It has been an extended and winding street throughout the pandemic for health club chain big Planet Health, and its efforts to get by to the opposite aspect of the well being mess exhibits.
“I’m extraordinarily glad to say we misplaced no gyms within the pandemic. The business misplaced 22% of the gyms open, closed completely. We misplaced none,” Planet Health CEO Chris Rondeau mentioned on Yahoo Finance Reside.
Planet Health presently operates 2,254 places within the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico and Australia.
The identical resilience cannot be mentioned for the likes of 24 Hour Health and New York Sports activities membership proprietor City Sports activities, which had been pressured to file for chapter. Many smaller boutique gyms — all the fad pre-pandemic — have been pressured to downsize or have vanished.
Rondeau is now stepping on the gasoline to plot Planet Health’ post-pandemic life.
The corporate mentioned this week it would spend $800 million to amass its largest franchisee Sunshine Health. Sunshine will add greater than 100 company-operated places to the Planet Health portfolio, principally within the South.
After the deal closes within the first quarter, Planet Health expects that 10% of its places shall be company-operated somewhat than francisee-led.
“These franchisees have been a few of our best-performing within the system,” Rondeau mentioned of the Sunshine deal.
By and huge, the deal bolstered what continues to principally be a bull case for Planet Health shares on Wall Avenue.
“We consider traders ought to admire that Planet Health has 1) a capital-light, low-risk, defensible mannequin with engaging pricing, 2) a big and rising unit presence, 3) an promoting flywheel and increasing affinity community, and 4) enhanced digital methods that scale back friction,” mentioned Jefferies analyst Randal Konik.
Konik charges Planet Health shares at Purchase.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Comply with Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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