GYMS ARE BIG LOSERS

Miss January boost

Major gyms in the US didn’t experience the traffic boom last month they typically do in January, a tough start that doesn’t bode well for gyms looking to raise prices.

Foot traffic last month, typically the busiest month of the year, was flat yearover-year at 10 major fitness chains, according to Placer.ai data.

That’s in sharp contrast to 2023 and 2022, when for the 10 clubs Placer.ai tracked, including Planet Fitness and Equinox, January visits had risen more than 40% each year.

Budget-friendly Planet Fitness, seen as a proxy for the industry as it’s the largest chain, Bloomberg News reported, adds roughly 400,000 members — about 25% of its 1.7 million yearly sign-ups — in a typical January.

All the while, the chain, which boasts nearly 2,500 clubs nationwide, is on track for its second-worst quarterly sales growth since the pandemic, in 2021, according to Bloomberg. Much of this year’s dropoff was blamed on harsh weather across much of the US, as well as stiffening competition, an analyst told the outlet.

Xponential Fitness — which owns popular boutique fitness studios like CycleBar, Pure Barre and boxing club Rumble — is also expected to report its slowest revenue growth for the first quarter since going public in 2021, Bloomberg reported.

Price-hike tries

Over the past year, Xponential’s share price has plummeted more than 54%, although Chief Financial Officer John Meloun told investors on its 2023 earnings call in November that consumer foot traffic at its more than 3,000 studios “has grown compared to the year prior.”

Analysts said that attempts to raise prices have hurt membership growth.

Planet Fitness, for example, mulled raising its $10-amonth classic membership price late last year.

Interim CEO Craig Benson told analysts that the chain was considering the advance as consumers get used to inflated prices, although the chain never followed through with the increase, which would have been the company’s first hike in 30 years.

Benson assumed the role of CEO after Chris Rondeau’s abrupt exit from the company last September after a 10-year stint at the helm.

Planet Fitness and Xponential didn’t respond to requests for comment.