Second Hong Kong firm eyeing takeover of Physical gym chain not linked to first, watchdog says
Consumer Council chief says medical beauty firm Perface’s announcement on taking over gym chain an ‘important message and step’
A second company that has declared it intends to take over the now-defunct Physical gym chain is not connected to the first firm, Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has said, urging the new investor to adopt a “humane approach” to customers left in limbo.
Consumer Council chief executive Gilly Wong Fung-han said on Friday that medical beauty firm Perface’s announcement on taking over the now-closed 38-year-old gym chain was an “important message and step”.
“If there’s a new investor who’s willing to take over parts of the fitness and beauty services, we hope they can handle it with a humane approach,” Wong said.
“We hope the new vendor, even though we understand the takeover could involve lots of details, can provide details of follow-up arrangements to consumers.”
She said that to her knowledge, Perface was not related to the company behind the first rebrand of Physical outlets into “Healthy” after the gym and beauty service chain suddenly closed all its branches last month.
“In our understanding, they are not related. Perface had discussions with Physical’s representatives independently to express their wish to take over the business,” Wong said.
