Fans Dismayed, Employees Pissed as BaseFit Announces Closure

原创 Joey Knotts theBeijinger

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Fashionable Sanlitun gym BaseFit will close its doors next Wednesday, Sep 26, according to an official announcement from the gym.

According to our sources, BaseFit has been experiencing financial difficulties of late, including difficulties paying its staff. A staff member who wished to remain anonymous has claimed that BaseFit’s owners have delayed paying her and other’s salaries, Despite promises to the contrary, payment had apparently still not been received at the time the closing was announced.

Payroll difficulties aside, BaseFit's closure does not seem to be a case of take-the-money-and-run as we saw earlier this year with the closure of GuCycle, which fled with over RMB 1 million in membership fees. For one thing, the gym announced their closure in advance, and more importantly, have been able to active transfer memberships to the Crossfit Slash gym down the street. Under this agreement, BaseFit members will be able to use the Crossfit gym free of charge for long as their membership is valid.

BaseFitters will need to look elsewhere for their strength training needs as of next week

News of the closure was originally sent out in English and Chinese to the BaseFit WeChat group on Sep 18. The English version of the announcement included a line assuring members that their membership could be honored at another location, but was not included in the Chinese version, prompting questions of the sincerity of the promise and whether it would apply to all members.

While it appears that question has been settled with the release of the official announcement, some customers are still dissatisfied with the transfer, but their demands for a refund have reportedly been met with silence.

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Beloved for its diverse fitness class offerings, which include everything from pilates to body-building, the BaseFit brand is no stranger to business difficulties. The gym first came to life in 2017 when its owners were obliged to close Living BIGG – a health studio and food delivery service – due to a lease dispute. In the announcement, the BaseFit team expressed both gratitude to its customers and regret that the brand is coming to an end.

Images: Dianping

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