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Which California Wow Gym Branches Still Open?

cathy211

By cathy211
in Bangkok

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maxman71 Silver Member

maxman71

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Last time I was in BKK which was about a month ago, the CA Wow gym on the corner of Sukhumvit soi 23 and Sukhumvit was still open (I hope it still is) and the one in Siam Paragon, which the newest (opened about 6 years ago).

CA Wow at Liberty Square on Silom was still open as of about 6 months ago, but they had significantly downsized it and was in poor condition; seemed to be slated for closing.

Here is the link to CA Wow in Thailand that shows the following locations still open, but I don't know how up-to-date it is:

http://www.californiawowx.com/Home/home.php

Chiang Mai

Chaengwattana

Ekkamai

Esplanande

Pattaya

Phra Pinklao

Ratchayothin

Siam Paragon

Silom

Sukhumvit soi 23

CA Wow's are (were) all over Asia: Kuala Lumpur (had 2 but both sold off to Fitness First a couple of years ago); Taipei (had two and both sold to some other brand); Hong Kong (still has two); Singapore (just moved their existing one to a nicer location); Seoul (closed down a few years ago); Shanghai (has one that opened in 2009 and is very nice).

The history of CA Wow (which is modeled after 24 Hour Fitness in the US) is it was founded years ago by either an Aussie or Brit guy who never finished high school with his first club in Hong Kong. He expanded pretty rapidly and incurred quite a bit of debt doing so which came back to bite him in the worldwide economic downturn starting in 2008. And, given the CA Wow membership fee model during those years of pay a large sum upfront for a 1-2 year membership that can be renewed for peanuts a year at a time after the initial membership period, it can easily lead to cash-flow problems. I observe now that most gyms are no longer offering such a membership structure and now when you renew, no more cheap renewals.

The gym business for decades has been fraught with brands that offer great deals with cheap renewals then go bust. It is an expensive and capital intensive business with high rents (due in part to the large space requirements and equipment costs/depreciation) and high utility costs. So given the economic events the last few years, I am not surprised CA Wow is scaling back. I just hope the Sukhumvit soi 23 location stays open.

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HardenedSoul Platinum Member

HardenedSoul

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Sukhumvit 23 is still open - just walked past it on the way home an hour ago. I got a refund of my renewal and joined True Fitness over the road at Asoke Junction. Slightly more expensive but both the quantity and the quality of the machines is far superior.

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KamnanT Advanced Member

KamnanT

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The history of CA Wow (which is modeled after 24 Hour Fitness in the US) is it was founded years ago by either an Aussie or Brit guy who never finished high school with his first club in Hong Kong.

His name is Eric Levine and he's Canadian - here's a Forbes article from more prosperous times.

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petedk Platinum Member

petedk

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Ekamai, Esplanade and Pinklao were all closed today. The first excuse was a power cut but later found out that California Wow haven't paid Major so Major cut the power.

No idea how long this will last but it certainly doesn't look good..

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rkidlad Platinum Member

rkidlad

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Ekamai, Esplanade and Pinklao were all closed today. The first excuse was a power cut but later found out that California Wow haven't paid Major so Major cut the power.

No idea how long this will last but it certainly doesn't look good..

Ha ha. I got a letter saying Ratchayothin is closing at the end of the month. I have a 5 club membership around Bkk. They told me not to worry because now I can use any Cali Wow in Bkk. Not really worth much now.

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w11guy Gold Member

w11guy

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Sounds like either they are bankrupt or will be very soon. Don't you lot have gyms in your condo buildings? There has been a gym in every condo building I've been in. Also, you can exercise at home. There's no need for all the expensive equipment.

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HardenedSoul Platinum Member

HardenedSoul

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They're not bankrupt.

Bangkok Bank tried to petition the courts for bankruptcy but the judge awarded them time to restructure their operations. This entails shutting loss-making branches and upgrading the profitable ones.

The gyms I've seen in most condo buildings have been a bit of an after-thought bolt-on characterized by budget machinery and basic maintenance. Of course, if you live in a high end building, that shouldn't be an issue but, personally, I prefer a properly equipped facility with quality equipment.

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glbv Advanced Member

glbv

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A gym that flooded its membership pool with 300$ lifetime memberships is failing? Who would have though such a well thought out business plan would fail...

Anyone whos been there for more than a year has had their moneys worth, anything less then that you should have read the news about them before getting a member ship. They can upgrade all their clubs and change everything they do from this point on, but the fact stands that they have a terrible reputation that is nearly impossible to fix and they still have 1000s of lifetime memberships that they are stuck with.

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