Les Mills
Brick-and-mortar gyms are reinventing memberships for hybrid exercisers.
The latest: Fitness International, the holding company for LA Fitness and City Sports Club, partnered with global fitness brand Les Mills. Now, members at 700+ US gyms have access to the Les Mills+ app for an additional (but discounted) fee.
Why it matters: Exercisers have returned to the gym, but they haven’t given up on at-home exercise.
- 72% of gym-goers also work out at home on a weekly or daily basis, but only 33% of adults who work out at home at least weekly also go to a gym.
- 31% are going to the gym less often now vs. a year ago, 1.5x greater than at-home dropoff.
- 57% of US adults work out at home at least weekly.
Similarly, digital fitness companies report a blurring of lines, with Equinox saying 30% of its mobile app usage came from within its gyms, a trend obé fitness co-founders Ashley Mills and Mark Mullett call “fitness stacking.”
Hybridizing. To keep exercisers engaged, operators are getting creative to meet members wherever they want to work out.
- In the UK, The Gym Group, the fifth-largest gym chain in Europe, partnered with functional fitness app Fiit — giving its members will have unlimited access to Fiit content.
- lululemon launched its Studio membership, bundling MIRROR with in-person classes at boutique studios.
- In addition to its partnership with lululemon, Xponential launched its multi-studio passport XPASS, with access to its on-demand app XPLUS.
- World Gym’s newest gym concept features StudioX, a tech-enabled studio allowing members to access on-demand digital classes.
Takeaway: As consumers opt for hybrid fitness, the ratio of at-home to in-person will vary. Forging new partnerships or acquiring complementary platforms, brands must meet members every step of the way.
