'Our HR was not around,' one team lead says
The shutdown of two wellness chains in Singapore left employees in shock last week, as they lamented the lack of HR presence amid the abrupt closure of the businesses.
Singapore wellness chains True Fitness and True Yoga, operated by True Singapore Group, abruptly closed its doors to employees and clients last week.
Its Hong Kong-listed parent company, Kontafarma China Holdings, announced in a listing that the directors of True Yoga and True Fitness were unable to continue business in Singapore due to their liabilities.
Employees of the wellness chains were only met by staff from the appointed insolvency practitioner RSM SG Corporate Advisory and without any representative from True Fitness, Channel News Asia reported.
"It was just the side of the liquidation company," said Adrian Pratab, team lead for instructors at True Fitness outlet in Millennia Walk, as quoted by CNA.
"So I was a bit disappointed because our HR was not around. There were a lot of questions that I wanted to ask HR regarding this matter, and nobody was there."
'Increasingly fierce market competition'
The closure of the wellness chains comes in the wake of "increasingly fierce market competition and rising costs in attracting customers," according to Kontafarma's statement.
"In particular, increasing popularity of boutique gyms has led to intensifying competition in fitness business industry," it said.
"Further, more condominiums and residential developments provide gyms for their residents or guests, reducing the need for some consumers to purchase an external gym membership."
The rise of online training, mobile applications, video platforms, and virtual coaching also allowed consumers to exercise at home or indoors, it added.
"As a result, fitness businesses are no longer competing with physical gyms in their local neighbourhoods. They are competing with convenient and relatively inexpensive digital alternatives," Kontafarma said.
"All these factors present an obstacle to attract customers, high operating costs, and stringent cashflow."
The closure of True Fitness and True Yoga in Singapore also comes after True Group pulled out of Malaysia and Thailand in 2017, and in Taiwan in 2025, CNA reported.
According to the report, the closures in Malaysia and Thailand even led to a lawsuit in Singapore alleging mismanagement, where True Fitness and True Yoga won against True Group's founder and then-CEO in 2022.
Support for affected workers
The Singapore Fitness Alliance (SFA) said during the weekend that about 230 employees and freelancers from True Group have sought their support, CNA reported.
Sean Tan, president and co-founder of the SFA, said it is helping affected employees find new jobs, but will not be involved in helping employees recover unpaid salaries or commissions.
True Fitness and True Yoga are non-unionised companies, but some affected workers are members of the Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers' Union (SMMWU), an affiliate of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).
The SMMWU is urging the two companies to "collaborate" with the union to support affected members and provide assistance where needed, according to CNA.
In Singapore, eligible workers can apply for the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, which provides a temporary financial grant of up to S$6,000 over six months for those who are involuntarily unemployed.
The SMMWU said affected employees can also attend on Thursday a job-matching session that the union organised along with the NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute and the National Instructors and Coaches Association.
