Latest News

Back to Latest News back

 

Gold’s Gym acquired by German owners

Gold’s Gym acquired by German owners
July 20, 2020

US-based Gold’s Gym International, which filed for bankruptcy in May, has been acquired by German fitness and lifestyle brand the RSG Group GmbH.

Hit hard by the economic shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gold’s Gym filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 in the US state of Texas in early May, in an effort to facilitate the financial restructuring of the company.

Having been through a court- approved auction process, the RSG Group has been announced as the winning bidder in a move that will see the Group, which has mainly been active in Europe up to now, expand to over 900 locations spread across six continents.

Founded in 1997, RSG Group’s major brand is Europe’s McFIT gyms, which has the slogan as being “the fitness studio for everyone.”

It also operates the John Reed family (John Reed Fitness Music Club, John Reed Women’s Club, John & Jane’s, The Reed), High5, online workouts Cyberobics, the fitness planner app LOOX, the training experience Master of Enthusiasm, sports nutrition Qi², in-house model agency McFIT Models, Pearl Management, artist management agency Tigerpool that represents fashion label Marcell Von Berlin and street artist Ron Miller, cake brand Steven Baker and The Mirai.

Commenting on the acquisition, Rainer Schaller, the RSG Group's founder and Chief Executive, stated "Gold's Gym is a fitness institution that had a major influence on the industry's development. It was a huge source of inspiration when I was setting up my first McFIT studio in Würzburg, Germany back in 1997.

"I am incredibly proud that, in partnership with their current leadership team, we will be able to breathe new life into this iconic brand under the umbrella of the RSG Group."

For Schaller, who has been a franchisee in the food retail business for over 30 years, the Gold’s Gym acquisition will be his first move in fitness franchising.

Explaining this, he added "instead of my original idea of slowly approaching franchising in the fitness sector, we are now diving in headfirst. This is the start of a new era for the RSG Group and I'm really looking forward to its success.”

Adam Zeitsiff, President and Chief Executive of Gold's Gym, also advised "The RSG Group, with nearly 25 years of owner-managed expertise in the fitness sector, lives and breathes fitness and that is reflected in everything they do and how they do it.

“For us, this acquisition will open up brand-new opportunities to lead Gold's Gym into a strong future together. My team and I are excited to partner with RSG and we look forward to much success for our team members, our members, and our global brand."

Gold's Gym will emerge from bankruptcy with 61 company-owned gyms and more than 600 franchise-owned gyms, along with a healthy balance sheet.

Since 1997, Rainer Schaller has succeeded in building a global corporation, the RSG Group, with more than 5,000 employees in 48 countries in over 300 locations.

Gold's Gym’s Zeitsiff says 'Exercise is medicine' during pandemic
Zeitsiff has also been urging Federal, state and local governments to allow gyms currently closed during the Coronavirus pandemic to allow gyms to reopen

Interviewed on Fox News, Zeitsiff mad the case to reopen gyms, arguing that governments should allow gyms to reopen during the pandemic because they provide needed outlets and health benefits for Americans.

Speaking on Cavuto Live, he stated “we all came together as an industry and we've been working on this for months now. And we voluntarily shut our doors even before the mandates because we knew we had to do this for the betterment of humanity.

"But we've been working for months to deliver strict sanitising, cleaning, distancing guidelines and protocols to help keep our community safe. And to your point, exercising, it is medicine. It is very important to people. And as gym operators, above all, we absolutely value the well-being of our communities."

He advised that being in gyms was an "essential part of people's lives", adding “during these tough times, in this pandemic, we've got to keep gyms open - people need that outlet and they need to stay healthy.”

Images: Gold's Gym International will now become part of the RSG Group portfolio, which includes the European fitness brand McFIT (top, courtesy of Gold's Gym International) and Adam Zeitsiff, President and Chief Executive of Gold's Gym (below).

Related Articles

7th April 2020 - Two-thirds of the world’s fitness clubs are currently closed

26th May 2020 - Call for fitness industry stakeholders around the world to unite on 1st June

7th May 2020 - Gold’s Gym files for bankruptcy protection in the USA

16th January 2020 - 2019 marked Gold’s Gym strongest year of worldwide growth

23rd July 2018 - Gold’s Gym International owner puts brand up for sale

29th July 2016 - Confusion surrounds franchising operations of Gold’s Gym in Australia

28th August 2015 - Gold’s Gym inducts Arnold Schwarzenegger into Hall of Fame to mark 50th anniversary

26th May 2014 - Gold’s Gym to open 50 fitness clubs in Australia

3rd June 2011 - Gold’s Gym plans to open 25 more centres in India

20th April 2010 - Gold’s Gym to open 26 Clubs in the Arabian Gulf