On Tuesday, Dropbox announced a permanent shift to remote work, with “Dropbox Studios” to be set up in the future for employees that need to meet or work together in person.
The pandemic has forced businesses and even entire industries to rethink how much they need, and how they use real estate / physical space in their business models. This has happened in several ways –
🏢The obvious example is companies that believe in the sustainability of WFH and are using this as an opportunity to slash rent expense on their P&Ls. Dropbox’s example is interesting because it’s not a black and white question of office vs no office – rather, they seem to be looking for a happy medium where they only use (and pay for) office space that they really need. The “studios” will be used on a need basis.
🍴A broader example where coronavirus has caused an entire industry to reconsider its use of space is the restaurant industry, where the restaurant model, especially that of fast food / grab and go stores, is being questioned by the emergence of concepts like cloud kitchens – with takeout and delivery on the rise, do restaurants really need much physical space?
In this vein, the pandemic-fueled rise of connected fitness (like Peloton) has led to many claiming that gyms are going to be wiped out – but maybe what gyms need to survive is reimagining their space? If you’ve been to a gym before, you know that cardio equipment uses significant portions of gym space. With more and more cardio moving at-home with the increased adoption Peloton / Mirror like products (which will only go up as the prices of these products come down), I think gyms won’t necessarily die, but our concept of what a gym is and what a gym looks like will change.
We’ll probably see more smaller boutique studios – that save a ton on rent expense and are geared specifically towards certain kinds of customers. For example, there might be more strength / resistance training equipment heavy spaces. Or boxing studios. Or other forms fitness activity that just can’t be replicated at home – to complement your Pelotons at home.
Do you agree / disagree? What other ways do you think gyms will change in the future? Let me know!