AusLeisure

Reports across multiple mainstream media outlets are advising of closures of F45 Training locations across Australia, citing the slide of the Sydney-founded business that as of its listing on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2021 was worth US$1.5 billion.

Over recent days, News Limited, Mail Online and 7News have each reported on of F45 gyms closing, entering administration or with franchises up for sale.

Among the closures, The Opulent Group, one of F45's biggest franchisees, has shut down at least five gyms in Sydney, four in the southern suburbs of Kogarah, Kirrawee, Caringbah and Miranda, and one in Balgowlah, on the northern beaches.

With F45 outlets in the NSW Illawarra including in Bulli and Corrimal, as well as Zetland in Sydney, having closed earlier this year, F45 Training Parramatta CBD in NSW, F45 Training Bayswater North in Melbourne and F45 Training Devonport in Tasmania are reported by 7News as being set to close.

New Ltd advised that Melbourne-based company Anthony Cselko Training Pty Ltd, trading under the name F45 Training Bayswater North, went into voluntary liquidation as of last Sunday.

While F45 had nearly 500 studios across Australia at the start of the year, reports speculate that 10% of those locations are actively trying to sell their businesses while other franchises are facing the realities of closure.

F45 in Yeppoon, Queensland owed creditors $600,000 while a studio in Gisborne, in regional Victoria, was forced to shut down as the landlord locked the business out of the premises over a $125,000 unpaid debt.

Linked to the closures F45-branded equipment has been offered for sale through e-commerce site at cheap prices. Facebook Marketplace lists items including kettlebells, benches and dumbbells for as low as $3.

While F45’s USA-based operations have endured board resignations and restructuring and multiple class actions from investors, with the brand being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, its troubles in Australia are understood to be based on saturation, high franchises fees and a failure to innovate in a competitive marketplace.

F45's recently appointed Chief Executive Tom Dowd last month told Daily Mail Australia that the business was not unduly concerned about reducing their network, advising “we are prepared to shrink to grow.”

Dowd added “closing unproductive locations to add value to existing studios strengthens our system.

“An important aspect of our real estate strategy is to avoid over-saturation.”

An F45 spokesperson previously told News Ltd that more than 80,000 Australians had joined the brand as members, stating “we are one of the largest fitness operators in the country and maintain a supportive and competitive franchise model.”

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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