SoulCycle, the indoor cycling chain, files for initial public offering

NEW YORK, N.Y. – SoulCycle, the high-end indoor cycling chain, is gearing up for Wall Street.

The New York company filed for an initial public offering Thursday, hoping to raise as much as $100 million. SoulCycle didn’t say how many shares it plans to offer, or at what price, so that number may change.

It announced that it named chief operating officer Melanie Whelan as CEO last month, replacing co-founders Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice. SoulCycle said Cutler and Rice will remain involved with the company, which they launched in 2006 with one New York studio.

SoulCycle charges about $35 for each hour-long class. Classes take place in small candlelit rooms with loud music playing. The company also sells $54 T-shirts, $78 sweat pants and $58 tote bags with the SoulCycle logo stamped on them.

The company is credited with fueling the fast-growing boutique fitness industry. Small gyms have been opening in cities around the country, offering yoga, cycling and other fitness classes. Boutique fitness studios are the fastest growing part of the gym industry, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, and they made up 21 per cent of the fitness industry in 2013.

There are currently 38 SoulCycle studios around the country, and the company plans to expand to as many as 250. Each studio generates about $4 million a year in revenue, the company said.

SoulCycle said it earned $25.3 million last year, up 42 per cent from 2013. It had revenue of $112 million in 2014, up 49 per cent from the previous year.