On April 15, 2020, Gold’s Gym announced on social media the decision to permanently close 30 of its corporate locations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bulk of these locations are in St. Louis, Alabama and Colorado Springs.
According to Gold’s Gym, this does not affect the brand’s franchise partners. Following is the statement in full:
“Gold’s Gym has been the world’s trusted fitness authority for more than 50 years, and we’re absolutely not going anywhere. While the COVID-19-related closures have caused us to reassess the viability of some company-owned locations and make the difficult decision to permanently close about 30 gyms, we know that we will emerge from this stronger and ready to grow. This decision affects only company-owned gyms, mainly in our St. Louis, Alabama and Colorado Springs markets, and does not have an impact on any of our franchise-owned gyms. Our focus is and always will be on our members in nearly 700 gyms in 29 countries around the world, and we look forward to welcoming you back as soon as it is safe for our members, team members and communities.”
The last fiscal year was a record-setting one for Gold’s Gym, which saw the brand report:
- 22 new U.S. franchise agreements and 35 grand openings worldwide.
- The opening of nine clubs in Japan, eight in India, five in Saudi Arabia, four in Egypt, two in Russia, and a new gym in both Turkey and Armenia.
- Domestically, the brand opened new locations in New York, Florida, South Carolina and Michigan.
In March 2020, Gold’s Gym reported 700-plus locations across 29 countries worldwide.
On March 16, Gold’s Gym temporarily closed all of its corporate-owned locations in response to the coronavirus. However, temporary closures of franchised locations were decided upon independently by franchise owners and dependent upon state laws.
