Cambridge Group of ClubsĮxclusivity is serious business at this luxury chain-one its clubs, a men’s only mecca for 1,200 members that include Gordon Lightfoot, charges an initiation fee of $1,500. Life Time Fitness took in $1.2 billion in revenue in 2013, making it the third most profitable health club according to Club Industry, a trade journal that tracks the fitness market. Although membership cost is in the triple digits, it pays to go big. Life Time’s first Canadian location opened in Mississauga, Ont., in 2012 members basked in three glorious storeys of amenities, including a combined gym, spa and family recreation centre. Still, the luxury gym is acutely aware of its yuppie factor, which is why it opened the budget-friendly Blink Fitness in 2011, offering Americans monthly memberships as low as $15. In 2013, the New York outfit took in $740 million in revenues and broke into the Canadian market with a stunning 40,000-square-foot club on Toronto’s Bay Street. Offering rainfall showers and organic beet juice, this chain caters to a clientele looking for the velvet rope treatment with their workouts. The High End ($100–$250 per month) Equinox
Here’s a look at how the fitness market is getting crunched. “If they’re charging roughly $50 a month, they need to bring in new services similar to high-end clubs or slash their prices,” says Longwell. Losing stamina is the middle market, pinned between ridiculously cheap prices and eucalyptus-scented towels. Luxury clubs like Equinox thrive by offering a sophisticated fitness experience.
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“The market is currently saturated in the middle, and the low-cost, high-volume model is one way to crack into the competition.”Another way is to crank up the price and become the Ritz-Carlton of gyms. “We are starting to see an emergence of low-cost chains in Canada,” says Graham Longwell, editor of Fitness Business Canada magazine.
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Even with daily free pizza and bagels, it’s the $10-a-month price tag that has attracted more than five million members across North America. Planet Fitness, one of the fastest-growing American franchises, made its Canadian debut this past December, opening its first club in Toronto. Mounting competition is giving Canadian fitness club operators a reason to sweat.
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