In this Feb. 7, 2013 photo, a man walks past a shuttered New York Sports Club on Water St. in New York. Town Sports International Holdings Inc., the owner of New York Sports Club and Lucille Roberts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, as gym operators struggle to keep afloat amid nationwide shutdowns. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
By Damian J. Troise
The company that runs New York Sports Club and Lucille Roberts gyms filed for bankruptcy protection with COVID-19, still prevalent in man parts of the U.S., gutting membership rolls at fitness companies nationwide.
Gold's Gym sought bankruptcy protection in May and 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide filed for bankruptcy in June. Many companies, including Planet Fitness, furloughed workers in order to conserve cash.
Town Sports International Holdings Inc., which also operates Washington Sports Club and Total Woman Gym and Spa, said Monday that it can no longer pay its debts.
The company lost $136 million during the first quarter this year, only a fraction of which included state- and city-mandated shutdowns of retail shops, gyms, salons, restaurants, and bars. By the end of the three-month reporting period, 95 percent of Town Sports' clubs had been closed.
Town Sports operates 185 clubs and serves 580,000 members, mostly in the Northeast.
Gyms have been allowed to reopen at a fraction of their capacity in some regions like the Northeast. Those who do go to gyms in New York City are required to wear a mask at all times and gyms can only operate at one-third capacity. Group fitness classes are still not permitted.
Yet with more than 33,000 COVID-19 related deaths in New York, most of them in New York City, thousands of one-time gymgoers have taken their routines outdoors, or to their own homes.
Home fitness company Peloton reported a 172 percent surge in revenue during its most recent quarter and it doubled its subscribers. Bike shops in New York, as well as most outdoor fitness gear sellers, have been largely cleared out.
Tony Horton, fitness guru and creator of the famous P90X workout joins Cheddar News to discuss how people can stay focused and maintain fitness in the new year.
Meet Corrine Tan, American Girl’s 2022 Girl of the Year. Corrine is the first doll of Chinese descent from the company, debuting in response to a rise in hate crimes against the Asian American community. Jamie Cygielman, president and general manager of American Girl, spoke to Cheddar about the long development of the character. "As the pandemic began we started to see a lot of anti-Asian sentiment across the country," she said. "We sort of blended all of these stories together to create Corinne, an outline for Corinne, and then partnered with the wonderful author Wendy Shang to help tell that story to our fans." Cygielman also touched on linking up with AAPI Youth Rising, donating $25,000 for education efforts.
Janet Phan, founder of Thriving Elements and author of 'Boldly You,' joins Cheddar News to discuss the importance of being a mentor and how her organization is helping the next generation of STEM leaders.
Jobs website Glassdoor has released its annual Best Places to Work list with Nvidia, HubSpot, and Bain & Company. While the tech sector holds 40 percent of the rankings, Facebook parent company Meta notably dropped 36 places from last year.
Domino's is planning ahead for surging food costs, anticipating an 8 to 10 percent rise due to inflation and labor shortages. The pizza chain will be changing promotions to offset the overhead, such as making some of its discounts online orders only.
A record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November as people continue to take advantage of red hot job market. The resignation rate is now the highest in the two decades the government has kept records, with many people voluntarily leaving their current jobs for other opportunities. Harley Lippman, CEO of Genesis 10, discusses how why so many people are quitting their jobs right now, and how the tech sector is being impacted.
Michelle Krebs, Executive Analyst at Cox Automotive, discusses the factors that led to Toyotas sales growth and highlights the challenges automakers have shifting to all-electric fleets.
The December jobs report was a mixed bag, with the U.S. adding just 199,000 jobs, less than half of the 422,000 forecasted. But there were some bright spots - the unemployment rate fell to a pandemic-era low of 3.9% and wages increased better than expected to 4.7% year-over-year. Heather Boushey, member of President Biden's council of economic advisers, joined Cheddar to gives her reaction to the jobs report, as well as an update on the state of the Build Back Better bill.
Amy Landers, Director of the Intellectual Property Concentration at Drexel University, breaks down what the Google-Sonos lawsuit means for consumers and addresses concerns about big corporations monopolizing patents within specific industries.
