A Blink Fitness gym is seen on Flatbush Avenue in the Flatbush neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York City on August 12, 2024.
Michael M. Santiago |
Blink Fitness, a low-cost gym chain owned by luxury fitness company Equinox Group, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The fitness brand, which has over 100 centers across the U.S., is the latest chain to file for bankruptcy following the pandemic, following companies such as New York Sports Club, 24 Hour Fitness and Gold's Gym.
The company plans to sell its business and has listed its assets and liabilities at $100 million and $500 million, respectively. It plans to continue operating its fitness centers during the sale process, according to a press release.
“Over the past few months, we have focused on strengthening Blink's financial foundation and positioning the company for long-term success,” said Guy Harkless, CEO and president of Blink Fitness, in a statement. “After evaluating our options, the board and management team have determined that utilizing the court-supervised process to optimize the company's image and complete a sale of the company is the best path forward.”
This is not the first step taken by the Equinox Group to improve the company's finances. Luxury fitness center Equinox, which is one of the group's holdings alongside brands such as SoulCycle and Pure Yoga, closed a $1.8 billion financing round in March, partly to refinance its $1.2 billion in debt.
The privately held company said it saw a 27% increase in revenue in 2023 and that membership numbers are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels. Equinox is currently planning to open more than two dozen new locations worldwide.
To improve its finances, Equinox also introduced a $40,000 annual gym membership for its most affluent members earlier this year.
All this comes as a CNBC/Generation Lab survey on “Youth and Money” – which surveyed 1,034 people ages 18 to 34 in the U.S. in August – found that about a third of Americans in that age group spend between $1 and $50 a month on sports and fitness, while 47 percent say they spend “nothing at all.”
Blink offers memberships ranging from $17 to $39 per month, depending on location, and competes with other low-cost gym chains like Planet Fitnesswhich raised the price of its basic membership to $15 per month in June.
Unlike Blink, Planet Fitness reported strong membership growth of 7% year over year in the second quarter, reaching a total of 19.7 million members. Planet Fitness shares recently hit a 52-week high, reaching levels not seen since May 2023.
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