FITNESS INDUSTRY POISED FOR POST-COVID BOOM

After six weeks of struggles,gymsand fitness studios, which were forced to close from April 7 as part of circuit breaker measures, are hoping they can resume operations at the end of June. TheSingapore governmentsaid that Phase Two of the post-circuit breaker period - which will see more businesses including sports facilities resume operations - could start before the end of June. All 10gymsThe Sunday Times spoke to, including global chainFitness First, which has 19 clubs here, have turned to conducting workouts virtually through online platforms but such an approach is far less lucrative than in-person sessions.

Former national boxer Muhamad Ridhwan, who runs boxing gym Legends Fight Sport, said his coaching fees for personal training have dropped from $100 to $30 for an online session. Level Gym, which has two branches in Telok Ayer and Robinson Road, has seen its pool of clients shrink significantly, with 250 out of its 350 active members stopping their memberships. With revenues dropping by 70 per cent and a monthly rent of $30,000 per month to cover, founder and head coach Alex Salihin has had to implement pay cuts. He said: "It's not easy as some people don't see the value of hiring a trainer online. I think it would take at least six months for my gym to start making money again." Businesses like his and Mr Ridhwan's also have to compete with a plethora of training programmes available online for free.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced manygymsand fitness studios around the world to stay closed, which has resulted in many people turning to videos and live workout sessions streamed over the Internet to do their exercise at home. Mr Robinson believes this trend of exercising from the comfort of one's home is here to stay for the long haul, even well after the threat of the virus has subsided.

In April, Ritual Gym launched a new mobile app - called Ritual Anywhere - that offers a fresh 20-minute HIIT workout every day, customised to one's fitness level, physiological readiness and available equipment at home. An integrated timer, featuring videos and audio cues of the user's choice, guides him or her through the session. There's also a live-streamed session to do the same workout in the app but with a Ritual coach motivating participants in real time. In the first week, about 5,000 members downloaded the app. Last week, Ritual announced that the app would be available for free to the general public until the end of June.

According to Mr Brad Robinson, founder of Ritual Gym, the app - which will come with a US$12.99 monthly fee once the pay wall is activated - will cre-ate a new revenue stream for his company, which has been hit hard by the global lockdowns that have forced it to freeze memberships. Mr Robinson is eager to cater to the growing group of people who may never step foot into a gym or fitness centre for a long time, or perhaps even at all, due to the virus. "They have found comfort from exercising at home, and I get that. I was never much of a workout-from-home person, I'd never done yoga at home until recently, but it's convenient and we want to be able to reach out to those who prefer to be at home," he explained.

"I've always wanted to have an app for our members, and the pandemic made us move faster. When all ourgymsclosed, we stopped all of our tech development elsewhere and put the full resources into getting this app tested and ready to go." Mr Robinson, however, feels that the demand to still work out in a physical gym will skyrocket once lockdown restrictions ease. "I spoke at a virtual fitness summit recently, and a survey found that 87 per cent of people intend to visit a gym the first day they are allowed to do so. And of those who do not have a gym membership today, 27 per cent plan to sign up for one. Those numbers alone are very encouraging, and there are opportunities for growth," he said.

He also noted that a sizeable proportion of the population will continue working from home as the default for the foreseeable future, which means they will likely have more time to do-activities such as exercise. "The new normal is working from home. When there's no need to spend one or two hours commuting to and from the office each day, and not having to attend so many face-to-face meetings, people will inevitably have more time to themselves. So I believe the overall market size for the fitness industry will increase," added Mr Robinson.

Esther Lee's weekly exercise regimen used to comprise outdoor runs in parks and fitness classes at the gym. But the 37-year-old's gym routine has now been replaced with home workouts due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many Singaporeans have taken to exercising indoor as they realized that regular intensity exercise has immune-boosting benefits that may help the body fight off infections as well as reduce stress levels and improve sleep quality.

As those in the fitness and sports industry eagerly await the time when they will be allowed to reopen their businesses, they will be given support in the form of a new $3 million Enterprise, Innovation and Capability grant by national sport agency Sport Singapore (SportSG). This was announced by Minister for Culture, Community and YouthGrace Fu, who delivered the keynote address at ExPro, a virtual fitness conference, on 28 May. The grant is aimed at helping more than 20 sports enterprises capitalise on growth opportunities in the digital economy, which include the development and application of digital technologies for training sports professionals and upgrading their skills.

Adapted from Business Times article titled: "Fitness industry poised for post-Covid boom: Ritual CEO" " dated 30 May 2020 written by Lee U-Wen and Straits Times article titled: "Coronavirus: Sport Singapore to push out $3 million Enterprise, Innovation and Capability grant" dated 28 May 2020 written by Kinberly Kwek.

1.Describe the following environmental forces below that affected the fitness industry and determine their impact on the success of Ritual Gym in Singapore.

(i) Competitive environment;

(ii)Regulatory environment; and

(iii)Technological environment.(8 marks each)

2.Identify and describe any TWO (2) levels of needs that gym must satisfy to meet customers' needs.(5 marks each)

3.Which type of decision-making process: extensive problem-solving, routine problem-solving or limited problem-solving would a consumer who have never joined a gym apply when considering whether to sign up for the membership with Ritual Gym using its Ritual Anywhere app.(6 marks)