couples with no children. This population devoted their free time to physical fitness and treats it as a development pursuit. Since the Suburban Splendor segment treats physical fitness as an activity that they need to work on developing, we decided that they would not be as dependable versus the Urbanization group. However, the Urbanization group inputs fitness as a day-to-day activity they consistently keep up with, it was decided that they would be our strongest market to target. After picking the Urbanization segment as our final segment to target, we decided to compare two large cities. The first city is Portland, Oregon and the second city is Los Angeles, California.
Figure Tapestry Urbanization Group Population by Zip Codes in Los Angeles, California (Bao Esri) The map above shows the city of Los Angeles and its’ surrounding cities and towns. The dark red areas are the densest populations of the Urbanization segment and the lighter orange are amongst the least dense areas. The dense (red) areas are between 26,012 and 88,695.
Figure Tapestry Urbanization Group Populations by Zip Codes in Portland, Oregon (Bao Esri) This map shows how dense the Urbanization group is in Portland, Oregon. In this map, the dense (red) areas are between 7,573 and 19,179.
As you can tell, Los Angeles has a much more stronger market for this segment than Portland does. This may be because of the standard population. As of 2012, the population of Portland, Oregon is 603, 106 (City Data, 2003) and for the city of Los Angeles is 3.858 million. So, there is an extravagant difference in populations between the two cities and Los Angeles obviously has a lead start with that.
Demographics Since our research has been narrowed down to an ideal location in Los Angeles, California, there are so many more variables to be looked into.
Looking into specific data to target the right consumers is going to be very significant in this research. A consumer that is always looking for the healthy option in products, whether it being with food, health and beauty products, or even supplements. These types of people who go out of their way to get the most healthful options are going be religious gym and spa goers. Why? Because, this type of person cares a lot about their body, he or she treats their physique as if it were a temple. Given that, this type of person is willing to invest a certain amount of money into activities, or services to promote wellness to their body, and even in extreme situations, pour money into these types of things. As researchers, finding out what areas of the community are interested in these products and services is feasible information. Los Angeles is a huge city and since there is unlimited diversity within it, so as a business, finding the exact location to place it is going to determine whether it becomes successful, or
not.
Figure Demographic Summary of Los Angeles, California (Bao Esri) This report summarizes the data of people within a 1-mile radius of Los Angeles, California. This data was taken from a population of 50,910 people and 46,662 of these people are 18 years and older. The number of households that were analyzed is 23,680 and the median household income is $20,179. The data holds information on how often they have exercised, what’s incorporated in their diet control, certain diet-related foods they have purchased and what kinds of vitamins and supplements that have been used by them.
Competition Since our business is both a health spa and fitness club combined, this widens the competition, or…maybe even narrows it. This competition consists of surrounding spas and fitness clubs and gyms, but there is also some outside market competition. These businesses include: tennis centers, swimming pools, dance centers, ice and roller rinks, and indoor soccer arenas. How can our competition be somewhat narrowed? We are a combined spa and gym, and so this provides the convenience factor for the business. When somebody wants to go do a workout, but then might want to get a massage afterwards for their fatigued muscles, they might only do one of these to eliminate extra commuting. If this happens, one of those businesses they decided to not go to lose that potential consumption, which results in money loss. Our location will offer both of these aspects.
Again, the Portland and Los Angeles areas will be compared when showing gym business locations throughout their city.
Figure Gym Locations in Portland, Oregon (Bao Esri)
This map shows the city of Portland, Oregon and all 13 of its’ gym locations. As you can tell, the competition is not impenetrable at all.
Figure Gym Locations in Los Angeles, California (Bao Esri)
This map shows the city of Los Angeles, California and it has countless amounts of gym locations in its area. This is the one downfall of possibly choosing the Los Angeles area to place the business.
Analysis Based on the secondary research conducted, Los Angeles, California is the final location that has been decided on to locate Universal Spa and Fitness. Starting out, the areas of interest were both Los Angeles and Portland. After looking at data and comparing the two locations, Los Angeles had more of the Urbanization segment density throughout its area. The tapestry segment was of the most important factors for this business, because it consisted of communities that involved health and fitness as an important day-to-day activity for them. Since it is a consistent hobby for the people involved in the Urbanization segment, this also means consistent customer loyalty and money flow.
Appendix A
BA 450 – GIS in Business
Market Research Intake Form
Business Name:
Universal Spa & Fitness
Product/Services Description:
Membership includes: Access to the spa, where there is acupuncture, massage and sauna services. Access to the gym area, where there is weight training equipment and fitness machines. Personal training is included in the membership as well and there is a small store that sells supplements and vitamins.
Geographic Areas of Interest:
Los Angeles, California and Portland, Oregon.
Primary Customer Segments:
The Urbanization segment and the Suburban Splendor Segment. Subgroup segments in Urbanization include: laptops and lattes, pacific heights, city lights, trendsetters and metro renters.
Current Marketing Strategy:
Our strategy consists of finding a location where there is a dense population of the Urbanization segments, which is known for being the most affluent segment. To be successful, we want to target a high disposable income area full of people who go out of their way to find the healthiest options and services.
Expected Business Impact From Market Research Results:
To find the optimum location to place our gym, attract the most and customers and be successful.
Appendix B Every time we decided to compare Portland and Los Angeles, Los Angeles was often the winner. However, Los Angeles has almost 9 times the population than Portland, so it always had a head start. If we were to start all over I would have wanted to compare a city that had about an equal population size as Los Angeles. Then, it would be a bit fairer for the comparison reports.
Works Cited
Bao Esri. Urbanization Tapestry Segment . BAO.
City Data. (2003, January 1). Los Angeles: Population Profile. Retrieved December 9, 2013, from City-Data: http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-West/Los-Angeles-Population-Profile.html
City Data. (2003, January 1). Portland, OR. Retrieved December 9, 2013, from City-Data: http://www.city-data.com/city/Portland-Oregon.html