Trend Fitness Seaford gym to close as owners warn about larger chains’ price war

Another Adelaide gym is closing, this time an independent, family-owned outlet that can’t keep up with massive chains undercutting prices.

An Adelaide fitness couple are “devastated” to be closing their last remaining gym as small gyms continue to be squeezed out of the market by larger operators.

Holly and Steve Little will close Trend Fitness Seaford on July 31, seven years after it opened and 10 years after opening their first branch of Trend Fitness at Morphett Vale.

“Gyms just aren’t what they used to be,” Ms Little said.

“While all of our expenses are going up, gym membership prices have been forced down. It’s just not sustainable for a small gym like us.

“It’s no secret that someone like Derrimut has for many years really pushed the price down, and then you have some other large chains also going cheap – but unfortunately, no one wins in a price war.

Trend Fitness Seaford is closing down. Picture: Google Maps

Trend Fitness Seaford owners Holly and Steve Little. Picture: Supplied

“At the end of the day, whether you’re a big chain or not, we have to reduce your service or increase your prices.”

In February, Holly and Steve returned to the Seaford gym they started and then sold, taking over in a bid to “try and revive it”.

“We thought that it was worth it for the members,” Ms Little said.

“We’re devastated – we really wanted this to work for our team and the (members), because we knew how much it meant to people.

“But … all of a sudden you realise that there’s a point where it’s just not going to work anymore, no matter what anybody does. So, we had to make the very tough decision to close the business down.”

Trend Fitness Seaford is closing down. Picture: Supplied

Trend Fitness Seaford is closing down. Picture: Google Maps

Ms Little said she and her husband “could handle it”, but the difficulty came in breaking the news to their members, some of whom were left in tears.

A strong community had grown around the gym, which also included a creche.

“There’s a such a need for a gym like Trend in the community – they’re a dying breed,” Ms Little said.

“There’s value in those bigger gyms as well, but it’s just a shame that it’s becoming harder for the smaller community-led gyms to survive.”

The closure will mark the end of the couple’s fitness brand, after the Morphett Vale gym was sold to new owners and later rebranded under a different name, Oasis 24/7 Gym.

Trend Fitness Seaford is closing down. Picture: Google Maps

Adelaide fitness industry veteran Kim Tanska also cited the rise of mega-gyms as a reason for last month closing Australian Muscle The Gym at Pooraka.

“The gym industry is very difficult at the moment for smaller operators,” he told The Advertiser in May. “The industry is being taken over by big conglomerates with massive mega-gyms.

“The new trainer that is coming now into the gym scene expects a 10,000 sqm facility with 300 pieces of equipment and only pay $7.95 a week.

“Us small operators, we just can’t compete with that.”

Originally published as Trend Fitness Seaford gym to close as owners warn about larger chains’ price war