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Members of popular gym operator, iFitness have raised an allegation on social media platforms X and Instagram over annual fee imposed on them, the topic has gone viral with multiple members all over Nigeria complaining and calling it outrageous and an extortion.
iFitness is a gym chain that was founded by Foluso Ogunwale in 2015, with the help of CardinalStone Capital advisers they have over 400 outlets all over West Africa.
The gym chain is one of the high ranking gym operators in Nigeria, although having branches in only, Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and Port-Harcourt.
However, over recent times the gym chain has made some drastic changes to their membership prices.
As at January 2023, the annual membership fee was N183,490, now as at March 2024 the annual membership fee is N238,890 with the fee for prospective members being N257,786.
Also customers on any membership are to pay an annual due of N17,350, this came into effect on the 1st of February 2023, however the price was 14,350 then.
Customers of iFitness have come out to complain that the hike in the fee is too steep and something should be done to lessen it.
Popular Nollywood actor Akah Nnani took to X (formerly known as twitter) to air his grievances about the annual due, saying that “What is the annual due for? because you have access to our cards doesn’t give you the right to just remove money without our consent, I don’t want to be a member i just want to use the gym, why am I paying annual dues?”
Other members rushed to reply the actor, agreeing with him that the fee is ridiculous.
With some who have already been debited for the fee saying that when asked for a refund they were not granted.
However, a few came to the gym’s rescue, defending them “Running a business in Nigeria is tough. Ifitness was well priced when it started. But naira has dropped so much, costs have increased. Also the funding to open those branches? USD capital. Revenues in naira have dropped over 60% in dollar value. It’s incredibly hard” says Eldivyn an X user.
iFitness have released a statement justifying their increase, saying,
“We sent a series of reminder emails and printed notices between December 2023 and last month on Member Dues 2024 which was due on 1 March 2024. We thank all the members who have settled their dues.
For reference, the Members’ Annual Due, which is now part of the i-Fitness Membership Plans since last year January 2023, is a one-off payment each year that is planned to cater for needed improvements such as replacements of core and non-core equipment, renovations to flooring, remodeling of the facility, ambience enhancements and other developments in our facilities.
The Members’ Annual Dues are for all members (corporate and individual) who have been in i-Fitness before the year 2024.
New members who joined this year are exempt from the payment until next year.
You may have noticed that there are general renovations and facility enhancements such as the installation of air conditioning units, renovation of green areas and new equipment in some of our locations such as Emperor Mall (EMS), Friends Colony (Agungi) and Lekki Phase 1. We also plan to commence renovations and remodeling of the Festac, Magodo and Badore branches later this month. There is still much more planned in the year, however, without the dues, it would be difficult to provide the standard of services and constant improvements you deserve. All of these are to optimize the experience of members.
Our commitment to you is to ensure you have a safe and healthy space to workout and that your time with us inspires your overall fitness and wellness goals.
We appreciate your commitment to our fitness community, and we are always delighted to serve you.”