Equinox: the most premium gym in the world

Simon Timmermans
Jul 24, 2017 · 3 min read

Equinox doesn’t mind putting all their energy to make their gym look like heaven. And they don’t mind asking € 400 a month for memberships. I’ll show you why branding is 20% strategy, and 80% guts.

What would you choose: A marble reception desk that costs € 20K or an almost equally beautiful wooden desk for € 5K?

Branding is 20% strategy and 80% guts

The people at Equinox make choices that might look insane, but they know very well what they are doing. What’s their secret?

Equinox is what we call a differentiator. It’s a brand that looks like no other. They are unmatched in what they do and try to achieve. And what is that special thing they strive for?

Equinox loves to spend € 20K for a marble reception desk.

Let’s start with one of the most important marketing principles around: picking your value proposition strategy. There are 3 generic strategies: product leadership, operational excellence and customer intimacy.

Let’s walk through the 3 options:

  1. Product leadership: creating the best possible product
  2. Operational excellence: the lowest possible price & the least possible effort
  3. Customer intimacy: the best (personal) experience for each client

Now what about these 3 options: which one is the best?

That’s not the right question, because there is no “best option”. Each of the 3 strategies can be a good option, as long as you stay true to that direction.

Equinox is a purebred example of ‘product leadership’: creating the best or most beautiful product.

I’ll give an example: if Equinox would replace all their marble reception desks with almost equally beautiful wooden desks, they would save more than a million dollars worldwide.

Wooden reception desks would save Equinox a million dollars worldwide

That money could be used to build 3 additional gyms. Additional gyms would mean more comfort for members, because their travel distance decreases. Everybody benefits, right?

No they don’t.

A very important rule in branding: you will never grow a powerful brand if you don’t stay true to the strategy. The more you stay true to one of the 3 options, the more your brand can differentiate itself.

So how does Equinox its strategy look like on the diagram?

Equinox clearly aims for product leadership (100%). At some points, they are customer intimate, at some points they are not (30%). And in general, they do not care for operational excellence at all (10%).


Paying 15K extra for a marble desk takes guts, right?

And what happens if you go for oak? It’s called stuck in the middle.

More about these 3 generic strategies? Read this in-depth post:
https://hbr.org/1993/01/customer-intimacy-and-other-value-disciplines

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