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Jan Philipp Alberts and Arndt von Sass could have opened for a single day.
The opening of their new fitness studio in Stolzenau in Lower Saxony was planned for November 1st.
On November 2, the government locked the country down - and closed all fitness facilities.
For the two operators it was just a hypothetical consideration.
"To date, the studio has not been open for a second," says Sass founder.
They still have to pay their costs: rent, personnel, leasing contracts for the devices.
And that without paying customers.
It hardly helps that their first studio in Soltau, which they opened in August, already has around 700 members.
"The new customer business almost completely collapsed in the lockdown," says von Sass.
With each passing day, the financial worries increase.
After all: "We have great suppliers and landlords who are currently still accommodating us."
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In addition to the travel industry, gastronomy and retail, fitness studios are among the biggest losers of the Corona policy.
The income breaks down, but costs continue to arise.
Although the companies invested heavily in protective measures against contagion after the lockdown in March, they still have to close for months.
There is not only the threat of a wave of bankruptcies, but a fundamental change in the industry that customers will also feel.
The operators of the fitness facilities assume that the closure in January alone will result in the loss of 25 percent of the new contract volume this year.
"Normally November, December, January and February are the months in which the vast majority of new customers are acquired," says Birgit Schwarze, President of the Employers' Association of German Fitness and Health Systems (DSSV).
In 2020 the industry lost more than a billion euros in sales.
In the previous year it was 5.5 billion euros, spread over almost 10,000 companies.
Hardly any new customers have been acquired since March, and more people quit than usual. Customer numbers fell by 16 percent from January to November.
“The damage from 2020 cannot be made up at all in 2021,” says Schwarze.
"It must be expected that the recovery will drag on until 2023."
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Some smaller companies will no longer experience this.
Possible bankruptcies, ignored layoffs
“If the industry goes bankrupt, it will essentially affect the individual studio operators,” says Karsten Hollasch, partner and head of consumer business at the consulting firm Deloitte.
"The variety of offers for customers will therefore decrease, which is bad for consumers." As in other areas of the economy, a concentration has been emerging for years that is now accelerating: While at the end of 2019 every second studio was still an individual business, chains will dominate in future .
Market leader McFit has already started the battle for customers.
With a dumping price of five euros per month, he advertises new contracts - the term begins when the studios reopen.
Competitors like FitX hope that it will happen soon.
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"I assume that business will recover and that growth will even accelerate after Corona," says FitX Managing Director Markus Vancraeyenest.
The pandemic has increased interest in fitness and the importance of health, he says.
The number of members is currently ten percent below the value before Corona.
"Other competitors must have been hit even harder."
Some providers exceed legal limits in view of the situation.
Consumer advocate Vivien Arwers collects complaints from athletes who feel cheated by their gym.
Sometimes the providers charge the full fee despite being closed, sometimes they ignore terminations made in due time.
"The customers do not receive a confirmation, instead the membership fee continues to be debited diligently," says the consultant at the Schleswig-Holstein consumer center.
This audacity extends across all company sizes, explains Arwers.
Gym complaints are now the third most common cases, after travel cancellations and canceled events.
“I can understand the situation of entrepreneurs,” says Arwers.
"Nevertheless, you have to abide by the law."
Chains like FitX try to keep their customers.
This will stabilize income in the medium term, even if no contributions are paid now.
In addition, short-time work and state aid help - if they come.
Vancraeyenest annoys that the aid is paid per company, resulting in unequal treatment.
“We consider that to be an unacceptable competitive disadvantage.
While we are seen as a group, other operators and industries can apply for their own help for each location, ”he says.
The sum capped at four million euros only accounts for a fraction of the loss.
"We are currently examining any legal steps here."
Politics "drives businesses to ruin"
In addition, the aid is being paid out slowly, complains the DSSV.
So far, only around ten percent of the funds promised for 2020 have arrived.
“The political leaders are thus driving the companies and their employees into economic ruin,” complains Schwarze.
This is confirmed by Alberts and von Sass: Their company is too young for bridging aid, the amount of November aid amounts to just 3,500 euros.
The reason: You founded your company in February, but were only able to generate sales after the studio opened in August - by which the amount of aid is measured.
But the operators complain more than the financial damage.
They lack political support.
“My biggest challenge is to make it clear to politicians that we are not the problem, but part of the solution,” says Vancraeyenest.
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He can prove with data that no one has been infected with the virus in his studios after several million visits.
Alberts complains about the federal government's video campaign.
In the spots, idlers are stylized as heroes of the Corona crisis, after all, they contain the infection process.
"These videos are blows for the entire fitness industry," says Alberts.
In his view, the government should have linked the campaign with another signal: that sufficient exercise is important, especially in times of lockdown.
“Instead, a loaf with canned ravioli on the sofa is dubbed a hero,” criticizes Alberts.
"Anyone who would practice this for months is playing with their health."
Because this is also clear to many Germans, they now practice sports such as jogging and cycling.
Or they use digital fitness offers.
The best example is the US company Peloton, which offers fitness equipment for at home and the corresponding courses on subscription - for 1.3 million users now.
The company's share rose from around 20 euros in February 2020 to currently over 125 euros.
"Peloton is one of the winners of the Corona crisis," says consultant Hollasch.
"In the meantime, the range has been expanded beyond the spinning bike, including yoga and strength training, which is a sensible extension of the range and makes Peloton even more attractive for consumers."
Nevertheless, he does not expect a development like in retail, where the majority of customers already shop online instead of in stores.
“I don't think that digital offers will completely replace the stationary fitness studio.
Many people do not have the opportunity to do sport at home, and social contacts also play an important role in sport and ultimately also serve to motivate people. "Vancraeyenest is also convinced:" I need a variety of equipment for progressive training - that cannot be represented in the HomeGym. ”The home is too small, the devices too expensive.
The only question is whether the small studios can hold out long enough.
For the Lower Saxony Alberts and von Sass, it is life-threatening.
“That was it in December,” says von Sass.
They are optimistic that the members will come back.
"But that," says von Sass, "will take time."
Consumers have these rights:
The gyms will probably be closed for months.
What happens to the current contracts?
Basically, consumers only have to pay contributions for the times in which they
were able to use the
service promised in the contract
.
But be careful: If you simply suspend the monthly payments, you could run into problems.
"If the facilities offer a limited program that is also appropriate for the customer, they can generally request a reduced membership fee," explains Vivien Arwers, consultant at the Schleswig-Holstein consumer advice center.
These include
online courses and fitness live streams
.
The extent to which members are allowed to reduce their monthly fee cannot be answered across the board. That depends, for example, on the quality of the respective replacement offer. If there is a dispute between the customer and the provider, it could result in a legal dispute, predicts Arwers. She advocates a sense of proportion. If the studio tries to find a solution, for example by offering a free extension of the contract in the amount of the lost months, that is acceptable. However, customers do not have to accept if the studios want to extend the contract for a fee. It is important that the recreational athletes can
also prove
the
termination
- for example by means of a registration slip.
This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG. We will be happy to deliver them to your home on a regular basis.
Source: Welt am Sonntag