Nhat Dong has been working out with a personal trainer at the Citigym outlet at Van Hanh Mall in HCMC’s Hoa Hung Ward, having signed up for a membership that lasts until September 2029.

But his workout routine will soon hit a hurdle—the gym is ceasing operations on Oct. 1.

He says: “The nearest gym in the chain is currently overcrowded. Using my remaining training time would also depend on where my trainer is transferred.”

Citigym has said it is closing that outlet as part of its “plans to relocate and restructure operations.”

It has offered free membership upgrades and extensions to customers as compensation for the closures, it said.

The chain, set up eight years ago, currently has nine outlets across HCMC, with membership fees ranging from VND550,000 to VND2.5 million (US$21-96) a month.

California Fitness & Yoga, another major player, similarly shuttered four outlets this year and 10 in the last two years.

Elite Fitness exited HCMC early this year while two other established chains, Fit24 and Getfit Gym & Yoga, ceased all operations respectively in 2024 and last February.

Fit24 cited force majeure and Getfit had struggled financially and undergone restructuring before shutting.

Premium chains like these invested millions of dollars before Covid-19 to set up large facilities with high-end equipment, sauna, and even a swimming pool or expand to meet the high demand at the time.

These were often located at prime spots inside shopping malls, high-end apartments, or office buildings and could sell training packages worth up to billions of dong (VND1 billion = US$38,400).

But industry players say the pandemic and a shift in consumer preferences after that led to a freefall in membership numbers.

Meanwhile, retail rents surged post-pandemic amid high demand, according to real estate agencies.

Cushman & Wakefield says retail properties in Hanoi and HCMC were 90% occupied in the second quarter of this year.

Van Hanh Mall, for instance, is fully occupied at rents of $50 per square meter per month, according to Avison Young.

At that rate, Citigym has to pay around VND800 million a month for its 6,000-square-meter gym there.

Le Thi Mai, Citigym’s CEO, says high rents and operational costs have left chains pressed for cash and prompted them to offer heavy discounts to attract customers, even at the cost of most of their profits.

Dane Fort, CEO of California Fitness & Yoga Centers, said in a livestream in July that opening more outlets no longer brings in more profit for the chain.

Premium chains are also facing competition from more affordable gyms, which have improved in quality and mushroomed in recent years.

One such chain, Ways Station, entered the market in 2022 and now has 37 outlets in HCMC.

The New Gym, whose membership costs VND299,000 a month and allows customers to use its facilities around the clock, expanded from 10 outlets to 15 over the last four years.

One of its customers, Minh Nhat, 36, says he is satisfied with his current gym as trainers there are less pressured to sell packages to customers.

“It is also fully equipped. But it sometimes get overcrowded, especially at certain hours.”

Besides, the premium gyms also have to compete with other sports that have become more popular in recent years, such as pickleball, badminton, cycling, and running.

A 2025 Euromonitor survey found that running, cycling and walking were more popular than strength-training activities like going to the gym.

A recent survey by web browser Coc Coc also found that many people now prefer exercising at home and parks, where they feel they have more flexibility.

For those still hitting the gym, proximity to their workplace (50.7%) is more important than facility and equipment quality (46.5%).

California Fitness & Yoga Centers’ CEO plans to expand into new areas by adding beauty services and physical and rehabilitation therapy, among other treatments, to selected outlets.

An industry insider said Citigym is looking to open smaller gyms, which its CEO has said are easier to manage.