Tuesday, August 16, 2022

[CLOSURE ALERT] SoulCycle To Shutter Single Atlanta Studio

Indoor cycling studio SoulCycle has announced plans to close nearly 25 percent of its studios.  The plan, revealed in an email to customers over the weekend, includes closing one of only two studios in Atlanta.  The SoulCycle in Buckhead at The Shops Around Lenox will remain open, but the relatively new studio at Ponce City Market will close.  

According to the email, the Ponce studio, which opened in late September 2019, will close after its evening classes on Thursday August 18.  In total, the company will close 17 of its current 83 studios including its lone studio in Toronto, Canada.  

SoulCycle is owned by Equinox Group, a holding company controlled by The Related Companies, a New York-based real estate firm.  The group also includes Equinox, Blink Fitness and PURE yoga, among other businesses.  

Ruth Zukerman co-founded the first SoulCycle in 2006 before leaving in 2009 to open competing studio Flywheel Sports.  At one time Flywheel operated three studios in metro Atlanta - Buckhead, Alpharetta and Midtown - but all closed in late 2020 after the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  

News of SoulCycle's struggles comes just days after Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) — whose stock is down more than 90% from its pandemic-induced peak in late 2020 — announced a major shift in strategy.  Peloton revealed August 12 another round of layoffs - its second since the start of the year - price hikes for its core products and the closure of many of its retail showrooms.  The company once operated a pair of locations in metro Atlanta, but its Buckhead showroom in Lenox Square has been removed from its website as it reportedly closed last week.  The company's other Atlanta area showroom at Avalon in Alpharetta remains open...for now.  

There is no word yet on what may replace SoulCycle at Ponce City Market, but owner Jamestown has done a good job of backfilling vacant space with recent examples including the relocation and addition of men's to Madewell and the Atlanta debut of makeup brand Glossier.  

When was the last time you took a SoulCycle class? What is your favorite boutique gym in metro Atlanta?  What would you like to see open in place of SoulCycle at Ponce City Market?  

Please share your thoughts below

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Use to take spin classes with Ruth Zukerman at the Reebok Club on the Upper Westside in the early-to-mid 2000's before she left to start Soul Cycle. One helluva instructor.

Anonymous said...

Looked at them several times and they are very expensive. With today's economy, it is a luxury item that will be forgotten. Gyms will offer several options on getting fit. Another cupcake dream gone Bye-bye!

Anonymous said...

I agree. just too damn expensive per class. I have my own bike at home and get a helluva workout paying $13 per month for the Peloton app and if Peloton doesn't survive, Apple Fitness is pretty good too and with both, I get so much more than just spin classes.

Anonymous said...

i have a peloton collecting dust, maybe you can be my trainer

Anonymous said...

The Peloton fad faded quickly, didn't it?

Anonymous said...

I agree. For a while there Peloton seemed as though it had staying power and a solid business model for years to come. Having bought one that’s completely being underutilized I can tell you it’s puzzling, even my own decision was puzzling, given that it’s literally just an exercise bike with a shiny object on top. I don’t know how I felt like it was going to outlast any other kind of exercise bike from the 70’s and 80’s that’s been in the garage for 50 years. The shiny object is good a couple of times for motivation and then that in itself gets boring unless mentally you’re “addicted to staring at very physically fit people while they’re doing their fitness routines”. If you’re not a voyeur it’s just an exercise bike. as usual just trying to keep it real.

Anonymous said...

So I also purchased a Peleton during the pandemic, after FlyWheel closed. I was a member there for many years and enjoyed the workout. What I’ve found with my Peleton is I’m still using the weight training workouts on the app weekly with consistency, but I have to force myself to ride my bike as I’m starting to find it boring as well. There’s no longer a used market for them either, as NextDoor and Facebook are littered with ads of people attempting to sell them. I wish now I’d just started with the app, because I think the content and instructors are excellent. Overall, I don’t miss going to a physical space to workout, just not sure how long any of these companies will realistically survive.

Anonymous said...

I've never bought any at-home exercise equipment and instead just do the gym membership thing. Not sure what Peloton charges after the initial purchase but
due to longevity, my gym membership is really cheap ($15/month at LA Fitness). I recently joined Planet Fitness for anotehr $10/month just for a change of scenery. They both have plenty of exercise bikes, treadmills and weights.

Although I've never tried it, the Cyclebar near me seems to be going pretty strong still.

Anonymous said...

Snap Fitness

Anonymous said...

@Anon 8/22/22 12:27pm:
Just checked it out - you can't even get pricing without submitting your name, e-mail and phone. Big red flag - don't need hard sell gyms. Especially when their "special" is no initiation fee with a 6 or 12 month membership. Also don't need long term contracts. If I go one month and don't like it, I want out.

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