Planet Fitness and Kohl's announced a collaboration to open nearly a dozen Planet Fitness centers adjacent to some Kohl's stores this year, with an eye toward opening more of them in the future.
Planet Fitness, one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisers and operators of fitness centers in the U.S., will take roughly 20,000 to 25,000 square feet adjacent to each of those Kohl's department stores across several markets.
Planet Fitness opened 230 centers last year, bringing its portfolio total to 1,700 units. "In today's evolving retail landscape, our differentiated approach to fitness continues to drive traffic to shopping centers across the country, and with over 12.5 million members, [to] resonate strongly with consumers," Planet Fitness CEO Chris Rondeau said in a press release. "We are excited to announce this initial expansion and [to] partner with Kohl's to drive new and complementary traffic to these locations while introducing shoppers to our high-quality, judgement-free, fitness experience at a great value."
Kohl's ended its latest fiscal year with 1,159 Kohl's stores across 49 states. During the past year, the company opened one Kohl's store and relocated two to smaller locations. Meanwhile, same-store sales increased by 1.7 percent. "We continue to see our rightsizing strategy as an important initiative to not only leverage our real estate assets, but also [to] drive traffic to our stores through key partnerships," said Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.
By Brannon Boswell
Executive Editor, Commerce + Communities Today
