YouFit Health Clubs, Deerfield Beach, Florida, has rebranded as YouFit Gyms and will offer new member services while also investing $20 million to renovate its 80 locations, the company announced on Oct. 25.
“We felt like ‘health clubs’ was an outdated term and ultimately something that we weren’t,” YouFit CEO Brian Vahaly told Club Industry. (See the full interview in the video above.) “At our core, we are a gym, and we provide a great strength training experience and we provide a great cardio experience. With that said, we need to personalize that and take it a step further.”
YouFit was one of several major brands that filed for Chapter 11 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2021, it went through financial restructuring during which ownership landed in the hands of a group of investors, including majority shareholders Birch Grove Capital. At that time, Vahaly was named CEO, bringing with him two-and-a-half years of experience as the CFO of boutique studio brand SolidCore, experience in private equity with NextGen Venture Partners and McLean Capital as well as experience as a professional tennis player.
The rebranding includes a new logo to go with the new name, $20 million in upgrades at its 80 clubs in 10 states, nutritional resources through a partnership with EatLove, on-site personal training for as low as $30 per session, and YouFit On Demand, a series of virtual classes created for at-home workouts through a partnership with Les Mills.
YouFit will continue to offer memberships for as low as $10 and will offer higher tiered memberships up to $39 per month where the nutrition, virtual and on-demand as well as small group training offerings will be included, Vahaly said, adding that the vast majority of its customers upgrade to the higher price point.
“We think $10 gets them in the door and the people who don’t need the accountability, don’t need the training, don’t need any sort of education—then we’re a great product for them,” he said. “But the reality is most people do need that. So for us, we’re seeing people upgrade. We’re seeing people take advantage of some of our other services, and that’s provided a great business model for us.”
The low-price model had been working for the brand prior to the pandemic, but the pandemic and growth under prior ownership that was faster than was sustainable caused issues that necessitated the November 2020 Chapter 11 for the company, he said.
At one point YouFit had about 140 locations, but at the time of its Chapter 11, it had 100 locations before narrowing to its current 80 facilities.
Expansion Plans
YouFit will expand again but this time, Vahaly plans to go slowly with no intention of franchising. He plans to open from three to five gyms in 2022 and then open more in 2023.
“For us right now it’s about stabilizing the group, really getting this rebrand out, getting all of these services performed well for all of our customers,” he said. “That’s really where we are focused for the next six months.”
Expansion will continue in its core markets across the Southeastern United States, including Florida, Atlanta and Dallas.
Vahaly said: “We see a lot of opportunity there. We just want to be slow and thoughtful about that and really understand how our customers are using our gyms differently than they did maybe pre-COVID. So as we think about expansion, what is the right square footage? What are the right products that we need? What are the right strength training options that they want? We want to study and learn from our customers before we start potentially opening a type of gym that is no longer the type of gym that people want and need coming out of COVID.”
Boutique fitness did a good job of personalizing fitness and creating a great experience, and Vahaly wants to bring personalization to YouFit, he said.
“I felt like coming out of the pandemic people really learned what they can do at home and what they can’t do at home,” he said. “So having a low-cost option for strength training as well as some additional services that we’re bringing on as a part of the new YouFit—I just see a really big opportunity there.”
YouFit clubs range from 15,000 square feet to 35,000 square feet and from 5,000 membership to 12,000 memberships, he said.
Low-priced and higher-priced providers are well positioned to be successful coming out of COVID, Vahaly said. And he plans to stay in the low-priced arena for a reason.
“Our big mantra going forward is affordability and accessibility,” Vahaly said. “We want fitness to be accessible for all.”