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SoulCycle: reinventing the wheel（261 words）
Would you pay $34 to ride a stationary bike against a backdrop of throbbing dance music in a room full of candles for 40 minutes (and that is before paying to rent the customised cycling shoes)? That is a basic description of SoulCycle, the exercise phenomenon that has gripped the Manhattan jet set. SoulCycle filed its IPO prospectus on Thursday revealing a business that generated $112m of revenue in 2014.
But that $34 does not just burn a few hundred calories — it comes with an emotional therapy session, which may just be a bargain (and is certainly far cheaper than lying on a psychiatrist’s sofa for an hour). The pitch the exercise studio chain makes is that it is bringing “soul to the people” with instructors who “guide riders through an inspirational, meditative fitness experience”.
Providing such an experience happens to be financially gratifying too. SoulCycle boasts operating margins of 35 per cent. Not unlike financial services, it seems talent matters as riders develop an affinity for particular instructors. And staff costs are its single largest expense, running at Wall Street-like 45 per cent of class revenue.
As it turns out, the psychic benefits of exercise are not just for the well-heeled. A discount gym chain, Planet Fitness, is soon to price its own IPO. It emphasises a “judgment-free zone” without “gymtimidation”. A prospering world demands physical and emotional wellbeing. Clever entrepreneurs have figured out they can be offered in the same venue — at a healthy profit.
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