Singapore mainstay fitness gym chain Ritual announced the closure of all Singapore outlets and that it is entering provisional liquidation yesterday (February 29), much to the dismay and shock of its members.
According to a report by The Straits Times, members received an email from the gym: “We share this message with you today with great sadness. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to continue operating, we have decided to close the business and have ceased operations at all locations in Singapore.”
Despite the closures, the email also claimed that the closures are temporary, stating that the team is “also exploring ways to get the Ritual experience back up and running as soon as possible.”
The gym chain has appointed Cameron Lindsay Duncan and David Dong-Won Kim of KordaMentha Pte Ltd as provisional liquidators to handle the proceedings.
Difficult for members to recover monies
According to the same report, gym members were left shocked as they could still attend training sessions the day, and membership promotions were ongoing before the announcement.
As of today, Ritual’s website and TikTok page are still running. However, the business has since shut down its Facebook account and privatised its Instagram page. Many members took to social media platform Reddit to express their grievances as they may not be able to get their money back.
On the other hand, some customers suspected that business was going downward, adding that the gym was often empty during peak hours, which spurred them to opt for shorter and cheaper memberships.
Ritual Gym was a fitness chain founded in 2013 by personal trainer Ian Tan and serial entrepreneur Brad Robinson. It became popular amongst Singaporeans and foreigners as they were the first to offer 30-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts in the city-state.
Ritual is the latest fitness centre to be hit after the closure of at least three gyms in 2023 – Fenix Fitness in August, Haus Athletics, and UFC Gym in May.
In September 2023, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) reported that consumers lost more than $20,000 in advance payments for gym and fitness club packages in the first six months of the year.
Its president, Melvin Yong, said then that consumers should consider shorter-term memberships or pay-per-use options, as recovering their monies for prepaid memberships in a sudden business closure is generally challenging.
Featured Image Credit: Ritual Gym, Reddit