Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Thu, 2010-03-04 09:39.
Posted in: Crazy Money
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You
http://www.retrofitness.net/
It was the decade that wrapped itself in Spandex, pulled on pink leg warmers without irony and felt the burn with Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons.
And now, the '80s are fueling yet another fitness craze: Retrofitness--Eric Casaburi's chain of 1980s theme gyms. In just five years, the New Jersey-based f niche for a low-cost provider that gave a high-end experience. I did the raw math and figured I could be better and attract more customers at $19.99 a month than clubs charging $39 or $49 a month. I could build a cheap gym where you didn't need a tetanus shot when you left.
Was it a hard sell?
I was all about putting on a show--but vendors bought into my pitch and they sold me equipment at a much higher discount rate. I laugh now because I exceeded even what I told them. I said we'd have 10 clubs the first year; we had 15. I said 30 in Year 2, and we had 40.
Why the '80s?
We knew Generation X would be a big part of our customer base. I thought, "How can we attract and entertain them?" Eighties movies and '80s music just make you feel good; when you drop a marketing piece with an Atari joystick on it or Vans sneakers, people say, "I remember that." And actually, even younger pe
google_ad_client = "ca-pub-9095123295552398"; google_ad_host = "ca-host-pub-1556223355139109"; google_ad_host_channel = "L0007"; google_ad_slot = "4866884086"; google_ad_width = 300; google_ad_height = 250;
http://www.retrofitness.net/
It was the decade that wrapped itself in Spandex, pulled on pink leg warmers without irony and felt the burn with Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons.
And now, the '80s are fueling yet another fitness craze: Retrofitness--Eric Casaburi's chain of 1980s theme gyms. In just five years, the New Jersey-based f niche for a low-cost provider that gave a high-end experience. I did the raw math and figured I could be better and attract more customers at $19.99 a month than clubs charging $39 or $49 a month. I could build a cheap gym where you didn't need a tetanus shot when you left.
Was it a hard sell?
I was all about putting on a show--but vendors bought into my pitch and they sold me equipment at a much higher discount rate. I laugh now because I exceeded even what I told them. I said we'd have 10 clubs the first year; we had 15. I said 30 in Year 2, and we had 40.
Why the '80s?
We knew Generation X would be a big part of our customer base. I thought, "How can we attract and entertain them?" Eighties movies and '80s music just make you feel good; when you drop a marketing piece with an Atari joystick on it or Vans sneakers, people say, "I remember that." And actually, even younger pe
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