Independents have always dominated the mid-market in the US; the big players didn’t evolve until much later. While some marginal mid-market clubs were chewed up by the club chains, the established ones withstood the threat.
There are a lot of successful mid-market players with a handful of clubs in the US. Their qualities are similar to boutiques in that they’re local, tribal and build trust, but with the benefit of a lower price point.
An additional strength of the independents is their ability to be agile. Having no head office means they can quickly respond to change without having to verify their decisions with external management. Staff also tend to prefer working for them as they often offer higher salaries and a better culture than the chains.
On the other hand, independent mid-market clubs have less access to capital than the chains, which can be a huge disadvantage. And if they’ve been around for a long time, they can become complacent – assuming everyone knows them and thinking there is no need to tell their story. Or they run into trouble because they don’t have a distinct brand personality or ethos.
Despite the advantages, the mid-market remains a shrinking sector because it’s vulnerable to competition from budget and premium clubs. Although independent mid-market clubs will continue to thrive, I believe that they are too small scale to create massive growth.