Gyms Get Shoppers’ Blood Pumping

Fitness centers are starting to flex their muscles in high-end malls, and neighboring retailers have discovered they have the potential to drive large volumes of traffic.

Long Island’s Roosevelt Field, one of the nation’s largest high-end shopping malls, added an XSport Fitness in 2006. The 60,000-sq.-ft. complex features 150 cardio machines, a 25-meter pool, basketball courts and more. It is open 24 hours and offers personal trainers, a day care center and a day spa.

With membership that typically is more than 60 percent female, mall locations make sense for XSport, according to vice president Joe Whiteside. Because gyms tend to be busiest in the early morning and late evening – typically slow times for most retailers – there can be a strong synergy between malls and fitness centers. And as large gyms can have thousands of members that come in two to five times a week, they have the potential to generate significant foot traffic.

“There are some people that come in just to use the gym and others that seem to make a day out of it,” says Kathi Herrmann, area director of mall marketing for Roosevelt Field. “They might do their workout in the morning, do a little shopping then grab lunch. There’s a constant flow of people coming and going.”

Anytime Fitness, with more than 1,000 clubs around the country, is also eyeing shopping malls. The Minnesota-based company recently opened a 6,000-sq.-ft. franchise in the Lakewood Mall in Aberdeen, S.D. Nestled between a bank and a Payless ShoeSource, Anytime Fitness has mall and external entrances to accommodate round-the-clock operating hours for its 700 members.

“You’re always getting people that want to stop in and take a look,” says Lynn Dosch, location manager for Lakewood Mall. “Simply being here attracts memberships, and the other retailers see the benefits, as well.”