Kolkata: Beaten by uncertainty and decrease in membership because of safety fears in air-conditioned spaces that were closed during a pandemic, some gyms had decided not to be reopened even though the government nodded to them to restart from July 1.
While they are late selling equipment and stops from business as a whole, many store their equipment in the warehouse and digital to save rent, electricity, and other fixed costs.
They intend to reopen only after the pandemic ends and normality again.
Preeth Singh, who operates a bull gym in Baghetratin, has closed the store and moved to the food business to stay.
“In the first wave, the gym was closed for five months and we suffered a big loss.
We spent around Rs 1 lakh per month rent, electricity costs and staff salaries.
When the gym opens postkown, maintenance costs rise due to sanititis requirements.
Also, only 20% of 150 members returned and we have to offer discounts to seduce.
But this second closure makes us go bankrupt financially.
I have closed the room and now trying to sell equipment, “said Singh.
Rush Fitness, who has six centers, plans to reopen the only one.
“The cost of rent and overhead is too high to maintain in this environment,” said a fitness spokesman Rush Neeraj Surana.
A veteran in a business that operates three gyms in South Kolkata has decided to turn off a facility at Hazra Road.
Can’t pay rent, he has asked landlords to lose rent and shift the members to other centers.
Rupam Sinha, Director and Founder of Physio Max who operated three outlets in North Kolkata, did not reopen the Dum Dum facility after the first wave.
He and many others said that they were temporary closure operations and parked equipment in smaller space to save rent until the normal situation of Gagan Sachdeva, a senior member forum owner of the gym that has around 200 members operating around 450 gyms in the city, saying more Many waves predicted in the future, the fitness center will continue to be victims.
But instead of reducing losses, he said many who also took advantage of time to integrate technology in business.
“The gym can be closed again if there is another covid wave.
But we have to adapt and improve ourselves.
We also plan to collaborate for complementary offers such as fitness applications, online classes (Zumba, Yoga etc.) and jogging or cycling clubs.
Fitness will always be Important, more than that in Covid times, “Sachdeva said.
Fitness experts say the closure of the health club during the pandemic has spur a shift towards training in personalized homes through video calls.
Many gyms have even begun to rent out equipment to members.
Apart from this shift, customers are not fully happy with their pandemic routines because they find exercises at home not ‘quite intense’, or ‘less consistent’, or ‘not so motivating’.
The mixture of exercise at the gym and therefore at home seems to be the future, they said.
“We plan to organize the seminar to discuss the importance of fitness during the Covid period and develop applications that are more friendly for people to take lessons and online classes,” said Sinha, who is also the director and founder of the National Institute of Fitness Studies.