Sweat couture
It used to be that a T-shirt and pair of sweats was the outfit dejour at the gym. These days fitness apparel, much like workouts,have become more sophisticated. There are shirts with ventilationpanels, pants with thermal lining and they all can be found in theWashington area.
Dozens of speciality stores, including Lululemon and Lucy, havesprung up around town to cater to a growing health-consciouspopulation.
In 2011 alone, Modell's Sporting Goods opened in ColumbiaHeights, Althleta debuted in Georgetown and City Sports took up anaddress in Silver Spring. Outdoor gear and apparel retailerRecreational Equipment Inc., or REI,is putting the finishing toucheson a location in Woodbridge set to open later this year.
'The D.C. area has a young, affluent and highly educatedpopulation that is much more health conscious than other places inthe country,' said Cushman & Wakefield broker David Dochter, whorepresented Athleta in the Georgetown deal. 'It's a perfectculmination of the characteristics that retailers and gyms want.'
Area demographics were a huge draw for Boston-based retailer CitySports, said the company's executive vice president ofmerchandising, Michael Mosca. The company has opened five locationsinside the Beltway in eight years.
'This market has been good to us,' Mosca said. 'We're definitelyopen to additional locations if the opportunity is there.'
City Sports carries an assortment of indoor and outdoor workoutgear. Mosca said attire for running and cycling are especiallypopular, though general fitness wear continues to fly off of theshelves.
Growing interest in a wide variety of athletic activities haskept the fitness apparel industry humming with an estimated $34.5billion in sales in 2011, a 6.7 percent increase from the prioryear, according to research firm IBIS World.
Speciality stores aren't the only ones ringing up sales forworkout wear. Big-box retailers Target and Wal-Mart sell discountlines, while women's apparel stores, such as Victoria's Secret, Bebeand Forever 21, now are offering athletic wear.
'It's not just Nike or Adidas anymore,' said Janet Shim, a retailanalyst at IBIS World. 'Traditional women's apparel stores areexpanding their product lines to accommodate their customers.'
Despite the crowded field of contenders, Shim asserts thatoversaturation is not eminent because 'more people are wearingsports apparel as everyday clothing, and that's a growth opportunityfor retailers.' Brand loyalty, however, will be key to growth.
- D.D.
Gyms evolve
Gyms have been the answer to a tricky question for commercialreal estate owners and developers in downtown Washington: Who wantsto rent space in the basement?
Typically there are few stores willing to rent space underground.Even with sidewalk-level signage, a lack of display windows is lessthan ideal for retailers who rely on visibility to attract a certainnumber of customers. Some restaurants and bars are willing to rentspace underground for their kitchen, storage and the like, but oftenonly when at least their entrance and sometimes a portion of theirseating is on the main floor.
Gyms, with their membership-based clientele, some need forprivacy and willingness to line their walls with mirrors, have beenperfect for filling basements. High-rise apartment, condo and officebuilders have stuffed their self-operated gyms in the basement, andin the densest real estate markets of Washington, brand-name gymsfrequently takespace underground, sometimes nearly entirelyunderground. Consider the Results Gym at Farragut Square, theWashington Sports Club at Gallery Place or the L.A. Fitness in WhiteFlint.
But that dynamic may be changing. Although many gyms willcontinue to be underground, some developers are renting or reservingspace for them in parts of their buildings that afford natural lightand - in some cases - a decent view.
This is happening for a number of reasons, according todevelopers and leasing brokers. First, the sagging retail market hasallowed some gyms to afford above-ground or street-level space thatthey could not have before. This also aided the rapid growth of someindependent chains with new and different fitness and healthconcepts. Vida Fitness recently opened a U Street location last yearwith a rooftop 'Penthouse Club,' featuring a private pool, fire pitand bar.
Washington is one of the only markets in the country where thefitness industry continues to expand, according to John Bemis,executive vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle, and gyms in the areaare moving aggressively in the slow economy. 'They're takingadvantage of not only lower rental rates, but they're takingadvantage of opportunities for better locations,' Bemis said.
Bemis said cost-friendly gyms such as Planet Fitness and the YMCAare faring well, alongside upscale gyms such as Equinox, which hesaid caters to people who 'were not as negatively affected by therecession.'
Another factor in the growth here is Washington's highlycompetitive apartment market, in which developers are racing tobuild or renovate new units in order to take advantage of risingrents and low vacancy rates. The race for top rental dollars hassome apartment builders and managers emphasizing better fitnessexperiences for residents as a way of distinguishing theirbuildings.
StonebridgeCarras, the developer that recently built Flats 130 atConstitution Square, a mixed-use apartment project in NoMa, put itstwo-story gym on the second and third floors, allowing members tolook out on the street while they exercise. JBG Rosenfeld, which isbuilding a mixed-use Tysons Corner project with a new Wal-Martstore, is putting a 24 Hour Fitness Health Club on top. JBG plans tobuild apartments for the project in future phases.
Greystar, the country's largest manager of apartment units, isentering the Washington market for the first time and putting aheavy emphasis on quality gym space in its efforts to upgradeapartment properties and attract higher rents. In October, afterGreystar announced a number of local acquisitions, Kevin Sheehan,managing director for local real estate, said building the biggestand most quality gym possible in apartment buildings would be key inbeating the market.
- Jonathan O'Connell
Bend & stretch
The popularity of yoga has prompted some studios to devise uniquebusiness models to differentiate themselves in this crowded field.
After months of management changes, Stroga, the nearly 2-year-old hybrid yoga studio in Adams Morgan, is starting to catch on.
'When I came on [in June 2011], Stroga wasn't really that wellrespected in the yoga community,' said Angela Meyer, yoga andprograms director at Stroga. 'Now, we have a name.'
Stroga, the brainchild of Results Gym owner Doug Jefferies, is across between yoga and strength training. The studio, housed in thethree-story L'Aiglon Building, has added classes for kickboxing,capoeira and budokon - a blend of yoga, martial arts and animalmovements - and this year will start a new teacher training program.
Revenue has grown by 50 percent and membership has doubledbetween 2010 and 2011.
The studio's core team consists of Meyer, a general manager,accountant and assistant yoga director, and 10 part-time frontoffice staff. And it faces the same challenges as any burgeoningbusiness looking to grow and evolve, including turnover - Stroga ison its third general manager and second yoga director. Managers alsosometimes have had a difficult time finding top talent in a marketfilled with independent yoga instructors and successful studios.
Jefferies first tried to hire Meyer as his yoga director lastyear, but at the time she had a noncompete contract with Down DogYoga in Georgetown, where she taught and managed for years. Meyerthen moved to New York for a year, returned to Washington in Juneand promptly accepted the job at Stroga, which she says brought newopportunities to create and develop programs on her own terms.
'I really wanted to start a budokon program,' Meyer said. 'I alsowanted to be able to teach budokon, and I wouldn't have been able todo that at Down Dog. At Stroga, Doug trusts me, and he's given me somuch freedom to create.'
Stroga strives to become a community hub, and partners with thenonprofit Mission: Results to promote social and economicdevelopment in Haiti. The studio hosts donation-based Sunday nightclasses where all proceeds go to Mission: Results, and is organizingits first Haiti yoga relief trip later this month, which will bring10 instructors and volunteers to teach English, hold daily yogasessions and build a small farm and community center in theimpoverished nation.
- Catherine Ho
A fitness pledge for the unathletic
That New Year's pledge to shed a few extra pounds and kick up theexercise regimen might be best followed by a cold, frothy beer - atleast that's the ethos of NAKID Social Sports.
One of Washington's many adult recreation leagues, NAKID (whichstands for No, Adult Kickball Isn't Dumb) is a fitness haven for thedecidedly unathletic.
'The league started to really focus on the social aspects ofsports, and to focus on the fact that we're a bunch of adultsplaying a children's game, so things shouldn't be taken tooseriously,' said Erin Reilly, executive vice president for events.
There's a decent business to be made of children's games itseems. Last year, the league attracted 10,000 participants fromaround the region to play kickball, volleyball, dodgeball and, mostrecently, flag football.
But the big draw for many of those who take part is the post-game trek to a nearby bar. Reilly said the league regularly hostsprofessional game nights, movie screenings and parties - all ofwhich drive traffic to other neighborhood businesses.
Tucked in the shadow of the Capitol, My Brother's Place used toclose its doors on Sundays. It's not a busy day for the nearbygovernment employees that have kept its business humming for 31years.
But NAKID began hosting outdoor sports on the mall, and sendingplayers to belly up to the bar. Now, when the league is in season,Sundays draw a rambunctious crowd sporting a rainbow of league T-shirts.
'For us it's been very good, especially in the summer months,'said co-owner and events coordinator Martin Scahill. 'Because we'reonly located one block from the mall, it gives them a place to comethat's easy walking distance to get affordable drinks and food.'
Reilly said the league negotiates discounts for its members andrequires that the bars serve Bud Light, one of the league's primarysponsors. NAKID also has partnerships with D.C. United, the Wizardsand the Capitals for discounted game nights.
For the businesses, the arrangement brings new customers.
'It's a very transient area,' Scahill said. 'Lots of youngprofessionals are moving in and out of the area. It gives them anopportunity to interact and see what's going on.'
- Steven Overly
$34.5B
Sales for the fitness apparel industry worldwide in 2011, up 6.7percent from 2010, according to research firm IBIS World.
