Survey of major fitness groups shows club openings outstrip closures at rate of two to one

New data from retail intelligence platform GapMaps shows 221 new fitness clubs opened and 112 closed across Australia for the 12 months to 31st August - a ratio of two openings for every closure.

Reversing the findings of GapMaps’ previous survey which showed a net reduction of clubs, the new data would appear to indicate new strength in the industry as it recovers from the pandemic with the 20 leading brands covered by the survey operating at 3,258 locations.

The findings show Anytime Fitness as Australia’s largest gym brand with 559 locations (growing by +23 during the year) followed by CrossFit with 510 outlets and F45 Training with 490 sites.

However, F45’s well publicised troubles saw its footprint decline, with a new decline of -21 sites during the 12 months.

The figures also show Fitstop Australia (with an increase of 45 gyms to 123 locations) and BFT (with an increase of 24 gyms to 175 locations) as Australia’s fastest growing brands.

Zap Fitness also increased significantly in size with it acquiring 34 former Jetts club locations.

Sold in the first quarter of last year, the transition of the sites followed the completion of the Fitness and Lifestyle Group's sale of the Jetts brand.

Founded in 2013, GapMaps is an Australian built and owned company that makes it easy for businesses to make better location decisions by integrating the latest socio demographic, economic, customer and competitor intel on one simple-to-use platform called GapMaps Live.

Images: Fitstop Australia was the nation's fastest growing major fitness brand in the year to 31st August (top). Table courtesy of Gap Maps.