Gold’s Closes Last Club In Hawaii, Announces Company Hires

Fitness Business Pro:

Last year, Keith Albright, senior vice president of franchising at Gold’s Gym International, said the company planned to open about a half dozen Gold’s Gyms in Hawaii over the next few years. Those plans will not include the last remaining Gold’s Gym in Hawaii, which will close on Aug. 31.

Dave Reiseman, director of communications for Gold’s Gym, says the closing club in Honolulu is an older, corporate-owned facility.

“We are constantly working to upgrade our portfolio, and this didn’t meet the standards we’ve set for ourselves or our members,” says Reiseman, who adds that Gold’s plans to come back to the Hawaii market “in a bigger way.”

The 1,500 members at the Gold’s Gym in Honolulu will be transferred to nearby Powerhouse, a comparable-size gym that opened in July 2007 that currently has about 2,000 members, according to media reports.

The news of the closing of the lone remaining Hawaii Gold’s came at the same time the company made several announcements that outlined the company’s strategic move to grow the company with new locations in the United States and worldwide.

Gold’s hired Marc Eisman as director of franchise development and support, Asia-Pacific. Eisman will be responsible for developing Gold’s Gym franchise opportunities in Australia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Eisman, who will report to Albright, is a licensed chiropractor and formerly a Gold’s Gym franchisee who introduced the brand in Australia and the South Pacific 11 years ago.