Thursday, May 28, 2020

Improvements in Supportive Technology and Government Efforts to Create Smart Cities Will Support the Growth of the Industry amid the Global Pandemic: Ken Research

Smart Cities and Government Initiatives: Countries Getting Future Proof
Governments across the GCC are taking initiatives to build Smart Cities using energy-efficient infrastructure and the possibilities for collecting big data and optimizing the efficacy of the Smart City System. Key to these endeavors will be Smart Homes, where the main focus will be Smart Lighting and Smart HVAC systems. Growth in these segments is projected to be very high because of this possible demand. Major Real estate developers are also partnering with IT firms to create apartments and villas compliant with the smart city initiatives of various governments. Emaar group and Xiaomi are a notable partnership where the Chinese giant’s smart technology will be a part of the Emaar group’s new residential real estate construction in the UAE.
5G and the Era of Efficient Smart Home Devices
Smart Home devices have witnessed a stigma that has turned off many potential users, in that addition of so many devices on the home internet network will lead to slow browsing for the users and inefficient communication for smart devices. 5G services and the higher the bandwidth of data transmission speed they will offer showcases potential for efficient and non-disruptive data communication for smart devices and users on the network itself. 5G and Cellular IoT services will help improve data transmission speeds between devices while allowing the devices to consumer lower energy and thus become more energy efficient. Brands like STC, du, Etisalat and others have launched 5G services across the GCC and leave an open opportunity for partnerships and creating devices that leverage the speed that 5G networks can offer, thus expanding the scope for Smart Homes in the Future.
The Pandemic and the Slowdown on Global Economies
The novel Coronavirus pandemic has affected all major industries by slowing down supply chains, limiting retail interaction and slowing down even online end to end delivers for non-essential purchasing. Smart Home and IT firms have also taken hits, with production lines slowing down and customer purchases decreasing. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are severely impacted as compared to other GCC members, with 4500+ and 4000+ infected cases in each country respectively. During these difficult times, Smart Devices can be leveraged to share important information and measure essential vitals for their users. Smart speakers and phones can be updated to passively collect, analyze and transmit health information to local health authorities. Smart Speakers can also be used to analyze speech and cough patterns and present the user with a symptom survey then connect the patent to the nearest government help center if required.
The report titled “GCC Smart Homes Market Outlook to 2025 Driven by Need for Energy Savings and Growing Preference towards Smart Entertainment Systems by Ken Research Suggest that the adoption for smart home devices in the GCC is expected to increase owing to the introduction of 5G, Growing Number of Smart City projects and increasing technological penetration. The market has however, taken a hit due to coronavirus which has affected the major manufacturing hubs across the globe and it is expected that the impact of the coronavirus is going to last until mid of 2021.
Key Segments Covered: -
GCC Smart Home Market
By Country
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Qatar
Kuwait
Oman
Bahrain
By Application
Lighting
HVAC
Security & Access Control
Entertainment System
Others
By Connection
Wired Connection
Wireless Connection
UAE Smart Home Market
By Application
Lighting
HVAC
Security & Access Control
Entertainment System
Others
By Cities
Dubai
Abu Dhabi
Sharjah
Rest of UAE
By Property
Villas
Townhouses
Apartments
By Type of Sales
Retail Sales
Project Sales
By End Users
Real Estate Developers
Integrator Firms
Individuals
Others
Saudi Arabia Smart Home Market
By Application
Lighting
HVAC
Security & Access Control
Entertainment System
Others
By Cities
Riyadh
Jeddah
Dammam
Rest of Saudi Arabia
By Property
Villas
Townhouses
Apartments
By Type of Sales
Retail Sales
Project Sales
By End Users
Real Estate Developers
Integrator Firms
Individuals
Others
Companies Covered:
Control4
Legrand
Johnson Controls
Schneider Electric
Emerson
LG
Siemens
Greentec Automation
Shifra Smart Home
Apex Smart Home
Alayoubi Technologies
Elettrico
Dots Tech Systems
Fast Net
Exotic International
Key Target Audience
Smart Home Integrators
Real Estate Developers
Smart Home Manufacturers
Home Automation Companies
Venture Capitalists and PE Firms
Time Period Captured in the Report: -
Historical Period – 2014-2019
Forecast Period – 2020-2024F
Key Topics Covered in the Report: -
Industry Pain Points
Potential Addressable Market
GCC Smart Home Market Size and Segmentation
UAE Smart Home Market Snapshot
Saudi Arabia Smart Home Market Snapshot
Trends and Developments in GCC market
Supply Infrastructure – Ecosystem for Types of Types of Smart Devices
Demand Infrastructure – Ecosystem for Types of End Users
Market Operation, Challenges and Modes of Entry
Technology Stack: Layers of Technology Used in Smart Devices
Competitive Landscape
Company Profiles
Future Landscape of the GCC Smart Home Market
Analyst Recommendation: Future Opportunities
For More Information on the Research Report, refer to below links: -
Related Reports by Ken Research: -
Contact Us: -
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing and Communications
+91-9015378249
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Location: United Arab Emirates

Saudi Arabia Fitness Services Market Outlook to 2025: Ken Research


Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication "Saudi Arabia Fitness Services Market Outlook to 2025- By Market Structure (Organized and Unorganized), By Revenue Stream (Membership, Personal Trainer and Supplementary Services), By Regions (Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Al Khobar, Makkah and Madinah and others), By Subscription (3 months, 6 months, 1 year and others), By Gender (Male and Female), By Age (Below 18 years, 19 to 30 years, 31 to 60 years and above 60 years) and By Income Group (Below SAR 38,000, SAR 38,000 to SAR 94,000, SAR 94,000 to SAR 150,000 and above SAR 150,000)" observed that the Saudi Arabian Fitness Services Industry is currently at the Growth Stage, with rise in Women Gyms, Increasing Needs for Fitness by Youth in the Kingdom and supportive Government measures, aiding steady growth of the industry in the previous few years. The report further details out the different operating segments in the industry, along with overall customer perspective with respect to different fitness services present in the country. The report provides a detailed viewpoint of the major fitness brands operating in the industry, and a bird’s eye view into the various revenue streams operated by fitness players in the Kingdom. It also covers the future outlook for the overall industry, and also enumerates certain recommendations for new entrants and existing players in the industry, keeping the future landscape in mind.

Industry Overview
There are close to 28+ organized fitness center brands operating in the Kingdom along with unorganized fitness centers. While the overall industry has been identified at a high growth stage, the competition in the industry is witnessed to be fragmented in nature, in terms of number of players. A high degree of fitness centers in the Kingdom are unorganized and independent, while the presence of organized fitness center brands is limited to major cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Al Khobar, Makkah and Medinah. Players compete on the basis of Price, Membership Offers, Center Facilities, Personal Training, Ambience, Services Offered and Locations.

Industry Segmentation
The unorganized segment largely dominates the industry, penetrating smaller regions such as Tabuk, Jubail, Safwa and others. Moreover, the lower fees charged by unorganized centers, allows them to generate a wider customer base. Majority of the fitness centers in the country are concentrated in the cities of Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Makkah and Medinah, largely due to the high population in these cities and their status of being major commercial, industrial and religious hubs. Customer have been identified to prefer 3 months and annual memberships plans in fitness centers, due to the fee-based discounts offered by fitness center operators along with the additional services such as complimentary account freezing provided. While the male segment was identified to dominate the customer profile for fitness services in the kingdom, the female segment is strongly growing on the back of a rapid increase in the number of women fitness centers and a growing fitness awareness among the women in the Kingdom.


Trends in the Industry
There has been a remarked focus on developing women centers in the Kingdom, spurred by the favorable judgment from the General Authority of Sports. Many fitness players are now focusing a large part of their future strategies on capitalizing on the growing Female Fitness segment, by opening female gyms. As part of the Vision 2030 plans, the Saudi Government launched the National Transformation Plan, which focuses on promoting health and wellness among people in the country and improving the number of physically active people in the Kingdom, from 13% to 40% by 2030. There has been a focus on specialized and concept fitness centers, with Crossfit, Kickboxing, HIIT and Zumba leading the exercises in demand by fitness center members in the country. A heavy spread of awareness among the normally physically unfit Saudi population, is resulting in high demand for fitness services, particularly by people from the age of 20 years to 45 years.

Competition Scenario in the Industry
KSA is an emerging country in terms of industry competition, making it a fierce battlefield for new and existing fitness-center brands trying to operate/succeed and to make profits. Major existing fitness center players hold brand loyalty especially among professionals, due to safety concerns associated with using fitness equipment. This makes it difficult for new players to enter the market. Establishing a large fitness center that provides all services including spa, pool, steam bath, lockers, showers, Jacuzzi along with gym services has also prevented companies from scaling their businesses over a certain geographic limit. The three factors that mainly contribute to the high cost of establishing a fitness center have been the cost of acquiring land, cost of hiring trained and certified fitness professionals and cost of buying gym equipment. This has been discouraging new players with low capital from entering the market. A gradual consumer shift towards brand acceptance and new demand for female specific fitness centers has encouraged service providers to explore and probably convert this demand in their favor.

Future Strategies-The Way Forward
A special focus must be laid on penetration of the relatively nascent women fitness segment in the industry in Saudi Arabia. Inclusion of customized workouts, with growth in adoption for personal training programs is expected to come into effect in a few years from now. Provision of value-added services such as free membership freezing, couple discounts, locker room facility, free showers, sauna, spa will ultimately aid fitness brands to target a wider chunk of the customer segments and increase the fitness services penetration rate in the country. Expansion plans of many fitness centers will be put on hold, for a while as the Covid situation hits the short-term and long-term business sustainability for gyms in the Kingdom. In future, the Saudi Arabia Fitness Services Industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of ~10.7% during the period 2019-2025.

Key Segments Covered:-
By Market Structure
Organized
Unorganized

By Revenue Stream
Membership
Personal Training
Supplementary Services

By Regions
Riyadh
Jeddah
Dammam
Al Khobar
Makkah and Madinah
Others

By Subscription
3 Months
6 Months
1 Year
Others

By Gender
Male
Female

By Age
Below 18 years
19 to 30 years
31 to 60 years
Above 60 years

By Income Group
Below SAR 38,000
SAR 38,000 to SAR 94,000
SAR 94,000 to SAR 150,000
Above SAR 150,000

Key Target Audience:-
Fitness Service Providers
Fitness Service Equipment Manufacturers
Ministry of Sports
Industry Associations
Investors/VC’s

Time Period Captured in the Report:-
Historical Period: 2014-2019
Forecast Period: 2019-2025

Fitness Brands Covered:-
Fitness Time
Body Masters
NuYu
Golds Gym
9 Round
Interval Plus Crossfit
Fitness First
Arena MMA Fitness
The Power Gym
Active Time
Lava Fitness
Spectrum Wellness for Women
Kore
Glow Fit
Studio 55
Pulse Studio
Kinetico
World Gym
Tytans Fitness
Curves
Glamour Fitness
Fit Zone
Fitness Maker
Muscles Factory
Other Players include G-Fit, B-Well Center, Fitness Inn, Areka, Iron Hill Crossfit, Fitness World, Marom Club, Rio Gym and Wazen Gym

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-
Benchmarking of Saudi Fitness Services Market and Global Fitness Services Market
Business Model of Fitness Service Operators in Saudi Arabia
Market Sizing Analysis of Fitness Services in Saudi Arabia
Market Segmentation Analysis of Fitness Services in Saudi Arabia
Emerging Trends and Developments in Saudi Arabia Fitness Services Market
Issues and Challenges in Saudi Arabia Fitness Services Market
Customer Decision Making Parameters
Pain Points of Customers
Competitive Landscape
Market Share of Unorganized Players in Fitness Services Market in Saudi Arabia
Company Profiles of Major Players (Fitness Time, Body Masters, NuYu, Fitness First, Glamour Fitness, NuYU, Gold’s Gym and Others)
Covid Impact on Saudi Arabia Fitness Services Market
Future Outlook of Saudi Arabia Fitness Services Market
Analyst Recommendations for New Entrants and Existing Players
B Platform Choosing Criteria for Packaging manufacturers
Penetration of Online Retail Products & their Packaging Implications

For More Information on the research report, refer to below link:-
Saudi Arabia Fitness Services Market

Related Reports By Ken Research:-
Vietnam Fitness Services Market Outlook to 2023 - By Subscription Period, By Organized and Unorganized, By Revenue Streams (Membership Fee and Personal Trainer Fee)

Oman Fitness Services Market Outlook to 2022 - By Gym Membership and Personal Training, by Region (Al Batinah North, Al Batinah South, Ad Dakhiliyah, Dhofar and Muscat) , by Gender and by Membership Subscription (Annual, 6 months, 3 months, 1 month)

UAE Fitness Services Market Outlook to 2022 - By Market Structure (Organized and Unorganized), By Subscription Period (1month, 3months, 6months and 1year), By Region (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and others), By Revenue Stream (Membership Fee and Personal Trainer Fee)

Contact Us:-
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
+91-9015378249
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Understanding Udemy’s Marketplace Model of Learning and its Heavy Focus on India

Up-Skilling and Re-Skilling in order to stay in touch with the rapidly evolving technological trends is now a standard requirement in India’s professional landscape. Professionals turn towards online learning as a means to achieve the goal, due to their inability to turn back to conventional classroom modes of learning. Ed-Tech players such as Udemy are extending the proposition of Online Self-Paced Practical Learning which allows professionals and students to develop their professional skill-set and work towards achieving their long-term professional goals.
As through our conversation with Mr. Irwin Anand, India MD at Udemy, we attempt to identify how Udemy sees India, with the largest White-Collar graduate workforce, as an exciting investment, and how it’s Marketplace Model serves an Unmatched Value Proposition to Learners.
Q1. Being the first employee for Udemy in India, you would have been involved end-to-end in expanding the brand in the country. How has the company’s journey been during your brief tenure here?
Previously I was with OLX where I was hired as one of the first few employees to help the company grow and scale. Again, with Udemy in India, my mandate as the first employee was to define the local strategy and incorporate all the stakeholders for Udemy, which includes instructors, individual learners, and corporate customers. I have been responsible for setting up Udemy’s first India office in Gurgaon, growing the local team, which is currently double-digit, and deepening the investments in the country. We have a team on the Marketplace end handling the learner and instructor base, as well as a team on the Enterprise end that handles corporate sales and customer success. Our focus is on developing local insights, tailoring the content, and developing a unique user experience. India is the second-largest market for Udemy in terms of revenue and traffic and among the top three growth markets globally. We’re achieving triple-digit growth YoY in India.
Q2. Udemy has a Marketplace model wherein it connects learners to instructors online. Can you briefly explain how the Udemy model works and how is it different from other players in the industry?
Udemy is the largest online learning destination that helps students, companies, and governments gain the skills they need to compete in today’s economy. We provide a platform where instructors can share their knowledge and build a profitable business while learners can have access to the latest skill domains on virtually any topic in the world. We have over 150,000 courses hosted on the platform, taught by more than 57,000 expert instructors.  Our marketplace model allows expert instructors to compete for learners, which ultimately encourages them to make high value-driven course content. Instructors also participate in discussion forums to cater to learner queries, create quizzes, downloadable content, test courses, and exercises. Our instructors are in the best position to develop the next best course which is an important component of our marketplace model. Because Udemy instructors are industry practitioners and experts themselves, they create the courses in a way that the skills are professionally implementable.
For companies, Udemy for Business offers subscription access to 4,000+ business-relevant courses, powerful learning analytics, as well as an easy-to-use platform to host and distribute their own content in one central place. We also offer Udemy for Government, a highly customizable learning platform designed to upskill workers across nations and prepare them for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Both are powered by the Udemy marketplace.
Q3. Which courses or topics are currently in major demand by the Indian audience?
Tech courses are definitely in great demand in India — Python, Data Science, Ethical Hacking, Machine Learning, and Embedded Systems, to name a few. For a practitioner, there are also courses around more specialized topics like MicroPython, Web Development NestJS, and Web Development NodeJS. One of the premises Udemy was built around, was that every learner should be able to find his/her right teacher, and that teacher could be anywhere in the world. With our constant feedback and communication mechanism between the instructors and the students, Udemy provides a powerful 2-way exchange to help students find the best instructor for them.
Q4. In a massively fragmented industry for re-skilling and up-skilling programs in the country, how does Udemy differentiate itself from players such as upGrad, Simplilearn, Coursera, Udacity, and others?
Our proposition to the consumer is completely different because of our marketplace business model where courses are created and taught by practitioners in the field. Because our instructors work in their respective fields, they can predict the next big course or topic from the perspective of industry relevance. The courses are also very affordable and that’s one of the reasons why more than 5 million learners are on Udemy, with that number growing at a fast pace. We are growing on the corporate side as well with companies such as Wipro, TechMahindra, TetraSoft identifying with the value proposition of Udemy for Businesses.
Q5. A prominent bottleneck encountered by online skilling platforms is the low completion rates of programs. How is the company endeavoring towards bucking the trend of low course completion rates amongst MOOC platforms?
We don’t believe that completion rates are a proxy for learning or gaining knowledge. Learners usually focus on gathering implementable skills through the courses and may leave the course mid-way once their learning objective, which can be as simple a learning Pivot Tables in an Excel course, is complete. We measure course effectiveness in the form of ratings and review system, but we don’t see much of a correlation between learning effectiveness or learner satisfaction with course completion. 
Q6. The adoption of online skilling programs and courses is growing in India, with professionals and students upgrading their skills to stay relevant. According to you how has Udemy’s learner base growth been?
We have 5 million learners in India currently. Our revenue tripled in India in just one year of operations. Our growth comes down to our value proposition and our ability to offer skills-based training at affordable prices, at a time and place of your choice. This allows learners to choose from thousands of top practitioners from all around the world, regardless of physical location.
Q7. How does the monetization model of the company work?
The consumer marketplace model is a basis pay-per-course and offers lifetime access to purchased courses. Courses are comprised of recorded videos in addition to assignments, quizzes, course materials, discussion forums, and exercises. The price point is more or less similar to a Reference Book, while the proposition is much more impactful. The consumer has a thriving rating & reviews system in terms of feedback and tracking learning journeys. For organizations offering to learn to employees, Udemy for Business is subscription-based and includes curated professionally relevant courses (~4,000 in English). These courses are packaged into a corporate user experience where stakeholders, including HR, Learning and D divisions, can collect learning data and analytics, manage learning paths, mandate people to learn, administer modules, and author content. We also offer companies the option to create courses on Udemy for Business and include API plug-ins for their L&D modules. Udemy for Business is available on an annual, per-seat basis with employees allowed to access the entire repository of courses and analytics.
Q8. Which business segment is Udemy more focused on in India?
Consumer and Enterprise business is a priority for us right now, and we have entered the Government space recently. We already had a lot of corporate clients here before even entering India.
Q9.  What are the major bottlenecks faced in scaling such a model?
In the context of Udemy, bottlenecks would be in the past tense. Through word of mouth and success stories of others, there are a lot of great instructors on Udemy with a 125% growth y-o-y in new instructors in India. Having said that, when launching a new country base, it’s important for us to identify if the country has needs for courses in the local languages. Currently, vernacular language would be more of an opportunity, rather than a challenge for the Indian market.
Q10. What is the offering pitched across as a part of Udemy for Government? Having experience working with Japanese, Singapore, LA and New Mexico’s governments, do you plan to target the government sector in India as well?
Answer: Udemy for Government follows a similar subscription business model to Udemy for Business. For example, in Singapore, we work with the Skills Future program where every Singaporean completing mandatory skill training is provided free access to Udemy. From India's perspective, we will continue to evaluate partnerships and programs with corporations and government entities.
Q11. How does the company’s strategic outlook towards India differ from other markets such as US or Brazil or Singapore?
Two-thirds of Udemy’s students are located outside of the US and half of our instructors are based outside of the US. Our goal across every market is to deliver relevant, fresh content both to individual learners and businesses. Solution for a market like Brazil, where people mainly speak Portuguese will be different because there is an increased need for local language experts. As a lot of people in India are fluent in English, they can already take advantage of our large course catalog and begin learning new skills.
Q12. Is partnering up with Universities and Academic Institutions in India a part of the company’s plans going forward?
We are open to partnering with Universities in the future. Our core customers are mainly professionals but we are also focussing students in a college environment. We are exploring partnership opportunities with Universities, as content creators, but for now, we think of ourselves as a complementary skill offering to university programs.
For feedback and queries, reach out to the Ken Research Team at ankur@kenresearch.com
For More Information on the publication: -
Contact Us: -
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
Ankur@kenresearch.com
+91-9015378249
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Location: India
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