It looks like Bodybuilding.com is turning over a new leaf in 2020.
Bodybuilding.com is under new management, despite having been sold to Expedia Management less than a year ago. The company has changed hands yet again during the coronavirus due to a number of factors.
Expedia CFO Eric Hart said the sale was due to a “simplification effort” on the part of Expedia management, though he didn’t specify what exactly that referred to.
“The acquisition was unexpected, but a welcome change to the company atmosphere,” said executive Elliot Nye. The change is unusual for a company that was recently acquired by Expedia in July 2019.
Bodybuilding.com has been a financial liability for awhile now, both before and after its acquisition by Expedia group. In January, it was reported that Bodybuilding.com laid off a significant number of its employees located at their Boise headquarters. It also made headlines in January for the $15.25 million dollar sale of its headquarters to the Washington Federal Bank of Seattle. The CEO had resigned a few months earlier due to unknown internal problems at the company.
Many vloggers predicted the sale of Bodybuilding.com by Expedia long before it actually came due. Expedia is a travel company that specializes in tourism and the general wellness industry — not exactly compatible with Bodybuilding.com’s mission statement of strength sports and supplement sales.
Whatever the future holds for Bodybuilding.com, it’s now in the hands of the Najafi Companies, a Phoenix-based private equity firm. Najafi has also invested in broadcasting companies and has made huge moves during the coronavirus pandemic, buying up companies at lower prices as the economy continues to plummet. It’s an interesting strategy — reminiscent of buying stocks when they’re low to sell when they’re high — but it’s unclear at this time how it will pan out for Bodybuilding.com. Many supplement and nutrition companies have folded under the extreme economic and political pressures of COVID-19, so it’s only a matter of time before a company as troubled as this one has to do some serious internal restructuring. There’s no telling whether that will lead to a dramatic renewal of Bodybuilding.com or to its untimely end. Truly, life is an ouroboros — death comes for us all.
Bodybuilding.com has been a mainstay of the fitness world for awhile now so many fans would be sad to see it go. Much like the Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter franchise, Bodybuilding.com is something of a governmental authority to many fitness fans and buffs around the world. It’s obviously a new world out there — Gold’s Gym and 24-Hour Fitness are among the brands that have filed for bankruptcy during the pandemic. Many companies are looking at dramatic cuts due to these unforeseen circumstances, so only time will tell what that looks like specifically for Bodybuilding.com. Hopefully it involves the continuation of the company in some capacity, since their supplement line has long been lauded as one of the more reliable out there.
*All images and media courtesy of YouTube.
