While many chains struggled during the pandemic, Crunch Fitness found its footing by offering virtual classes, said CEO Ben Midgley. He represented F45 in its opening of seven locations on Long Island since March 2020, and Barry’s Bootcamp, which opened its first location on Long Island outside the Hamptons, in Roslyn Heights, in August 2021. New franchisees and franchises in oversaturated markets will have a harder time, Siano said. The ownership structure and the condition of the business pre-pandemic has a lot to do with how well a fitness operation can be sustained. He represents several boutique fitness chains on Long Island, including and F45. So, they’re not going to the gyms and the studios at the same rate that they were, so there is not the need for as many of them," said Jayson Siano, founder and chief executive officer of Sabre Real Estate Advisors in Garden City. However, the format that people are going to consume their fitness is more hybrid. Statewide, 31% of fitness centers have permanently closed since the pandemic began, compared to a national average of 22%, said Clark, who attributed New York’s higher rate to stricter government mandates.įitness chains that survived pivoted to online classes, and did whatever else they could to keep the doors open. On Long Island, 21 fitness and recreational sports centers closed between the second quarters of 20, leaving 483 locations, according to the most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. New York Sports Clubs and its family of brands now operate 68 locations under new ownership. Towns Sports International, former owner of New York Sports Clubs, Lucille Roberts fitness centers and other chains, closed 110 clubs, including 13 on Long Island, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2020. The Carlsbad, California-based chain now has about 280 clubs in 11 states. Several fitness chains, such as Orangetheory Fitness, Blink Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness, which before the pandemic were happy to chat with media about their expansions, declined to comment or didn’t respond when contacted by Newsday recently about how their businesses were faring.Ģ4 Hour Fitness, New York Sports Club and Gold’s Gym are among the chains whose parent companies filed for bankruptcy protection due to pandemic-related losses, and closed some of their gyms.Īfter filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2020, 24 Hour Fitness closed 133 gyms, including two on Long Island - in Massapequa and Bay Shore - and nixed plans to open three new local locations - in East Meadow, East Setauket and Hicksville. Revenue and memberships are down by as much as 20% at some of his gyms that opened before the pandemic, he said.
"And we’re still not out of the hole," he said. Breslau, who co-owns five Crunch Fitness franchises - in West Babylon, Bellmore, Amityville, Hauppauge and East Meadow. I was able to work with the landlords to get some concession, but not much," said Lewis B.
Five-and-a-half months of being closed, not much sympathy from our landlords and certainly not much sympathy from our government.
What many gyms are not doing is offering membership discounts, not even to attract the New Year’s resolution crowd, because they simply can’t afford to do so now, Clark said. To survive, they’re also laying off staff, raising membership prices and taking on new debt, said Liz Clark, chief executive officer and president of the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association), a Boston-based trade group.Ī June study from the group found that IHRSA member clubs nationwide had taken on an average of $75,000 in new debt. To attract members, gyms are focusing heavily on marketing and emphasizing their cleaning protocols, industry experts said. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy.
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