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The fitness industry prepares for a long road back to financial form
MANILA, Philippines – Getting in shape became more difficult during a pandemic when everyone is stuck at home, but when gyms finally reopened this month, gyms are relying on Filipinos’ constant desire to stay healthy to get back in financial shape. .
However, as with muscle toning, the recovery process will be long and difficult with the movement restrictions still in place. Hand sanitizers and temperature controls would be a common feature in gyms, while group classes would have to wait until the government also allows them to return.
For returning clients, scheduling trainings in advance will become the norm. At Anytime Fitness, the nation’s largest gym franchise with 136 locations across the country, disinfecting gym equipment would also take place every 2 hours. Masks should also be worn when entering establishments, but due to health risks, they are not mandatory when exercising.
“Our focus is on proper operations that ensure everyone is safe in our gyms,” Anytime Fitness said in a statement.
After the reopening was postponed last August when strict closures were briefly enforced, the gyms finally came back online on Sept. 1 when the Duterte administration, keen to revitalize a battered economy, allowed operations at 30% capacity.
For the administration, the health bans mean additional expenses for gyms that did not earn anything during the last 6 months of closure. Fitness First Philippines, which has 14 clubs across the country, was forced to apply for bank loans to stay afloat and at the same time lay off 5% of its employees.
“Our first step is simply to break even, (that) is a milestone. And we don’t know when that will happen, especially as we approach burn month in the Philippines. There are times in January when our business is quiet, ”said Mark Ellis, Fitness First country manager, in a telephone interview.
All 12 Fitness First and two Celebrity Fitness locations received a start signal to reopen, provided health standards are followed, including a 10-foot distance between gym users.
In another deal, 10 of Gold’s Gym’s 26 local branches may be closed permanently due to their own financial constraints, after their US counterparts filed for bankruptcy last May. “Half have already opened with another 25% open in a few more weeks. The rest are still in active negotiation, ”said Mylene Mendoza-Dayrit, Executive Director.
Booming sector
The three gyms recently formed a coalition with Slimmer’s World and the International Federation of Bodybuilding Fitness, which will meet every quarter to standardize health protocols and, if necessary, communicate with the government and study best practices.
In their case, a coalition of gyms only indicates the strong growth of the industry thanks to a young and health-conscious Filipino population. Before the pandemic broke out, the national fitness sector was expected to grow one tenth each year between 2018 and 2023, according to Ken Research.
That extraordinary growth means a lot of things, starting with an increase in the number of home fitness establishments to 45 per million people this year, after 47 in Malaysia and 67 in Thailand, according to Euromonitor International, a market research firm. .
It also means a boost to consumer activity, with revenue generated from the sales of fitness apps and wearable devices increasing nearly a third year on year to $ 146.18 million in 2020, according to Statista, a data provider.
But the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic has clouded all projections for the British pound, and while gyms are positive of a recovery next year, this is still largely dependent on the availability of a vaccine. For people like Ferdinand Laforteza, an Anytime Fitness personal trainer, the outbreak means losing a large chunk of their income for a living.
“I focused on my online training, what I am doing for the last 10 years. I also did some home services, but on a limited basis because not all clients want individual training, ”he said, partly in Filipino.
“Right now, we can survive, but it’s still different when you do regular training. Online can’t last that long. It is different to have individual sessions with your client and the motivation you can give, ”he said.
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