
2) Are you male or female?
3) Are you a member of a fitness club in Hong Kong? Yes or No
4) Are you a worker in a fitness club in Hong Kong? Yes or No
5) Is fitness popular in Hong Kong? 1 2 3 4 5 (1 = not at all, 5 = very)
6) How strong is the fitness industry in Hong Kong? (1 = not at all, 5 = very)
7) Would you recommend a fitness club to friends or visitors to Hong Kong? (1 = never, 5 = most definitely)
8) Why or why not?
9) If you have joined a fitness club in Hong Kong, why?
10) If you have not joined a fitness club in Hong Kong, why not?
11) If you have joined a fitness club in Hong Kong, was your experience favorable? 1 2 3 4 5 (1 = not at all, 5 = very)
12) What could fitness clubs do to be more attractive to consumers in Hong Kong?
13) Do you see much fitness advertising during your day?
14) If yes, how would you describe this advertising? Is it attractive, repellant, or are you indifferent to it?
15) Are you concerned about body image? 1 2 3 4 5 (1 = not at all, 5 = very)
16) Does the fitness industry have a strong consumer base in Hong Kong in your opinion? 1 2 3 4 5 (1 = not at all, 5 = very)
17) How concerned are you about service quality? 1 2 3 4 5 (1 = not at all, 5 = very)
18) If you were to join a new fitness club in Hong Kong, would its service quality be a motivating factor in whether or not you joined? 1 2 3 4 5 (1 = not at all, 5 = very)
19) Do you think Hong Kong needs to be concerned about health and fitness? 1 2 3 4 5 (1 = not at all, 5 = very)
20) Do you think Hong Kong could use more fitness clubs? 1 2 3 4 5 (1 = not at all, 5 = very)

The degree of accuracy and confidence that this sample provides is high, as the researcher's followers represent a mix of age groups and socioeconomic classes whose responses should reflect trends and consumer demands regarding fitness in Hong Kong. The study also incorporates secondary data from online communities where fitness club members discuss their experiences, providing a qualitative complement to the survey's open-ended questions and yielding a more in-depth understanding of how fitness is received in Hong Kong.

Survey data are analyzed using both the Likert scale for quantitative measurement and qualitative thematic assessment for open-ended questions. This mixed-methods approach allows the researcher to either accept or reject the hypothesis. According to Clason and Dormody (1994), "Likert scaling presumes the existence of an underlying (or latent or natural) continuous variable whose value characterizes the respondents' attitudes and opinions. If it were possible to measure the latent variable directly, the measurement scale would be, at best, an interval scale" (p. 34). The survey questions allow the researcher to assess the variables of service quality, consumer base, body image, and advertising and their role in consumers' decisions to join fitness clubs.

Open-ended questions are assessed qualitatively: common themes are identified among respondents and compared to the variables described in the literature review. A high degree of correlation between themes from open-ended responses and variables identified in the literature as impactful to the Hong Kong fitness industry will be considered supportive of the hypothesis. Data from online community discussions add a phenomenological dimension to the study that supports the qualitative findings from the survey.

Quantitative data from Likert-scale responses are used to assess whether consumers deem the targeted variables relevant. High marks for these variables indicate that consumers consider the same factors identified in the literature to be important. If consumers do not rate them highly, this raises questions about the validity of the hypothesis. Taken together, the qualitative and quantitative analyses allow the researcher to make a determination about the hypothesis and to gain a deeper understanding of what draws consumers to the fitness industry — and what drives them away. This data may also be useful to the fitness industry itself in better understanding its consumer base and identifying growth opportunities.

The value of combining qualitative and quantitative data collection through a survey with both closed and open-ended questions is that it provides the researcher with a balanced view of consumer attitudes toward the fitness industry in Hong Kong. The sample is reflective of this consumer trend, as it includes multiple socioeconomic classes of social media users as well as individuals who frequent or work for fitness clubs. This method has a high likelihood of providing adequate responses and results to allow the researcher to gauge whether the hypothesis — that there is potential for the fitness industry in Hong Kong — may be accepted or rejected.