BALLY TO GIVE SNACKS WIDER WORKOUT SHAKES, BARS IN RALPHS, LONGS MAY BULK UP GYM PROFITS.Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer Faced with flabby flab·by adj. flab·bi·er, flab·bi·est 1. Lacking firmness; flaccid: getting flabby around the waist. See Synonyms at limp. 2. stock prices and looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. renewed energy, Bally Total Fitness Bally Total Fitness is an American health club chain with 400 gyms in 70 cities, and claims 4 million customers [1]. The chain has recently opened gyms in South Korea, China & the Bahamas. Holding Corp. is heading to the store. Hoping to improve performance, the Chicago-based gym chain introduced its private-label fitness bars and shakes to retail chains earlier this week. Stock prices have slid from $26.10 a year ago to hit their 52-week low this Thursday at $10.50, and executives are looking to tap into a lucrative revenue segment to bolster sagging profits. By month's end the snacks, already stocked in 380 of the chain's clubs, will be sold in upward of more than; above. See also: Upward 1,000 retail sites along the West Coast, including local distribution at Ralphs markets and Longs Drugs Longs Drugs (NYSE: LDG) is a pharmacy chain store located in the West Coast of the United States. It was founded in 1938 by brothers Thomas and Joseph Long (son-in-law of Marion Barton Skaggs, co-founder of Safeway Inc.), with their first store in Oakland, California. . The sales, along with personal training sessions, contribute $150 million annually to the firm. By more than tripling the scope of distribution, Bally's hopes to continue what so far has been a successful evolution. ``Bally's today isn't the same Bally's from a decade ago,'' said Jon Harris Jonathan Cecil Harris (born June 9, 1974 in Brooklyn, New York) was an American football defensive lineman in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of Virginia and was drafted in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft. , the chain's vice president for communications. ``For the first 37 years, we'd never sold bottled water or a personal fitness session. Now we have the number one personal fitness program in the country. Before, we didn't look at what the brand meant to people, we just focused on the gyms.'' But according to the chain's second-quarter report, released Tuesday, revenue from membership grew slowly, up only 7 percent to $188 million from the same period a year ago. Products and services, however, grew 43 percent, pitching in $53 million in the second quarter of 2002. Analysts characterized the move as a test to see whether the bars would fare well in a wider market, but cautioned that Bally's would face stiff competition outside the comfort of its own gyms. ``There's a million different bars out there, and this isn't a new industry,'' said Dean Gianoukos, a leisure analyst for broker J.P. Morgan's New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of office. ``That aisle's very crowded. I know because I shop there all the time, so I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if Bally's can fit in there. I don't think they even know yet, but they'll find out soon.'' The bars and shakes work well in the gym setting, Gianoukos said, based on strong product association. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Bally bars and drinks are being introduced at retail stores. Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer |
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