“As far as we know, more than 100 centers out of about 1,000 were unable to stay afloat and gave up the fight,” says Alexandru Lazar, one of the two chairmen of the association.
Romanians spent some EUR250 million on gym memberships in 2019. There were some 1,000 fitness centers and the number of members stood at more than 800,000.
“Most actors on the market are affected as this is an industry that does not provide any other revenue options if customers are not allowed to go to their locations.”
European surveys estimated the fitness market will fully recoup its losses at the beginning of 2022, in case the gyms were not closed again in 2021.
After reopening on June 15, 2020, there was a difficult time with people gradually returning to gyms, which operated at 50% to 60% of their 2019 level in some months.
“There was a rise in the number of members in the fall of 2020 and the level in the winter made us confident we could revert to 2019 figures in a matter of months.”
Unfortunately, gyms closed again, and an accurate assessment of the impact will only be possible to do once companies know how long they will remain closed, Alexandru Lazar added.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)