The Fitness Chain SoulCycle Files for an Initial Public Offering

The Fitness Chain SoulCycle Files for an Initial Public Offering

So popular is SoulCycle that customers eagerly arrange their schedules around openings for the week’s classes, with sessions regularly booked up within minutes.

Now the popular indoor cycling fitness boutique is betting that stock market investors will prove just as fervent.

So popular is SoulCycle that customers eagerly arrange their schedules around openings for the week’s classes, with sessions regularly booked up within minutes.

Now the popular indoor cycling fitness boutique is betting that stock market investors will prove just as fervent.

On Thursday, SoulCycle filed for an initial public offering of stock, hoping to take advantage of swelling interest in workouts.

With classes generally starting at $30 each, SoulCycle is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Planet Fitness, the ultra-low-cost gym chain that is also pursuing a public listing. That company, which charges members no more than $20 a month, is hoping to raise up to $248 million in its own stock sale.

Boutique fitness classes, which charge a premium for niche workouts, have been gaining popularity in the last decade.

Leading the way has been SoulCycle, which has transformed itself from a cycling workout with a tinge of spirituality into a certifiable lifestyle phenomenon.

Its roots extend back a decade, when the chain’s founders, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, sought to create a new kind of cycling boutique. Unlike traditional workout classes, their company would feature — as described in Thursday’s prospectus — “cardio parties” built around the personality of its instructors, blending high-octane workouts with more meditative elements in a candlelit studio.

Photo

“SoulCycle instructors guide riders through an inspirational, meditative fitness experience designed to benefit the body, mind and soul,” the company wrote in its prospectus, in a section entitled “Our Soul.”

“The experience is tribal. It is primal. And it is fun.”

Ms. Cutler and Ms. Rice began with a 31-bike studio on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in 2006. From there, the company has grown to 38 studios in seven cities, primarily in New York City and Southern California, with ambitions to add up to 250 locations across the country.

Intriguingly, SoulCycle hinted that it planned to move beyond studio workouts, saying in its filing that it sees an opportunity to sell content to an “at home” audience. Such a move could put the chain in competition with smaller start-ups like Peloton or Zwift.

The approach of Ms. Cutler and Ms. Rice has paid off in drawing fiercely devoted customers, many of whom have become “Soul evangelists” who preach the benefits of the classes. Wealthier customers have been known to fly their favorite instructors in for special classes.

Such is the power of word of mouth that SoulCycle spends little on advertising. The chain spent $1 million on ads last year, slightly less than it spent in 2013.

A devoted fan base has translated into strong financial growth as well. The boutique reported in its filing that it earned $25.3 million last year, more than double the amount in 2013. Revenue rose substantially in 2014 as well, to $112 million from $75.3 million the previous year.

The filing on Thursday did not disclose other information, including how much the company sought to raise in its I.P.O. or on which exchange it planned to list its shares.

Though often thought of as an independent company, SoulCycle is majority-owned by Equinox, the luxury gym chain. Equinox owns nearly all of the cycling boutique, with a 97 percent stake. Harvey J. Spevak, Equinox’s chief executive, serves as the cycling boutique’s chairman.

Perhaps in preparation for the stock sale, SoulCycle’s co-founders took a back seat, operationally, last month, naming its chief operating officer, Melanie Whelan, as chief executive.

The offering will be led by Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.

On Thursday, SoulCycle filed for an initial public offering of stock, hoping to take advantage of swelling interest in workouts.

With classes generally starting at $30 each, SoulCycle is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Planet Fitness, the ultra-low-cost gym chain that is also pursuing a public listing. That company, which charges members no more than $20 a month, is hoping to raise up to $248 million in its own stock sale.

Boutique fitness classes, which charge a premium for niche workouts, have been gaining popularity in the last decade.

Leading the way has been SoulCycle, which has transformed itself from a cycling workout with a tinge of spirituality into a certifiable lifestyle phenomenon.

Its roots extend back a decade, when the chain’s founders, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, sought to create a new kind of cycling boutique. Unlike traditional workout classes, their company would feature — as described in Thursday’s prospectus — “cardio parties” built around the personality of its instructors, blending high-octane workouts with more meditative elements in a candlelit studio.

Photo

“SoulCycle instructors guide riders through an inspirational, meditative fitness experience designed to benefit the body, mind and soul,” the company wrote in its prospectus, in a section entitled “Our Soul.”

“The experience is tribal. It is primal. And it is fun.”

So popular is SoulCycle that customers eagerly arrange their schedules around openings for the week’s classes, with sessions regularly booked up within minutes.

Now the popular indoor cycling fitness boutique is betting that stock market investors will prove just as fervent.

On Thursday, SoulCycle filed for an initial public offering of stock, hoping to take advantage of swelling interest in workouts.

With classes generally starting at $30 each, SoulCycle is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Planet Fitness, the ultra-low-cost gym chain that is also pursuing a public listing. That company, which charges members no more than $20 a month, is hoping to raise up to $248 million in its own stock sale.

Boutique fitness classes, which charge a premium for niche workouts, have been gaining popularity in the last decade.

Leading the way has been SoulCycle, which has transformed itself from a cycling workout with a tinge of spirituality into a certifiable lifestyle phenomenon.

Its roots extend back a decade, when the chain’s founders, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, sought to create a new kind of cycling boutique. Unlike traditional workout classes, their company would feature — as described in Thursday’s prospectus — “cardio parties” built around the personality of its instructors, blending high-octane workouts with more meditative elements in a candlelit studio.

Photo

“SoulCycle instructors guide riders through an inspirational, meditative fitness experience designed to benefit the body, mind and soul,” the company wrote in its prospectus, in a section entitled “Our Soul.”

“The experience is tribal. It is primal. And it is fun.”

Ms. Cutler and Ms. Rice began with a 31-bike studio on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in 2006. From there, the company has grown to 38 studios in seven cities, primarily in New York City and Southern California, with ambitions to add up to 250 locations across the country.

Intriguingly, SoulCycle hinted that it planned to move beyond studio workouts, saying in its filing that it sees an opportunity to sell content to an “at home” audience. Such a move could put the chain in competition with smaller start-ups like Peloton or Zwift.

The approach of Ms. Cutler and Ms. Rice has paid off in drawing fiercely devoted customers, many of whom have become “Soul evangelists” who preach the benefits of the classes. Wealthier customers have been known to fly their favorite instructors in for special classes.

Such is the power of word of mouth that SoulCycle spends little on advertising. The chain spent $1 million on ads last year, slightly less than it spent in 2013.

A devoted fan base has translated into strong financial growth as well. The boutique reported in its filing that it earned $25.3 million last year, more than double the amount in 2013. Revenue rose substantially in 2014 as well, to $112 million from $75.3 million the previous year.

The filing on Thursday did not disclose other information, including how much the company sought to raise in its I.P.O. or on which exchange it planned to list its shares.

Though often thought of as an independent company, SoulCycle is majority-owned by Equinox, the luxury gym chain. Equinox owns nearly all of the cycling boutique, with a 97 percent stake. Harvey J. Spevak, Equinox’s chief executive, serves as the cycling boutique’s chairman.

Perhaps in preparation for the stock sale, SoulCycle’s co-founders took a back seat, operationally, last month, naming its chief operating officer, Melanie Whelan, as chief executive.

The offering will be led by Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.

Ms. Cutler and Ms. Rice began with a 31-bike studio on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in 2006. From there, the company has grown to 38 studios in seven cities, primarily in New York City and Southern California, with ambitions to add up to 250 locations across the country.

Intriguingly, SoulCycle hinted that it planned to move beyond studio workouts, saying in its filing that it sees an opportunity to sell content to an “at home” audience. Such a move could put the chain in competition with smaller start-ups like Peloton or Zwift.

The approach of Ms. Cutler and Ms. Rice has paid off in drawing fiercely devoted customers, many of whom have become “Soul evangelists” who preach the benefits of the classes. Wealthier customers have been known to fly their favorite instructors in for special classes.

Such is the power of word of mouth that SoulCycle spends little on advertising. The chain spent $1 million on ads last year, slightly less than it spent in 2013.

A devoted fan base has translated into strong financial growth as well. The boutique reported in its filing that it earned $25.3 million last year, more than double the amount in 2013. Revenue rose substantially in 2014 as well, to $112 million from $75.3 million the previous year.

The filing on Thursday did not disclose other information, including how much the company sought to raise in its I.P.O. or on which exchange it planned to list its shares.

Though often thought of as an independent company, SoulCycle is majority-owned by Equinox, the luxury gym chain. Equinox owns nearly all of the cycling boutique, with a 97 percent stake. Harvey J. Spevak, Equinox’s chief executive, serves as the cycling boutique’s chairman.

Perhaps in preparation for the stock sale, SoulCycle’s co-founders took a back seat, operationally, last month, naming its chief operating officer, Melanie Whelan, as chief executive.

The offering will be led by Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.