James Bond Fitness in Austin, Texas, shuts doors
Some manufacturers were taken by surprise to find that James Bond Fitness in Austin, Texas, shut its doors in late September. Owner James Bond did not return calls or emails from SNEWS; we have photos.
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James Bond Fitness in Austin, Texas has closed its doors for business as of late September.
James Bond opened his family-operated store in late April 2010. He did not return calls or emails from SNEWS requesting comment regarding why and when exactly he shut his doors.
A notice dated Sept. 22, 2011, from the property owner, Sage-Interwest Associates, was posted on the store’s door (photo, left) informing Bond that the locks had been changed and he could obtain the keys after he paid delinquent rent. The notice also said Bond would be held to the lease and be required to pay delinquent rent and future rent until the lease’s term expired.
One supplier to the store, wasn’t surprised to hear the news. “James Bond has not returned our phone calls since Aug. 18,” Ken Carpenter, director of sales for SportsArt Fitness, told SNEWS. “It doesn’t surprise me that the store’s closed.”
Though many SportsArt items were listed on the still live website for the now closed store, Carpenter said this store closing doesn’t affect his company very much.
“We’re not too deep into them so it’s not a huge deal for us,” Carpenter said. “But it’s not good for the industry when any retailer or manufacturer goes out. It’s a shame and I’m sorry it happened.”
Other manufacturers expressed shock when SNEWS told executives of the store closing; many hadn’t heard the news nearly two weeks after the store closed, although it was empty with only remnants of the move-out operation remaining on Oct. 6 (photo, right).
After his ownership of HEST Fitness with investors Bruce Thaler and Robert Poole was ended on July 14, 2008, after a year (click here to read about the purchase of HEST in 2007), he worked as Leisure Fitness Group’s director of sales and marketing. He returned to Austin to open James Bond Fitness in April 2010 (click here for that story).
Carpenter said this is yet “another fatality of the industry.”
–Ana Trujillo
