(FranchisePick.Com)  According to a story on FranBest Fitness, when their Lexington-based Global Fitness Holdings Inc. franchisee went independent last November, Gold’s Gym International not only lost its only locations in Ohio or Kentucky markets, it gained a formidable competitor.  The franchise owner rebranded as Urban Active, and is launching an ambitious growth plan to open 50 clubs in the next 4 years.
Unless Gold’s can convince an independent club operator to convert, they likely won’t have any clubs in the Ohio & Kentucky markets until 2009 at the earliest.
Read more here: Gold’s Gym Seeks Ohio Franchise Owners, Conversions
Gold’s Gym International …read more

(FranchisePick.com)  It’s not just the 30 Minute Workout franchises that have been struggling to survive these days… the big gyms have been having their problems as well. 
The fitness industry is growing.  But while there are 9 million more gym members in the U.S. than in 2001, the number of health clubs has grown even more rapidly.   And the average number of members per gym has fallen, from 1,893 in 2001 to 1,455 last year.  This has put a strain on the big clubs like Bally’s, which declared bankruptcy earlier this year, and Gold’s Gym.
In the current issue of  Franchise Times – (November-December 2007, Jonathan …read more