The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Operational decision · 2022
The Wing sold women-only coworking with velvet interiors — it closed all locations at once
A 2020 walkout over racial equity and a CEO's resignation preceded the shutdown; two years later, membership never recovered enough to cover the leases.
The Wing · 2022-08-30
What happened
The Wing launched in New York in 2016 as a women-only coworking and social club, differentiating itself from competitors like WeWork with pink velvet interiors, curated programming and a membership fee pitched as buying community as much as desk space. It expanded to 11 locations at its peak, backed by high-profile venture funding.
In June 2020, employees staged a digital walkout accusing the company of failing to practice the 'intersectional feminism' it marketed, and co-founder and CEO Audrey Gelman resigned the same day. The company had already laid off hundreds of staff earlier in the pandemic as coworking demand collapsed with office attendance.
The Wing never recovered active membership or event activity to a financially sustainable level. On August 30, 2022, its parent company IWG emailed members that all six remaining locations — down from 11 — would close immediately, citing both pandemic-related losses and 'increasing global economic challenges.'
Why it happened
- The business model depended on in-person community and events at exactly the moment the pandemic eliminated in-person office culture altogether.
- A public walkout and CEO resignation in mid-2020 over the company's own stated values damaged the brand identity the membership fee was largely selling.
- Membership fees priced for community and curated programming could not cover real-estate leases once event attendance and daily usage collapsed.
- The company went from 11 locations to 6 without regaining growth momentum, signaling a shrinking business rather than a stabilizing one before the final closure.
The lesson
A membership business selling community collapses fastest when the thing it sells — people showing up together — disappears, and a values scandal removes any reason to wait it out.
Aftermath
The Wing's parent company IWG closed all remaining locations on August 30, 2022, ending the brand entirely. No relaunch or successor coworking brand followed under the same name.
Sources
- The Wing Is Closing All Locations Effective Immediately — Entrepreneur
- The Wing, the once-buzzy women's coworking community, has closed its doors — CNN Business
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