Human Kinetics Yoga Shop

Mission: To produce innovative, informative products in all areas of physical activity that help people worldwide lead healthier, more active lives.

The greatest challenge facing Human Kinetics is to convert all information about physical activity into knowledge--information that people can use to make a positive difference in their lives.
Rainer Martens, PhD
Founder and President

In today's world, survival of the fittest means survival of the best informed.

Information is now produced and exchanged on a scale unimagined even ten years ago. When that information is integrated with life experiences, we gain something even more useful: knowledge. Building that knowledge is the role of Human Kinetics (HK) in the new millennium.

Human Kinetics is the premier knowledge integrator in the physical activity field. We synthesize vast amounts of information into a constantly evolving array of products that utilize current technology to meet the needs of our varied audiences. HK has served the physical activity field since 1974, when it published its first book--a proceedings from a sport psychology conference.

Today, HK produces textbooks and their ancillaries, consumer books, software, videos, audiocassettes, journals, and distance education courses. Our products will continue to take a variety of forms.

Our world headquarters is based in Champaign, Illinois, where we employ more than 270 people in more than 130,000 square feet of office and warehouse facilities. HK's offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and bolster our international efforts. Our annual sales, including international operations, surpass $25 million.

A privately held company, HK's mission has been to meet the needs of teachers, coaches, professionals, researchers, sport participants, and fitness enthusiasts. Our objective is to make a positive difference in the quality of life of every human being by promoting physical activity through information. We do so by seeking out experts to create our products; by hiring educated, professionally qualified staff to develop those products; and by working closely and cooperatively with leading scholarly and professional associations.

This commitment, combined with innovation and the vision to anticipate information needs for an exploding field, enables HK to annually publish more than 120 books and 20 journals, to produce numerous videos and software products, and to explore new information forms using today's and tomorrow's technology.

How We Are Organized

Our success begins with our commitment to excellence both in product development and customer service. Eight distinct product divisions make up Human Kinetics:

• Active Living Partners: Active Living Partners is an educational program dedicated to helping sedentary adults become and stay physically active. Our cornerstone course, Active Living Every Day, was developed in partnership with The Cooper Institute.



• American Sport Education Program: America's principal educator of youth, high school, and elite coaches. More than thirty states now require some form of ASEP education for their high school coaches.



• Distance Education: Developer and deliverer of quality educational courses for academic curriculums and professional associations.



• Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Division: Publisher of hundreds of text, reference, and activity resources and home of the American Fitness Alliance.



• Journal Division: The leading periodical publisher in the physical activity field with more than 20 scholarly and professional journals.



• Scientific, Technical, and Medical Division: The leader in publishing textbooks and professional references for the physical activity field.



• Trade Division: The foremost source of quality sports and fitness books for athletes, coaches, fitness enthusiasts, and the general public.



• YMCA Program Store: Producer and distributor of all YMCA of the USA educational resources used by administrators, instructors, and participants in programs offered by the 2,200 YMCAs in the United States.

Our divisions are supported by an efficient system of departments organized to develop, produce, market, sell, service, and administer their activities. Among those 15 departments are Video, Editorial, Production, Marketing, Web Development, Management Information Systems, Sales, Publicity, Financial, Fulfillment, and Shipping.

Publishing Process

We value our authors and the many organizations that work with us to create information products. Our team of editors, designers, and graphic artists collaborate with each product's author or originator to effectively shape the information, produce it, and package it. From organizing the information, to choosing the dynamic supporting graphic images, to creating and executing an effective visual presentation, the editorial and production staff orchestrate the details necessary to publish high-quality resources in any medium--always with our customers' needs in mind.

Channels of Distribution

Because we produce information in many different media for many different audiences, our marketing and sales efforts take many different forms. This enables us to expand the sales for each individual product while reducing our dependence on any particular market. Some major channels include the following:

• Direct mail: More than one million promotional pieces are mailed each year, ranging from catalogs to brochures to flyers.



• Advertising: Space ads are strategically placed in popular publications as well as in professional and scholarly periodicals.



• Retail bookstores: Our sales staff and representatives call directly on booksellers, including all major chains and book wholesalers.



• College bookstores: Through campus visits, direct marketing, and exhibits at scholarly and professional events, we arrange for textbook adoptions eventually sold through campus bookstores.



• Other retailers: Sporting goods stores, fitness centers, outfitters, mass merchandisers, and other nonbookstore retailers carry our products.



• Libraries: Through direct mail, exhibits, and a network of distributors, we market to public, school, university, medical, and corporate libraries.



• Special sales: Sales staff target other direct marketers, book clubs, associations, and corporations.



• Special catalogers: This fast-growing channel accounts for sales via catalogs distributed through direct mail and numerous Internet associates.



• Trade shows: Exhibits at more than 100 events annually generate sales and interest in our products.



• International: Our subsidiaries' sales and marketing efforts mirror those undertaken in the United States with a strong focus on direct mail, retail sales, library sales, trade shows, and special sales. In parts of the world not covered by a subsidiary, our extensive independent distributor network markets our products.



• Internet: Our Web site provides product information and much more along with an easy ordering process.

Concurrently, our publicity staff promotes our products and programs to nearly 9,000 media outlets, targeting editors of major newspapers, magazines, and journals as well as producers of television and radio shows. Reviews and excerpts of our titles appear in the Washington Post, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, SHAPE, Men's Fitness, Better Homes and Gardens, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal, and many others.

Putting Our Customers First

Our customer service and shipping staff oversee the prompt handling of thousands of orders monthly at the Human Kinetics home office. All order receipt, entry, billing, shipping, credit, and customer service activities are managed on-site. Customer service business hours are from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. CST, but fax, voice mail, Internet, and full EDI capability allow us to receive orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

We are proud of the excellent reviews we receive from our customers. We strive for and consistently deliver 24-hour order turnarounds and an accuracy rate of better than 99.99%.

Customers are provided everything from information about individual products to quick invoice, order, and shipment tracking. Courteous credit department professionals provide accurate and prompt payment and billing information. Our electronic bookselling customers have access to collateral materials on forthcoming and existing products in both print and electronic formats to aid them in attractively presenting our products on numerous other Web sites.

Our mission of serving the physical activity field and our clear vision of putting our customers first help to explain the quality of our interactions with hundreds of authors and millions of readers of HK books and products. We serve a varied group: educators, students, physical activity and sports medicine professionals, sports and fitness enthusiasts, coaches, and athletes. We will continue to strive to reach people all over the world and to touch their lives with the benefits of good health and good fun through physical activity.