2022 Fitness Industry Recap: 5 Memorable Themes

As 2022 winds down, the global fitness industry is another year removed from the start of the pandemic. Maybe this time around we can all look forward to the boost that meets our industry in January.?

But before moving on, I looked back at the themes defining in-person fitness this year. These five stood out to me.?

1. Optimism For In-Person Fitness

Consumer research, location analytics, and filings from public companies offered optimism for IRL fitness.?

• In the US, fitness club membership? reached an all-time high of 21.8% of Americans, according to IHRSA.?
• Placer Ai location data showed that foot traffic to several gym brands in the US fully recovered in Q1 2022. Standouts included Blink, Chuze, and EOS Fitness.?

Across the globe, results from publicly traded fitness companies were also encouraging:

• By January, Planet Fitness exceeded pre-pandemic membership levels. The HVLP brand finished Q3 with over 2,300 locations and 16.6 million members.??
• Smart Fit reported a member base exceeding pre-pandemic levels in early 2022. By the end of Q3, the HVLP operator had more than 1,100 locations and 3.7 million members in Latin America.
• In Europe, Basic-Fit also surpassed pre-COVID membership levels. The low-cost brand closed Q3 with roughly 1,160 centers and 3.15 million members.
• SATS in the Nordic region saw a recovered member base in early 2022. This was despite club closures and restrictions in the region. SATS member base and club count reached 708,000 and 275, respectively, at the end of Q3.?
• In February, Viva Leisure’s clubs posted record member numbers. The Australian operator ended November with roughly 337,000 members and 337 locations.??

Publicly traded boutique operator Xponential Fitness also had a strong year. The firm closed Q3 with nearly 2,500 open studios worldwide.

But as 2022 went on we saw mixed recovery across segments and geographical markets.?

2. An Uneven Recovery

Supply chain issues, staffing challenges, historic inflation, and recession fears threatened recovery. The pandemic continued to impact public health and business.?

Some operators and geographic markets fared better than others.?

Health Club & HVLP Gyms Lead Recovery in the US

In the US, gyms and health clubs fueled early optimism for in-person fitness. These larger footprint facilities are conducive to social distancing.?

Nearly one out of four Americans feel uncomfortable visiting a wellness business per a Mindbody report. Ongoing COVID concerns especially challenged studios:?

• IHRSA’s Health Club Consumer Report shows membership at US studios falling by 36.8% in 2021 versus 2019.?
• Mindbody’s report shows cycling (-39%) and yoga (-31%) studio bookings were down the first six months of 2022 versus the same time in 2019.?
• This past year, SoulCycle announced plans to close 25% of its boutique locations.?

While Xponential posted strong results, many studio operators continued to struggle in 2022.

Geographic Markets Faced Staggered Recovery

Recovery was also uneven in Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific.

In Europe, public firms reported impressive results, but struggles remained across the region. European clubs grappled with sporadic club closures and restrictions for nearly two years.?

From the European Health & Fitness Market Report:

• Fitness center membership in 2021 was down by 13.8% in 2021 relative to 2019 .
• While European club count was down by only 0.7%, revenue was down by more than 40%.
• Memberships at German health clubs were down by 20.5% as fitness centers in the country closed for nearly half of 2021. Revenue was also down by 59% of pre-pandemic levels.???

A 2022 UK fitness industry report indicates that revenue and memberships are closing the gap relative to 2019. Both metrics are down by less than five percent from pre-pandemic levels. ?

While the Spanish market showed promising growth over the past two years, a recent study of operators indicates that a full recovery in Spain may not arrive until 2024 or 2025.?

Challenges also continued in Latin America.?

• Per IHRSA’s Global Report, mask-wearing mandates and restrictions affected clubs in Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Brazil in early 2022. Mask-wearing mandates would continue in parts of the region.?
• The IHRSA report also indicates that LATAM HVLP operators were bouncing back faster than other segments. Even within the HVLP segment, recovery was mixed.?
• Although Smart Fit’s member base fully recovered this year, same-store clubs lagged. At the end of Q3, Smart Fit clubs that were open in early 2020 had recovered 90% of their pre-pandemic member base.?

Over the year, inflation grew to multi-decade highs in LATAM, a significant hardship for smaller economies.

In APAC, recovery varied, oftentimes depending on COVID. Surging cases affected lockdowns and restrictions in Hong Kong and large cities in China and India to start the year. Fitness First closed their eight locations in Hong Kong. Sporadic lockdowns continued in China throughout the year.??

The 2022 APAC FIT Summit Report highlights challenges from staff shortages, high rent, and increasing energy costs. Visits and revenue have been slow to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Brighter days ahead in 2023.

3. All About Pickleball

Onto a lighter theme. Pickleball participation reached an all-time high in the US. The sport showed signs of potential growth across the globe.?

The Sport & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) reports that pickleball participation grew by 39% in two years. Approximately 4.8 million Americans played pickleball in 2021. Google searches for pickleball soared by 219% over the past five years.?

USA Pickleball estimates there are about 10,000 places to play pickleball. Expect this figure to grow as fitness and sport clubs respond to increased demand:

• By year-end, LifeTime had more than 350 courts, including a first-ever pickleball destination.??
• Club operators are repurposing court and other indoor space to make way for America’s fastest-growing sport.?

Trade groups are aiming to grow pickleball worldwide. The International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) now has more than 60 member countries, up from four their inaugural year in 2010. In October, Major League Pickleball announced a campaign to increase the number of players worldwide to 40 million by 2030.

4. Let’s Make A Deal

This year we saw many acquisitions and investments involving in-person fitness.?

In the US, more than a dozen acquisitions took place. Notable deals:?

• Planet Fitness corporate acquired Sunshine Fitness. Sunshine Fitness operated more than 100 locations concentrated in Southern states.?
• Olympus Partners bought Excel Fitness Holdings, a Planet franchisee with over 90 locations.?
• Sentinel Capital Partners purchased Bandon Holdings, the largest Anytime Fitness franchisee. Bandon operated more than 200 units.
• Mayweather Boxing & Fitness acquired 26 locations from KickHouse Fitness. Kickhouse launched in the middle of the pandemic in 2020.?

Suppliers and industry partners serving in-person fitness also executed deals:

• In early 2022, Daxko bought VFPnext, a CRM with built-in automated marketing and sales.?
• In Q2 2022, Core Health & Fitness acquired Wexer and Jacobs Ladder.??
• In August this year ABC Fitness Solutions bought Glofox, a fitness management software with a presence in more than 80 countries.?

Notable transactions also took place in Australia and Europe.

• Gold’s Gym India’s 140+ locations were acquired by Cult.fit, a health and fitness platform based in India.???
• Jetts Fitness Australia CEO led a management buy-out of 129 franchised low-cost clubs. Jetts locations outside of Australia would remain under Fitness & Lifestyle Group (FLG) ownership.?
• Focusing efforts on US growth, RSG group sold their Polish network of McFit clubs (14 total) to Medicover. Medicover is a leading private healthcare operator in Europe.?
• SATS acquired clubs Gym Gruppen and Bare Trening, amounting to 9 total units.

5. The Economic Impact of Fitness

Mainstream media (WSJ, NY Times, etc.) often covers how gyms and studios lift local businesses and real estate.

We industry pros understand the impact fitness has on the economy and personal well-being. Impact reports from The Gym Group and SATS describe how the two public firms contribute to the UN’s sustainability goals (SDGs).

This year, two studies quantified the economic impact of fitness and physical activity.?

A 2022 Deloitte report shows the global fitness industry adds nearly US$100 billion to the economy and supports millions of jobs. The report also details how much an inactive worker costs the individual economies of 46 countries and territories. A WHO study estimates the economic burden of physical inactivity will cost the global economy roughly US$300 million by 2030.?

The bottom line: an investment for turning an inactive worker to a regular exerciser would result in a return for the economy within one year. Reducing inactivity decreases absenteeism and health care costs.?

Health clubs, gyms and studios are uniquely positioned to relieve the burden of physical inactivity.?

Onto 2023

It was an eventful year, one challenging to summarize in five themes. These were my standouts:

• Optimism for In-Person Fitness
• An Uneven Recovery
• All About Pickleball
• Let’s Make A Deal
• The Economic Impact of Fitness

What were your top industry highlights in 2022??