No one in the fitness business needs a tally of club companies’ revenues to be convinced that 2009 was a rough year. The industry certainly encountered the most difficult economic year in its history.

That fact is reflected in this year’s Top 100 Clubs list, which you can view in the attachment at the end of this story. Our annual list ranks club companies by revenue in the previous year. It is not meant to rank clubs based on quality or service.

Thirty-six club companies reported lower revenues for 2009 than they reported for 2008. We estimated a 4 percent decrease for another 11 companies from whom we did not receive forms this year but for whom we had self-reported numbers last year.

The good news is that despite the record number of companies with lower 2009 revenues, the decreases were generally in the single digits, compared to other industries where revenue decreased more steeply. It was much harder for owners to increase revenues in their core businesses last year, and because the economy did not allow many club companies to add new facilities in 2009, operators found it more difficult to offset the losses in their core businesses.

24 Hour Fitness, San Ramon, CA, continues as the top club company with $1.325 billion in revenue. LA Fitness, Irvine, CA, ranks second with $1 billion. LA Fitness added more than 50 sites last year—a growth rate of about a club a week that few companies in the industry can match.

LA Fitness and Equinox, New York, which ranks No. 6 at an estimated $344 million, are on the list for the first time, not because they never qualified before, but because we previously were never able to make an accurate estimate on their revenue. This year, we received what we think are reliable estimates, so we’ve included them on the list.

Equinox, which is owned by real-estate company Related Companies, opened five clubs in 2009, but it is better positioned for growth this year after getting a new investor in Leonard Green & Partners and going through a debt refinancing of $425 million.

The top five continues with Life Time Fitness Inc., Chanhassen, MN, at No. 3 with $837 million, ClubCorp., Dallas, at No. 4 with $812 million, and Town Sports International, New York, at No. 5 with $485.4 million.

Capital Fitness, Chicago, came in No. 7 on our list for a year in which it experienced much growth with its XSport clubs. The company grew revenue by 17 percent, increasing from $115 million in 2008 to $134 million in 2009. Much of the growth was from the addition of three clubs.

Planet Fitness, Newington, NH, increased revenue by 31 percent, mostly due to the addition of three corporate facilities and 58 franchised facilities. It ranks No. 8 this year with $129.5 million.

No. 9 was Millennium Partners Sports Club Management, Boston, at an estimated $110 million, while No. 10 was Western Athletic Clubs, led now by Matthew Stevens, at $107.5 million, a 2 percent increase from 2008 revenue.

After Chapter 11

The biggest name left off the list this year is Bally Total Fitness, Chicago. Bally did not report its numbers to us this year. Because the company emerged from Chapter 11 last year and closed or did not renew leases on several clubs, we decided estimating 2009 revenue for the company was unwise.

The numbers for Crunch, New York, calls for some explanation, as it also emerged from Chapter 11 last year. In the process, Crunch dropped from 30 clubs to 19 as it moved out of the Chicago and Atlanta markets. That explains much of the 22 percent revenue decrease for the company, which dropped from No. 13 last year at $84.5 million to No. 20 this year with $65.7 million.

But Crunch’s management has big plans for the future. Already this year, the company has acquired two clubs in the San Francisco area. Plans are for one to two more acquisitions by the end of the year.

In addition, Crunch has a new, low-priced, franchised club option. The first one will open in August in Lake Forest, CA. The second will open in September in the Portland, OR, area.

Although Curves International, Waco, TX, did not file for Chapter 11, it is another company missing from the list this year. The one-time women-only franchise sensation has seen its U.S. franchised location numbers drop from 7,748 in 2007 to 5,208 in 2009, according to the company’s franchise disclosure document. Curves President Mike Raymond told The Wall Street Journal that the decrease was an intentional effort to rid the company of franchisees who bought a location for the wrong reasons.

After we compiled the Top 100 Clubs list, we received details that Curves’ 2009 revenues were $84.1 million, which would have put the company at No. 15 on our list. That compares to $128.7 million in 2008.

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© 2012 Penton Media Inc.