WeightWatchers 2010 Annual Report Download - page 48

• the number of Weight Watchers Online subscribers; and
• operatin
g
expenses as a percenta
g
e of revenue, which is an indicator of the efficienc
y
of our business
a
nd our abilit
y
to mana
g
e our business to bud
g
et
.
We believe that our revenues and profitability can be sensitive to major trends in the weight management
industry. In particular, we believe that our business could be adversely impacted by:
• the temporar
y
emer
g
ence of fad diets;
•a
d
ecrease
i
nt
h
ee
ff
ect
i
veness o
f
our mar
k
et
i
n
g
an
d
a
d
vert
i
s
i
n
g
pro
g
rams
;
• a failure to develo
p
innovative new services and
p
roducts;
• the development of more favorabl
y
perceived or more effective wei
g
ht mana
g
ement methods
,
i
ncludin
g
pharmaceuticals;
•an
i
mpa
i
rment o
f
t
h
eWe
igh
t Watc
h
ers
b
ran
d
an
d
our ot
h
er
i
nte
ll
ectua
l
propert
y
;
• a failure of our technology or systems to perform as designed; and
• a downturn in
g
eneral economic conditions or consumer confidence.
G
l
o
b
a
l
Operation
s
The following tables set forth our paid weeks and meeting attendance by geography for the past five fiscal
years
:
Paid Weeks in Company-Owned Operations
(
in millions
)
F
i
scal 2010
Fi
scal 200
9
F
i
scal 2008 F
i
scal 200
7
Fi
scal 200
6
(
52 weeks
)(
52 weeks
)(
53 weeks
)(
52 weeks
)(
52 weeks
)
N
ort
h
Amer
i
ca
...............................
55
.
355
.
86
1.
058
.4 42.7
U
n
i
te
d
K
i
n
gd
om
.............................
16
.1 1
6
.2 1
5
.
0
12.
8
11.
6
Cont
i
nenta
l
Europe
...........................
13
.
6
12.7 12.
5
1
0
.7 11.4
O
t
h
er Internat
i
ona
l
........................... 2.
9
2.
9
2.8 2.7 3.1
Total Meeting Paid Weeks
.................
87.
9
87.
69
1.3 84.
66
8.8
Online
p
aid week
s
............................
5
2.
5
42.7 38.
9
31.0 2
5
.2
Tota
l
Pa
id
Wee
k
s........................
.
140.4 130.3 130.2 115.6 94.0
Meetin
g
Attendance in Company-Owned Operations
(
in millions
)
Fiscal 2010
F
iscal 200
9
Fiscal 2008 Fiscal 200
7
F
iscal 200
6
(
52 weeks
)(
52 weeks
)(
53 weeks
)(
52 weeks
)(
52 weeks
)
N
ort
h
Amer
i
ca
...............................
30
.
33
2.1
36
.
538
.1
35
.4
U
nited Kin
g
dom
.............................
1
0.2 11.4 11.
6
11.9 11.
6
Continental Europe ........................... 8.5 8.6 9.
8
10
.2 11.1
O
ther International ........................... 2.
0
2.2 2.1 2.
53
.
0
T
otal
...................................
5
1.0
5
4.3 60.0 62.7 61.1
T
h
eta
bl
ea
b
ove sets
f
ort
h
pa
id
wee
k
s
i
n our meet
i
n
g
san
d
We
igh
tWatc
h
ers.com
b
us
i
nesses
f
or t
h
e past
fi
v
e
fi
sca
ly
ears. T
h
e “pa
id
wee
k
” metr
i
c reports tota
l
pa
id
wee
k
s
by
our customers
i
n Compan
y
-owne
d
operat
i
ons
f
or
a
gi
ven per
i
o
d
. For meet
i
n
g
s, pa
id
wee
k
s
i
st
h
e sum o
f
tota
l
pa
id
comm
i
tment p
l
an wee
k
s (e.
g
., Mont
hly
Pas
s
wee
k
s) an
d
tota
l
pay-as-you-go wee
k
s
f
or a g
i
ven per
i
o
d
.Be
f
ore t
h
e
l
aunc
h
o
f
our comm
i
tment p
l
ans
i
nt
h
e
meet
i
ngs
b
us
i
ness, our mem
b
ers were
l
arge
l
y on a pay-as-you-go
b
as
i
s, an
d
accor
di
ng
l
y, growt
hi
n meet
i
ng
32