Fitness First, with eight branches throughout the city, announced its closure on Tuesday, marking it the “first blood” of the fitness industry since the government ordered all gyms to close.
An international brand based in the United Kingdom, Fitness First operates in Hong Kong under a franchise. The local operations boasted at least 100 workers, including about 60 coaches and over 10,000 members.
In a letter sent to all staff on Monday, the company announced its permanent closure. All employment contracts had also been terminated immediately, a staffer said.
Fitness First also apologized to the staff in the letter and thanked them for their services in the past.
According to the staffer, all part-time staff have been paid back in early February, and the company will later issue an official employment termination letter.
It was understood that the decision to shutter the gym chain came after an emergency meeting convened recently by the senior management.
Gyms are among specified premises ordered to be closed since January 7, as Hong Kong entered the fifth wave of pandemic and Omicron cases surged following the birthday party of Witman Hung Wai-man, principal liaison officer for Hong Kong of the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority.
According to other gym operators, the rumor that Fitness First is going down has recently spread.
Gordon Nowitzki Yau, chairman of the investigation panel of Hong Kong Fitness Guide, said the gym business has been halted for more than two months now, and operators are not even sure if they can resume business by April 20, the expected “expiry date” of the stringent Covid curbs.
Yau continued that the monthly rent could cost a fitness center hundreds of thousands of dollars or even over millions of dollars.
He believed some 100 to 150 more gyms will close later if the industry cannot resume business by mid-April, when the curbs are supposed to be relaxed.
Another struggling fitness center, Goji Studios, shut down back in December last year. It cited Hong Kong’s Covid development and social distancing measures as the main reason for the closure.
It also added the company had been unable to raise the necessary funds, and no consensus has been reached after active discussions with several landlords.
All remaining membership, personal trainer courses, and other services of members could make their transitions to another gym, Physical Fitness & Beauty.