Planet Fitness
Touting post-pandemic growth, Planet Fitness believes it can sign up 12% of all Americans.
By the numbers: Reporting Q4 and full-year ’22 earnings, the budget gym franchise notched big sales and membership gains:
- Q4 revenue was $281.3M (+53.2%) with net income at $36.3M, a $30M YoY improvement.
- Total annual revenue jumped 59.6% to $936.8M, with systemwide sales up 11.4%.
- Planet Fitness opened 158 gyms, reaching 2.4K across the US, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.
- As of year-end, total membership reached 17M, a 1.8M increase from 2021.
Talking memberships, CEO Chris Rondeau said 6% of Americans over age 15 are now Planet Fitness members. With 90% of its business franchised and the brand’s outreach to younger generations ongoing, he’s confident growth will continue:
“We believe that in the future we can double our membership given our historic ability to do so and the increasing penetration we’ve experienced with each successive generation.
In the budget. Planet Fitness’s inflation-proof $10 membership has attracted new members amid cost-of-living increases.
Following a similar playbook, other high-volume, low-cost (HVLP) chains have benefited.
- Self Esteem Brands, operator of Anytime Fitness, surpassed all-time highs for member growth last year, earning $2.5M on systemwide sales.
- Budget gym Snap Fitness counted higher member growth and attendance this January than it did in pre-pandemic years.
- Crunch Fitness opened more than 100 clubs and grew its membership 60% since the start of the pandemic.
- HVLP chain Retro Fitness is planning to open 500 health clubs in 50 primarily Black communities across the country in the next five years.
And, according to Placer.ai data, it’s not a blip. In January, gyms saw a 23.3% YoY increase in traffic as consumers continue to prioritize personal health.
Of note, this trend extends beyond budget gyms, with other fitness operators like Life Time and Xponential Fitness also seeing similar boosts in participation, despite higher prices.
Takeaway: At this rate, Planet Fitness will almost certainly top $1B in revenue next year. But, as its bottom line grows, it will be interesting to see how many members actually show up… because the chain collects dues either way.
