Planet Fitness is Leading Gyms' (Slow) Slog Back to Recovery

Gyms were among the most well-documented collateral damage of COVID-19—but there are signs of recovery for the sector, and large chain Planet Fitness provides an intriguing case study.

A new report from Placer.ai shows that while most major gym chains are feeling the effects of the COVID crisis, they also saw major boosts in monthly visits in January 2021. Planet Fitness, a brand Placer.ai is bullish on, saw a 47.3% month-over-month increase in visits in January compared to December, a decrease year-over-year but impressive numbers nonetheless. Other chains saw similar, though not as pronounced, drops, but the data indicates that the current COVID crisis is “likely obscuring even more impressive growth potential moving forward,” according to the report.

Year-over-year, January visits in 2021 dropped 34.7%, but that gap was only 19% when compared with January 2019 levels. That’s the most significant difference among the other gyms Placer.ai analyzed—including LA Fitness (-54.5%), Anytime Fitness (-21.4%), Workout Anytime (-11.3%), Gold’s Gym (-46.7%), and big loser 24 Hour Fitness (-81.6%)

Placre.ai also notes that weekly visit data for Planet Fitness shows an improvement in the year-over-year visit gap nearly every week in January. If those improvements continue at the same pace, “the results could be even more surprising, even faster,” the report notes.

The data is also interesting given the fact that the chain has the largest concentration of locations in California, a state that’s labored under some of the most restrictive shutdown orders in the country. While the year-over-year comparison for the chain is high, Placer.ai maintains this just shows how strong Planet Fitness was pre-pandemic—and the firm says the brand is also more likely to gain new members from other gyms that have announced closures. 

“As COVID’s effects begin to dissipate, there may not be a brand more likely to benefit faster than Planet Fitness…[A]nd this means that when ‘normalcy’ returns, the turnaround could come incredibly fast,” the report states.

Planet Fitness has also emerged as a strong mall and shopping center anchor tenant, particularly in suburban locations that are currently experiencing explosive population growth as renters and home buyers alike decamp from more densely populated urban cores.

“The result of these conclusions is a reality where a brand is being judged under the harshest possible conditions, and yet is still showing the capacity to recover even in that environment,” the report states. “If the wider circumstances improve, as we all hope they will, it is hard to imagine a scenario where Planet Fitness doesn’t thrive.”