FITNESS NEWS

THE COUNTRIES

The German fitness club industry added about 400,000 members in H1.

• With that, membership reached 10.7M, 13% of the German population.
  • • Members trained 25% more often than last year.
    • Gym chains reached 6.3M members, higher than the 6.1M they reached in 2019.
    • Independent and smaller clubs reached 4M, down from the 4.9M in 2019.
• These are estimates from a study by DSSV in partnership with Deloitte and the University of Applied Sciences in Saarbrucken.

Romanian clubs warn against the reversal of favorable VAT rates applied to gyms in 2018.

• The Romanian government agreed on the reduction of the VAT rate for fitness clubs from 19% to 5%.
• Romania Active, which claimed much of the credit for these advances, is warning against a proposal to move up the VAT rate again.

Based on analysis from OC&C:

• In Denmark, HVLP gyms are predicted to make up 73% of the membership in 2028, up by just 1 percentage point against the mid-market, while premium gyms should remain stable.
• In Switzerland the share of HVLP gyms is anticipated to rise by 5 percentage points to 25% in 2028, all taken from the mid-market.

The Chain

Pure Gym (HVLP, KA UK) captures market share with a shift to budget share. (Link)

• Pure Gym saw its sales move up by 17% for the second quarter.
  • • That was driven by an 11% rise in membership to 1.855 million and a 4% uptick in average sales per member.
• The group predicts that smart cost gyms will continue to grab market share across Europe in the next five years.

• • • Based on analysis from OC&C, value gyms will make up about 40% of the British market in membership in 2028.
    • This would imply a U.K. market share gain of 10 percentage points in the next five years.

Vibrant training dynamics at SATS (KA, Nordics).

• SATS raised its average number of workouts per paying member by 9% in Q2.
• The trend was even more striking in July when workouts per paying member jumped by 19% from last year.

• • • The number of group training sessions even soared by 38% in July, compared with 24% growth for all workouts.
• Sats ended June with 273 clubs (up 6 from last year) and membership up by 6% to 715,000.

Basic-Fit (HVLP, KA Europe) opening 30 gyms in France.

• The group already had 718 clubs in France at the end of June, and it has estimated its French potential at 1,000 to 1,300 gyms by 2030.
• This particular push comes amid the launch of a campaign encouraging customers to “Make Fitness Your Basic.”
• • • It wants to motivate people and help them overcome barriers to start exercising, by stimulating positive thoughts through audio cues.

F45 (Boutique, Australia) set to delist shares.

• The company intends to voluntarily delist from the New York Stock Exchange and to deregister its securities after two turbulent years as a public company.
  • • They stated they couldn’t take advantage of the usual benefits of this status, such as the ability to raise capital from the public markets.
• F45 had to slash its expansion plans in July last year, which sent its shares tumbling down by more than 60%.

FitActive (HVLP, Italy) heads for the Balkans.

• The franchise is preparing for a launch in Romania and other East European markets.
• The brand is the largest in Italy in terms of club membership at about 250,000 with +100 clubs.
• They aim for a total of 120 clubs and 270,000 members in Italy by the end of 2023.

Leejam, the group behind Fitness Time (Premium, Saudi Arabia), sees positive market dynamics.

• The group had a sales increase of 24.6% (€142M) in H1.
• Fitness Time, the leading club brand in Saudi Arabia experienced membership sales growth of 24% for male centers and 30% for female ones.

• • • Sales from personal training were also up by 31% at both.
• The operator had +327,000 members at 156 centers (112 for men and 44 for women) at the end of 2022

Barry’s Bootcamp (Boutique, Global) preparing to launch in Israel.

• The HIIT studio should get started in Tel Aviv through a partnership between Israeli entrepreneurs and existing partners.
• The brand is reportedly finalizing other expansion plans in Bahrain and Egypt.

• • • The brand currently holds 84 locations in 14 countries worldwide.
• Az egyedi fitnesz ötlet tavaly indult a “Ride x Lift” elnevezésű erő- és kerékpáros koncepció debütálásával. 

Xponential (Boutique group, US) reveals their 3-year forecast. (Link)

• The company is expecting 500 openings in the year 2026.
  • Along with North America system-wide sales of US$2.330 billion, revenue of US$405 million and Adjusted EBITDA of US$190 million.
• A new deal with corporate wellbeing platform Gympass was also revealed.
  • • Inventory from all ten of Xponential’s brands will be available on the Gympass app from October.
• Xponential remains on track to hit the high end of its forecast range of KPIs for 2023:
  • • 540-560 studio openings – an 8% increase from 2022.
    • Revenues between US$295 and US$305.
    • System-wide sales of between US$1.385 and US$1.395 billion.

Orangetheory (KA Boutique, Global) taps into the strength training boom with a new class concept. (Link)

• Strength 50 is a new 50-minute class designed to cater to all fitness levels.
  • • Uses TRX, various types of weights, bands, and bodyweight exercises to help members build skill and strength.
    • Classes are led by expert instructors who coach on skills to develop all-round strength training ability.

• The company currently has 1,500 franchises operating in 50 US states and 23 countries.
  • • With 300 more franchises said to be in the pipeline.

The Brazilian company Smart Fit (HVLP, LATAM) increases revenue by 54% and exits losses. (Link)

• The company has registered revenue of €376M, up 54% from the same period last year.
• They currently hold 1,259 locations (up 36 from 2022) and 4,3M members (up 24% from 6 months ago).

The Coctail

Gympass saw its valuation increase to $2.4 billion, as the platform for employee fitness secured funding of $85M in a round led by EQT Growth and Neuberger Berman.

Les Mills Shape, the tie-up between Les Mills and Adidas, was launched earlier this month as part of their partnership to build up its training community.

• The concept integrates a mix of Pilates, barre, and power yoga set to modern beats. The low-impact but intense exercise focuses on small, controlled movements to gain strength, alignment, and flexibility.

Strength workouts will remain a leading trend in the health and fitness market, based on the second Predictions Report by Mindbody and Classpass.

• The consumer survey found that over one-third of consumers specifically train their strength for longevity.

Did you know that from 1912 to 1952 artistic disciplines were official competitions in the Olympic Games?
Medals were awarded for painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, and music, alongside those for athletic competitions. A total of 151 medals were given to original works in the fine arts inspired by athletic endeavors.