Blink Fitness is located in New York City.
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Blink Fitness, the budget fitness chain owned by luxury fitness company Equinox Group, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The low-cost fitness brand, which has more than 100 centers across the United States, is the latest chain to seek bankruptcy following the pandemic, joining the likes of New York Sports Club, 24 Hour Fitness and Gold’s Gym.
The company plans to sell its business and lists its assets and liabilities at $100 million and $500 million, respectively. The company plans to continue operating its fitness center throughout the sale process, according to a news release.
“We have spent the past few months strengthening Blink’s financial foundation and positioning the business for long-term success,” Blink Fitness CEO and President Guy Harkless said in a statement. “After evaluating our options, we have The board and management team have determined that utilizing a court-supervised process to optimize the company’s footprint and effect a sale of the business is the best path forward.”
This is not Equinox Group’s first move to improve the company’s financial health. The group’s luxury fitness center Equinox, which joins brands such as SoulCycle and Pure Yoga, generated $1.8 billion in revenue Financing round in March, in part to refinance its $1.2 billion in debt.
The company, which is not publicly traded, said revenue grew 27% in 2023 and membership levels were almost fully restored to pre-pandemic levels. Equinox is currently in the process of opening more than twenty new locations around the world.
Earlier this year, Equinox also launched a $40,000-a-year gym membership for its wealthiest members to improve its financial health.
This is all according to the CNBC/Generation Lab Youth and Money Poll, an August poll of 1,034 Americans ages 18 to 34, which showed that About one-third of people spend $1 to $50 per month on sports and fitness.
Blink offers monthly memberships ranging from $17 to $39 depending on location, and competes with other budget gym chains, such as planet fitnessthe company raised the price of a basic membership to $15 per month back in June.
Unlike Blink, Planet Fitness reported a 7% year-over-year increase in membership in the second quarter, bringing the total number of members to 19.7 million. Planet Fitness shares recently hit a new 52-week high, reaching levels not seen since May 2023.
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