Assessment background and aims:
Students must achieve a pass in the following element to pass the module, which accounts
for 100% of the module marks. The assignment will take the form of a 3,500 word individual
International Marketing Plan for the international expansion of a company (80% marks) and
a 500 word report on a popular and respected marketing model (20% marks). Thus there
are two tasks that need to be completed as part of the summative brief:
• Task One: You are required to complete a well thought out and justified International
Marketing Plan, which focusses on the practical implementation issues facing the
organisation rather than on repeating the course material and theory. However,
theory should be a foundation which supports and explains why you propose a
particular action. You should remember that this is an advanced (Masters) course
and your plan should reflect this through high standards of detailed content and the
quality of your recommendations which should be fully justified.
The general approach to constructing an International Marketing Plan will be taught
throughout the available teaching sessions using case studies.
• Task Two: A 500 word report on the Uppsala marketing model (refer to the brief
below).
• Assessment brief:
Case Study – PureGym
PureGym is the UK’s leading gym operator providing low-cost fitness facilities across more
than 200 sites.
The business was launched in 2009, introducing a flexible model where members pay an
average £20 per month and have no contract commitment (PureGym 2018). Most of the
gyms are open 24 hours a day and offer a full range of up-to-date cardio fitness equipment,
fixed-resistance and free weights. In addition, members have access to more than 50 group
classes each week included in their fee.
PureGym positions itself as the customers’ gym of choice at the low end of the market. To
this end, PureGym’s facilities only include the essentials: there are no swimming pools or
saunas and no beauty therapy options. (HelloGenious.co.uk)
PureGym focus is a great place to work out. Members will only find the things they’re likely
to use and only pay for those, too. There are no receptionists or sign-up departments.
Instead, PureGym offer online registration and booking service, which gives members 24-
hour access to a gym and none of the extras. Permanent staff numbers are relatively low
and all the Personal Trainers are self-employed.
CEO Humphrey Cobbold, commenting on their current position suggests, “While we may be
leading the market today, we’re not complacent. We know we’re only as good as our
members last visit so every day we try a little harder to be the best.”
To assist you, the details below provide up-to-date information of the UK fitness sector to
enable a better understanding of PureGym’s current operating environment
UK Gym / fitness sector.
Extract from Sportsthinktank.com
The 2019 State of the UK Fitness Industry Report reveals that the UK health and fitness
industry is continuing to strengthen. It has more gyms, more members and a greater market
value than ever before. There are over 7,000 gyms in the UK for the first time, total
membership over 10 million and market value is just under £5 billion. The penetration rate
remains at 15%, so 1 in every 7 people in the UK is a member of a gym.
PureGym and GLL (Greenwich Leisure Ltd) have strengthened their positions as the UK’s
leading private and public operators (by number of gyms and members). PureGym have
become the first operator to reach 200+ clubs and impressively passed the 1 million
member mark in 2018. GLL, are also likely to break the 200 milestone in 2019.
Commenting on the latest report, David Minton, Director of LeisureDB said: “After being
widely quoted from last year’s report about ‘the golden age of fitness’, I’m sticking to my
prediction that the period up to 2020 remains the time for fitness to continue to break all
barriers.”
Summary of Key Facts
• The number of fitness facilities in the UK is up from 7,038 to 7,200 this year.
• Total membership grew by 10million.
• Total market value increased to £5 billion.
• The UK penetration rate increased to 15.6%.
• 215 new fitness facilities opened in the last 12 months.