Top Biz News
Getting fit big business
By Yu Tianyu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-16 07:54
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Shu Ge, a 30-year-old public relations manager at an international retail company, started practicing yoga when she was four months pregnant. She went to a luxury yoga club in Beijing's Chaoyang district at least three times a week, which cost her 260 yuan per visit.
She kept it up until one month before giving birth to her daughter. And she cannot wait to return to the club.
"It is old-fashioned that pregnant women should stay in bed before and after pregnancy," Shu said.
"I cannot tolerate it at all if I'm out of shape, so I choose yoga as a healthy and safe way to not only keep fit, but also help maintain a good state of mind," she said.
As fashion and health awareness expand in China, people's desire to stay slim and trim also is growing.
China has become the world's largest commercial fitness and leisure market with more than 400 million potential consumers ages 18 to 50.
Besides, according to leading health experts, an estimated 200 million Chinese will face obesity challenges in the next 10 years - a trend that also might fuel market demand for health and fitness clubs.
The market is developing fast. In 2007, the number of fitness clubs in China totaled 2,500, including 465 in Beijing. The size of the Chinese fitness market was estimated at about $10 billion to $15 billion.
With China's fast-growing economy, there is also extra consumer money to spend. Spending on sports and other recreational equipment leaped 8.5 percent in the first half of 2008, compared with the same period in 2007, to 10.3 billion yuan ($1.51 billion), according to government figures.
Post-Olympics boom
Industry experts attributed the boom to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Since the Olympics ended, statistics show that the number of fitness clubs in China now exceeds 3,400.
After a stressful 10-hour workday, Song Bingbing, a 29-year-old IT engineer, went straight to the gym to work out for two hours.
"It is actually a large amount of spending for me, since I only earn 3,500 yuan a month," Song said.
But it is worth it, Song said, "I used to weight over 80 kg, but now I'm only 65 kg," he said.
"I come here to be healthy. Since I started going to the gym, I found I've become more energetic at work," Song said. "And, I have more confidence when I'm facing my boss and colleagues."
