'Never fully recovered from COVID-19': Singapore gym chain Ritual ceases operations, customers seek refunds

SINGAPORE: Singapore gym chain Ritual has ceased operations at all four outlets here, saying it has placed the company in provisional liquidation.

It informed customers of the decision in an email on Thursday (Feb 29), saying: “Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to continue operating, we have decided to close the business and have ceased operations at all locations in Singapore."

The boutique gym is known for offering 20-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts. Its four affected outlets are at Holland Village, Orchard Road, East Coast and Tiong Bahru.

Co-founded by former mixed martial arts fighter Brad Robinson and fitness coach Ian Tan, Ritual opened its first outlet in Boat Quay in 2013.

It also has outlets overseas, owned by franchisees, in Brazil and Spain. 

"While we have placed the company into provisional liquidation, we are also exploring ways to get the Ritual experience back up and running as soon as possible," the company said in its email to customers. 

Speaking to CNA on Friday, Mr Robinson said the company had been hit by the impact of COVID-19, citing other factors like rent and inflation.

"We had quite frankly never fully recovered from COVID-19," he said.

"We were left with some pretty large arrears from landlords ... And the industry was very slow to return from what it used to be in 2019."

A total of 35 employees in Singapore were laid off, said Mr Robinson, adding that Ritual's outlets overseas are not affected.

"It's heartbreaking ... with the limited choices we had and as rapid as (this) was moving, this was the right way to go," he added.

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

Some members left comments on Ritual's latest Instagram post, expressing their disappointment at the closures and asking for refunds.

Some said they had already paid for their membership subscription two days ago or still have “credits” left unused.

“I have six months already paid up,” read one comment.

A member who only wanted to be known as Mrs Tan told CNA that she was “very sad” about the closures, which felt like the “end of an era”.

"I'll never find another gym like Ritual,” she said.

Another customer who wanted to be known as Kyle described Ritual as a “great homegrown brand” but said the announcement did not come as a surprise. 

“The abrupt closure of their first branch which served the central business district (and) the community building events that did not appear to cohere with the core brand ... It did not come as a great surprise when I received the email announcement today,” said Kyle, who has trained at Ritual since 2015.

Mr Robinson said the decision to put Ritual into "voluntary" liquidation was made the night before it announced the closure to members.

Customers could have been charged before the announcement because of the gym's monthly billing system, he added.

In its email to customers, Ritual said members should contact the provisional liquidator’s office if they have queries.

The appointed provisional liquidators are Cameron Lindsay Duncan and David Dong-Won Kim of KordaMentha, who will handle “all necessary proceedings” and write to members regarding the provisional liquidation process.

“We are immensely grateful for the unwavering support you have shown us, and we cannot express enough gratitude for the community we've built together,” Ritual added.