TheBusinessDesk.tv: Gym chain reveals expansion plans
LOW cost gym chain Xercise4less unveiled a move into the North West as it won the Yorkshire Newcomer award at the Yorkshire Business Masters 2012.
The firm has opened five gyms in Yorkshire and the North East over the last three years and managing director Jon Wright confirmed plans to open two in the North West as he picked up the award, sponsored by The P&A Group.
Asked about their success in a crowded marketplace, he said: “We are in a period of austerity. The recession has forced property prices down and that allows us to follow the American model.
“We are half the price of everybody else with bigger and better facilities so you are getting a really good produt for a really cheap price.”
[VIDEO: 552]The Fletchers Group of Bakeries took the Yorkshire Grit award, sponsored by Journey9, watched by more than 200 of the region’s leading business figures at the event held in partnership with Jaguar.
Steve Boyd, HR director at Fletchers, told the audience that the company had faced a series of challenges, including a major fire, before its current management team started to turn the business around.
“Support from our investors has been key and the attitude of our people who are very proud south Yorkshire people who want our business to succeed – many of them have been there a very long time – and being risk-taking and being innovative.”
Smoothwall’s success in marketing its web filtering technology to customers as diverse as American Football team the Detroit Lions and the US military helped to win it the Yorkshire Innovator award, sponsored by Walker Morris.
[VIDEO: 553]Richard Moore, managing director at Smoothwall, said the firm had enjoyed success from technology that helps to combat “social not-working” – employees using company time to use social networking websites.
“Most businesses are moving onto mobile devices and protecting those devices away from the network is challenging for businesses. Employees also want to bring their own devices into their networks and IT managers need to be able to securely integrate those so that’s the area we are moving the business into,” he said.
The Yorkshire Pride award, sponsored by Henderson Insurance, was presented to KC in the Community, the community and charity programme run by phone and broadband supplier KC.
“It’s right that a business of our size gives back to the local community. Young people are our future customers and employees, we support new business start-ups and we do a lot of volunteering.”
[VIDEO: 554]”Our chief executive, our directors everyone gets involved and its not through pushing them, they are all keen to be involved.”
Ian Thompson, managing director of composite manhole manufacturer Fibrelite, offered his advice for success in international trade as the company walked away with the first ever Yorkshire Exporter award presented at the Yorkshire Business Masters, sponsored by Leeds Metropolitan University.
“You need terrific local contacts, you have to have people on the ground who know the market otherwise you can’t transfer what you do here to other parts of the world successfully,” he said.
