Given that Peloton recently said it was laying off over 800 employees and SoulCycle recently revealed it was closing 20 sites throughout the United States, it’s possible that the high-intensity indoor cycling craze is losing popularity.
The majority of SoulCycle sites will close in New York, but there will also be closures in California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, and Washington state, the business revealed.
After the closures, there will be around 65 SoulCycle sites left in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
According to SoulCycle, certain consumers’ riding habits have changed, thus the company is shutting several sites.
While some individuals have moved away from a local SoulCycle facility during the coronavirus outbreak, others are still riding at home and won’t be returning to in-person sessions.
According to a SoulCycle spokeswoman, “Some of these moves have been based on location, therefore we are naturally reevaluating our portfolio of studios to determine if there is an opportunity to right-size in some regions.”
This will enable us to continue offering riders the beloved SoulCycle experience.
Equinox Group, located in New York, is the owner of SoulCycle. According to a March Wall Street Journal article, the privately owned fitness firm is attempting to raise millions of dollars in order to go public.
At Peloton, a decreasing physical footprint is also anticipated.
Peloton, once the pandemic’s fitness darling, has fired more than 3,500 employees so far this year.
The business announced 784 job cuts last week. Having let off around 2,800 employees in February, this is the second wave of layoffs this year.
Barry McCarthy, the CEO, sent a message to the staff explaining the need for the layoffs “if Peloton is ever going to become cash flow positive.”
We are affecting people’s lives, therefore these are difficult decisions, McCarthy stated. But he said, “We simply must become cash flow self-sufficient.”
Additionally, an undetermined number of Peloton shops will shut in North America. Although he didn’t specify a timeline, McCarthy called the choice “a dramatic and aggressive decrease of Peloton’s retail presence.”
Additionally, Peloton is facing a class-action lawsuit from clients who claim the firm misrepresented a “ever-growing” library of programmes while secretly removing sessions.
Last Monday, a federal court in New York rejected Peloton’s request to have the lawsuit dismissed.