market report: new zealand
EARTHQUAKE
The situation in Christchurch remains far from normal a year after the earthquake. Nikitin Sallee reports on the local fitness industry’s efforts to get itself back on its feet
M
ore than 12 months after an earthquake devastated the central city, the fitness industry
in Christchurch, New Zealand, is still in recovery mode. The shallow quake – which measured
6.3 on the Richter scale – destroyed many buildings in the South Island city of 350,000 inhabitants, and tragically more than 180 people were killed. A year later, areas hosting some of the city’s largest gyms remain off-limits. The city centre was cordoned off for many months, and is being re-opened in stages as areas are cleaned up and made safe. Richard Beddie, chief executive of
the industry association Fitness New Zealand (also based in Christchurch), estimates that before the earthquake on 22 February 2011, around 12 per cent of the city’s population – approximately 40,000 people – were gym members.
“We believe that less than 10,000 Christchurch people are going to the gym now,” he adds. “About 15 of the 35 gym venues we had a year ago have not re-opened, and some of them never will.”
staff focus Even so, around 80 per cent of fitness professionals have found employment in Christchurch’s drastically changed fitness market, Beddie estimates. “From the industry perspective, our
initial focus after the earthquake was on staff,” he continues. “A member is inconvenienced when their gym closes. But if you’re a personal trainer or an instructor and your gym closes, and every other gym is closed, then you have no job. You might be faced with leaving the city or leaving the industry.” Ironically though, there are probably
more fi tness venues in Christchurch now than before the quake – largely because many personal trainers have set up small facilities in retail shops or in garages. In some cases, three personal trainers are now sharing a space previously occupied by one. Beddie also knows of a women-only gym that allows PTs to bring in male customers during designated off-peak hours. It’s interesting, Beddie says, that
“members put up with things they wouldn’t have accepted before so many
The gym-going population in Christchurch reduced from around 40,000 to under 10,000 after the earthquake struck
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facilities became earthquake-damaged. People take variable standards in their stride in that context.”
insurance implications In the immediate aftermath of the quake, every major Christchurch gym except one was closed for two months. They learned big lessons about having the right kind of insurance in place. “Almost all clubs had insurance for
their physical premises and property, but some did not insure for the ‘business interruption’ component,” explains Beddie. “We know one gym, for example, that had no business interruption insurance at all. They were lucky to be in an area of the city where they were able to re-open within two months. A handful have gone under and won’t come back.” The city’s largest gym, run by Les
Mills New Zealand, was essentially undamaged by the earthquake but faced a complicated insurance situation, as it could not re-open for over a year. “Despite having good cover, the insurance situation turned out to be incredibly complex,” says Les Mills NZ’s chief operating offi cer Dione Forbes. “We’re still working through 30-plus individual claims, ranging from superfi cial material damage suffered by the city club to the write-off of our now permanently closed club in suburban Ferrymead.” More challenging still was
documenting lost revenues for business interruption insurance. Because the large city-centre club was new and in
march 2012 © cybertrek 2012
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