SINGAPORE – When True Fitness member Yang arrived for her yoga class at the chain’s Great World outlet on the afternoon of Sept 11, she was surprised to find the entrance shuttered and a crowd of bewildered members – just a day after her last visit.“My things are still in the locker,” she said.The 58-year-old homemaker is among many who were blindsided by the abrupt closure of True Fitness and True Yoga, which parent company Kontafarma China Holdings attributed to market competition and cost pressures on Sept 10.Yang said members were notified via e-mail about a month ago that the Great World outlet would close on Sept 13, but that remaining packages could be used at other branches.Yang, who declined to share her first name, has been a member at the outlet since 2014.She signed up for a True Fitness lifetime membership package 10 years ago, which cost her between $8,000 and $9,000. She now pays an annual fee of about $100 to maintain the membership.For now, she is unsure if she will be refunded for the unused portion of her membership package following the announcement of the fitness chain’s closure.Another regular at the Great World outlet, 83-year-old retiree Yin, said she noticed that equipment at the branch appeared old and unmaintained, and there were leaks in the bathroom facilities.She was told sometime around June by the outlet’s staff that there were plans to renovate the outlet.Yin, who first became a True Fitness member 20 years ago, also paid between $8,000 and $9,000 for a lifetime membership package a decade back, alongside an annual fee of about $100.Like Yang, she is unsure if she will be refunded for her unused membership.Benjamin, a 35-year-old healthcare worker who declined to give his full name, told ST that staff at the Great World branch were often “pushy”, frequently pressuring him to sign up for multi-year packages.Their most recent attempt was in January, he said.His personal trainer suspected the gym’s sudden closure was driven by financially unsustainable “legacy packages” – similar to the ones Yin and Yang signed up for.Members seek answers, recourseCustomers of the True Fitness and True Yoga have reported losses of more than $63,000 in unused memberships, packages and services as at Sept 11, according to the Consumers Association of Singapore.True Fitness and True Yoga come under True Singapore Group, which also operates fitness and yoga centres TFX and Yoga Edition here.At TFX and Yoga Edition’s joint branch at Millenia Walk, member Cherie Goh, who had prepaid more than $100 in September for yoga classes, said “nobody knew about the closure”.She added that the sudden move was unfair to customers, as well as instructors.Customers, taken aback by the news, gather to discuss the sudden closure at the True Fitness outlet in Djitsun Mall in Ang Mo Kio. ST PHOTO: ANN NEOFellow gym-goer Ruby Xu, who paid $1,900 for a 1½ year package in late April, is also seeking answers.After hearing about the fitness chains’ closure, she reached out to her membership consultant who simply told her that the company had “collapsed”.She is now hoping to be refunded for the unused portion of her package.Adeline Tien, a freelance instructor at Yoga Edition’s Millenia Walk outlet, said she was not surprised by the news of the True Singapore Group’s closure.The 52-year-old began teaching at True Yoga in Pacific Plaza in late 2005 and followed the yoga studio when it moved to Millenia Walk and was renamed Yoga Edition.“The big gym models aren’t working any more,” Tien said, adding that many people are favouring smaller boutique gyms and studios.She said she felt sorry for the students, teachers and staff who were kept in the dark. “Of course, you will have people saying – the signs were there... should have seen. But hindsight is 20/20.”Echoes of California Fitness collapseJoseph Lee, a 45-year-old school canteen vendor and frequent visitor of the True Fitness’ Novena outlet, received an e-mail from True Singapore Group on Sept 9 informing members that the branch would close for just one day on Sept 10.In the e-mail seen by ST, customers were told to visit other branches including those at Ang Mo Kio’s Djitsun Mall, Tampines Junction, CIMB Plaza, Funan and Millenia Walk.When Lee visited the Ang Mo Kio branch on Sept 10, staff members there told him the closure in Novena was temporary, he said.When he returned to the Ang Mo Kio branch the next day, it had shuttered.He said he was not notified via e-mail about the broader closures, only receiving alerts through the gym’s app.A shuttered Yoga Edition at Millenia Walk on Sept 11. ST PHOTO: CHOR KHIENG YUITLee joined True Fitness 10 years ago, after the 2016 collapse of California Fitness, which previously occupied the same location in Novena.Multiple other gym-goers told ST they had also moved over to True Fitness after California Fitness folded.True Singapore Group has been under mounting financial strain, recording substantial losses and net liabilities, even as it continued to generate notable revenue.In 2025, it recorded revenue of about HK$181.2 million (S$29.3 million) and a loss of about HK$34.3 million. As at Dec 31, 2025, it had total assets of about HK$149.7 million, total liabilities of about HK$555.5 million and net liabilities of about HK$405.8 million.As at end-August, it owed its parent Kontafarma group about HK$309.7 million.The National University of Singapore Society, in an e-mail sent to members on Sept 11 and seen by ST, said its True Fitness benefit was no longer available for booking.It said members would not be charged a no-show fee for their existing bookings, adding that it is currently exploring alternative fitness benefits for members.On Sept 11, around 50 former staff members of True Fitness and True Yoga were seen attending a liquidators’ meeting, reported The Business Times. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUANOn Sept 11, around 50 former staff members of True Fitness and True Yoga were seen attending a liquidators’ meeting at Claymore Hill, reported The Business Times.All staff were asked to report to the company’s office at the location in the afternoon, where the liquidators would explain the next steps.Insolvency practitioners Goh Wee Teck and Lin Yueh Hung from RSM SG Corporate Advisory have been appointed as provisional liquidators for the winding-up process.ST has contacted True Fitness, True Yoga, the National Trades Union Congress, the Ministry of Manpower and RSM SG Corporate Advisory for more information.