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The pandemic hit many businesses hard, but few were impacted as much as gyms. They first had to close during the lockdowns and when they were finally able to open again, they were limited in how many people could be inside. In addition, unlike restaurants and bars, health clubs did not have any industry-specific federal aid to help them. Because of all those issues facing them, the National Health and Fitness Alliance says 25% of health clubs permanently closed since the beginning of the pandemic. Now, a huge national gym chain has filed for bankruptcy.
According to Bloomberg, Blink Fitness, which is owned by Equinox, just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's CEO said the decision was the best way for Blink to move forward, stating, "Over the last several months, we have been focused on strengthening Blink's financial foundation and positioning the business for long-term success. We thank our entire corporate and gym team for their continued dedication to our members, as well as our vendors and partners for their ongoing support. We look forward to emerging from this process as an even stronger business."
Blink, which reportedly has over 300,000 members, is hoping to work out a plan to repay creditors. While they have seen a 40% increase in revenue over the past couple years, they have announced plans to shutter 10% of their gyms in the wake of the filing.