Traffic in fitness clubs has decreased by 50-70%
Photo: Maksim Platonov
Workers in the fitness industry are sounding the alarm: the introduction of mandatory QR codes in Tatarstan is a direct path to the bankruptcy of the industry. Only 30-35% of the visitors now stay in Tatarstan gyms. Customers are actively freezing their memberships and not buying new ones. But business in this industry is organized like a pyramid: there are new sales – there is money for current expenses. The operators of fitness centers are already recording a loss and are puzzling over the payment of electricity bills and staff salaries. Read the details in Realnoe Vremya’s material.
“The influx of customers stops and we fall into a financial hole”
A week after the adoption of the Tatarstan government decree introducing mandatory QR codes for unvaccinated citizens, access to fitness centers was decided – many rushed to freeze their memberships so as not to lose money. As a result, traffic has decreased by 50-70%, sales of new membership cards have ceased. The industry is concerned about the second wave – when those who for whatever reason cannot or cannot be vaccinated return their membership cards and seek compensation.
Already now, everyone, including big players, is losing money, and the smaller ones are worried about how to pay utilities and salaries this month. In Tatarstan, more than 10,000 citizens are employed in industry. Even in the smallest fitness centers, at least 50 people work together to clean, in large ones even up to 400.
Ruslan Minnegaliev, the head of the Maximus club network in Kazan, told Realnoe Vremya that the situation in Kazan is about the same in all fitness centers. The usual norm today is 30-35% of the previous number of visitors. Incidentally, these are the numbers of people who have actually been vaccinated.
“The traffic loss in the entire network is 65%, the revenue loss from the usual daily indicators is 55%. But this is while we continue with a reserve from previous periods when some are using their cards, someone has bought in advance, etc. From the beginning of this week, the number of visits will continue to decrease unless everything is canceled. About 20% of customers have “frozen” their cards, and we have blocked most customers at our own expense – these are deferred future losses, “said the head of Maximus, describing the situation.
Minnegaliev did not comment on what the monetary losses are, referring to the trade secret, but noted that the loss is recorded when 30% of sales decrease, and now it has plummeted and is already 55%.
“The operation of fitness clubs is designed in such a way that we always work according to a flow principle – the inflow or renewal of club cards stops and we get into a financial hole. Now we are not banned from working, but there is no sale. Yes, people come, we have to work, we bear the expenses, we maintain the staff, we burn electricity, we pay for municipal services, but there are no new receipts. Accordingly, we are in a money pit. We also have no savings, money is not on the shelf and we have to make sales every month to feed ourselves, “lamented Minnegaliev.
Natalia Tkach, the director of the Kazan fitness club X-Fit-Akbars, stated in a conversation with our publication that if the dynamism continues, nothing has to be paid for the ancillary costs:
“Attendance is down 50% and there have been no sales at all in the past few days. With a step-by-step introduction of restrictive measures, there would of course not be such a customer outflow. Well, under these conditions there isn’t even the job to be earned, the job is simply to survive. At least to pay the salaries, utilities and running expenses. It is no longer possible to break with such a river as it is now.
Even in the smallest fitness centers, at least 50 people work together to clean, in large ones even up to 400. Photo: vk.com/orange_fitness_nk
“A sick person does not go to a fitness club”
In other cities of Tatarstan, the situation is no better. As the director of the Nizhnekamsk club of the Orange network, Daria Bayramova, told us, there are many unvaccinated people in the city:
“The number of visitors has halved. Accordingly, all of this has had a huge impact on sales, as our main customers – solvent populations, people with income, self-employed – are now not going to the gym. The city does not manufacture the single-component Sputnik Lite vaccine. Therefore, even those who have received their first dose have to wait three weeks for the second and of course stay at home. For our part, we met customers halfway and gave them a lockout at the club’s expense, but it all impacted sales, personal training, benefits. “
According to Bayramova, the situation in Orange in Naberezhnye Chelny is even worse, the decrease there is 70%. Changes for the better in the industry are not expected for a month or two at the earliest before people are vaccinated and get QR codes.
“We assume people will start vaccinating and at least someone will be back in about a month. Although we call our customers and many of them still don’t know what to do. It is clear that we have no choice but not everyone is ready to get vaccinated tomorrow. The slump is not only in our industry, but also in other companies, and the people who work there look to an unstable future. Therefore, they are in no hurry to spend money now and think about what might happen in the future. What do people reject from the start? Fitness services, tourism and other entertainment. Therefore, it is generally difficult to predict what will happen next, ”said Natalia Tkach, sharing her vision.
Other market participants are also pessimistic. Ruslan Minnegaliev said that in Rostov Oblast about 50% of fitness clubs have gone bankrupt, in Moscow the restrictions were lifted after 3 weeks so they weren’t as affected.
“Our proposal is simple – at least delete QR codes for industry – to delay their introduction. Because fitness is not where a sick or sick person goes. This is 100%. This is not public transport that a person also uses when sick. Fitness centers are a place where people relax, exercise, get fit, and even recover from illness. Well, we accordingly meet all of Rospotrebnadzor’s requirements for the prevention of coronavirus infection. “
“What do people reject from the start? Fitness services, tourism and other entertainment. Therefore, it is generally difficult to predict what will happen next, ”said Natalia Tkach, sharing her vision. Photo: akbars.xfit.ru
The manager of the Maximus network announced his readiness to make their space available for the organization of vaccination centers. It will start working today and will be located on the first floor. Doctors from City Polyclinic No. 2 will vaccinate visitors.
“The risk of infection in fitness studios is minimal”
In Moscow, the efforts of the Kazan owners and managers of fitness centers were supported. The Association of Fitness Industry Operators of Tatarstan and Russia has sent an extensive letter to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov asking for the territory of fitness clubs to be exempted from the mandatory verification of vaccination documents, QR codes and referral certificates from Coronavirus Customers.
“The introduction of such measures has a number of negative consequences and a number of unworkable requirements for companies in the fitness industry, while the desired effect in the form of an increase in the number of vaccinated citizens is not achieved. The introduction of QR codes in itself was originally a way of keeping records of people who were vaccinated, not to restrict citizens’ right to access services. “
It is important that the ovid-19 certificate is not issued to people who did not apply to a medical institution with the disease, but were treated independently, because, taking into account the burden on medical institutions, citizens do not always have the opportunity to Getting a doctor’s appointment or medical care in good time, and there are also easily ill citizens with no reason to go to a medical facility. The antibody certificate is not a confirmation of the coronavirus suffered and does not serve as a reason for assigning a QR code to the patient, therefore a significant proportion of citizens (including customers of fitness clubs) who have suffered the coronavirus infection cannot confirm the infection The fact of the previous illness, since the formation and level of antibodies are individual, it says in the appeal.
The letter notes that the presence of any vaccinations or antibodies, in and of themselves, is not a guarantee that a person will not be re-infected. According to the association, such restrictions do not help to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
According to industry employees, the risk of infection in fitness clubs is minimal. Photo: vk.com/maximus_kzn
According to industry employees, the risk of infection in fitness clubs is minimal, as there are increased requirements for air exchange, measures to restrict visits, strict disinfection rules and social distance is observed. An example is the experience from Moscow, where no QR codes for fitness visits were introduced even at the height of the pandemic, but the increase in morbidity could still be contained.
Industry representatives fear that the current situation could lead to plant closures, which means an increase in the unemployment rate and additional household expenses.
“At the moment, fitness clubs pay high rents (on average an area of at least 1,500 square meters), which is only feasible with stable financial indicators (presence of customers). So far, fitness clubs have not been able to return to sales figures for similar periods in 2019, as a recovery of the industry is only possible in the long term, provided there are no aggravating factors (the introduction of additional restrictive measures). “
To pay the current rent, the clubs will have to pay the previously formed debts, for which the owners submitted an installment plan with a limited repayment period in accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 439, as well as the payment of taxes 2019, for which a deferment was granted. Legally, there are no methods or measures that fitness clubs would represent a protective mechanism against the owners of premises, “says the letter to the head of state of the republic.
For their part, industry representatives are ready to open vaccination centers in their territories, develop rehabilitation programs for people with COVID-19, run promotions and give vaccinated visitors discounts and bonuses, as well as vaccinate up to 80% of their employees disinfection measures and ensure strict Control of compliance.
The appeal was signed by Olga Kiseleva, the president of the Association of Fitness Industry Operators (pictured) and 18 owners and managers of fitness clubs from Kazan, Naberezhnye Chelny and Nizhnekamsk.
According to Ruslan Minnegaliev, the appeal was not only submitted to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, but also reached the Economic Ombudsman and the Deputy Minister of Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan through the association. So far, only the mass media have responded to this heart cry.
Eleonora Rylova
Tatarstan
