Pure Fitness is experiencing a decline in brand sentiment following a dispute with its landlord over five months’ unpaid rent at its Central store.
This comes as the fitness chain announced it had “amicably resolved” its lawsuit with Champion REIT after the landlord of its Central store withdrew the lawsuit over nearly HK$14 million in late rent, fees and charges. That’s what I received.
“We look forward to continuing to maintain positive relationships with our landlords as we execute our exciting plans for the future,” a PURE spokesperson told the South China Morning Post. .
Media intelligence firm CARMA observed more than 500 mentions related to PURE Fitness’ recent dispute with a landlord. Of these, 19.6% had positive emotions and 22.1% had negative emotions.
It’s worth noting that before the lawsuit, sentiment towards PURE Fitness was 48.4% positive and 12.5% negative. After the lawsuit, sentiment changed 19.6% to positive and 22.1% to negative.
Charles Chan, CARMA’s Hong Kong general manager, said netizens generally understand that the fitness industry, especially traditional operators, has not fully recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels, but many People said they were surprised that PURE would be involved in a lawsuit with a landlord.
“Although the dispute has reportedly been resolved, some believe PURE’s financial position remains precarious. This belief is supported by news of staff layoffs and the introduction of a previously unusual free trial. “These actions are seen as an attempt to quickly attract new members,” he added.
Some netizens suggested that gym operators need to rethink their business models as the public doesn’t seem to have much interest in traditional gyms with large spaces and set personal training sessions. He said that he is doing so.
“Recent physical fitness closures are frequently cited as a warning, with many people expressing a preference for flexibility over large, well-equipped gyms.”
However, some netizens believe PURE is financially stable due to the payment of full severance packages to laid-off staff and the loyalty of its customer base, Cheung added. .
MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to PURE Fitness for a statement.
Back in August, Champion REIT, through CP(SH) Limited, filed a lawsuit against three companies associated with PURE, alleging that the gym chain had not paid rent for its branch at ICBC Tower in Central from April to August. I woke you up.
Five months’ rent is equivalent to HK$7.55 million, plus approximately HK$1.61 million in management fees from June to August.
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