The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the selected fitness centers’ work and crisis management

Temeljni cilj ovoga rada bio je istražiti utjecaj krize uzrokovane pandemijom COVID-19 na poslovanje fitnes centara, postojeće mjere rješavanja ekonomskih pitanja i potencijalni oporavak fitnes industrije. Nakon proučavanja literature i sekundarnih izvora podataka, provedeno je empirijsko istraživanje na odabranom uzroku s područja Grada Zagreba i Primorsko-goranske županije. Strukturiranim intervjuima iz svake županije ispitano je po 4 vlasnika (ukupno 8 vlasnika), iz svakog fitnes centra anketirana su po 4 zaposlenika (ukupno 32 zaposlenika), te je na svakom području anketirano po 16 klijenata (ukupno 32 klijenata). Rezultati pokazuju utjecaj na poslovanje fitnes centara, a od ispitanih 8 vlasnika, četvero ih je moralo zatvoriti fitnes centar. Uza sve probleme, rezultati pokazuju da su neki vlasnici i zaposlenici ipak pronašli alternative za rad s klijentima kao što su održavanje treninga online i u prirodi. Time su pokazali slogu i želju za izlaskom iz krize, što ih je ujedinilo i poboljšalo odnos između vlasnika i zaposlenika, pa tako i odnos s klijentima.The main goal of this paper was to investigate the impact of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of fitness centers, measures to address economic issues and the potential recovery of the fitness industry. After studying the literature and secondary data sources, an empirical study was conducted on a selected sample from the City of Zagreb and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The structured interviews from each county surveyed 4 owners (8 owners in total), 4 employees from each fitness center (a total of 32 employees), and 16 clients (a total of 32 clients) in each area. The results show an impact on fitness center menagement, and out of the 8 owners surveyed, four had to close the fitness center. Despite all the problems, the results show that some owners and employees have managed to come up with alternative ways of working with clients such as offering trainings online and outdoors. In this way, the efforts and desire to get out of the crisis united them and improved the relationship between the owners and employees, and thus the relationship with their customers