Operations Management Assignment - 3

Submitted By: Akshar Pandya

20PGPIB064 – Section B

PROCESS RESILIENT
Cure.fit
Introduction

In Mid-March, Covid-19 struck India hard. Many businesses closed down temporarily and some even
had to unfortunately close down on a permanent basis. The biggest threat was faced by the industries
that, even after the lockdown was lifted, had to face the questions regarding the safety measures being
taken by the business to ensure containment of the virus at their premises. The industries thus being
impacted the most included the ones from leisure such as hospitality, travel and sports & fitness
industry.

One such company to be impacted heavily was Cult.fit. Head of Engineering and Operations at Cure.fit,
Mr. Ankit Gupta explained that the company was doing all it could to ensure its survival in the
pandemic. He also listed the challenges that were being faced by the overall fitness industry.

Figure: Cult.fit before the Pandemic

Challenges Faced by Cure.fit across India

• The biggest challenge that the gym owners were facing across India was the perception on gym
of the common public. The general perception remained that the gyms were the most dreaded
places for the people as they were the most susceptible to virus contamination and spread.
 • The perception was built on the mere fact that the equipment used in the gym is generally shared
by quite a lot of people simultaneously, which makes them extremely prone to spread of such
a virus as Coronavirus.
• The other challenge being faced by the gyms was their inability to pay the fixed costs of renting
the space, equipment and the salaries of the staff and trainers.
• The other major challenge was to control the number of gym goers or the number of people
working out at the same time in the gym. Owing to these challenges of operating their centers,
the Cult.fit centers also found it extremely challenging to keep up with their of ensuring fitness
for all.
• The company also had to temporarily shut down their centers across the country owing to the
lockdown.

Figure: Cult.live making

Strategies Adopted by Cult.fit

• The first thing that the Cult.fit addressed was that they increased the frequency of sanitization
at their fitness centers. The sanitization began to take place on an hourly basis including the
sanitization of the floors, equipment, common areas etc.
• They introduced a booking mechanism to resolve the problem of a lot of people working out at
the same time at the gym. The first reactions from the members were not satisfactory though.
However, the members got used to the idea of booking and accepted the changes later on.
 • The best step that they took, however, was the introduction of Cure.fit app. Cure.fit app
provided online fitness lessons to the people who wanted to get fit and were drawn by the idea
of getting fit remaining at their homes.
• The company introduced subscription model for the interested people based on the model
followed by Netflix and Hotstar.
• Cure.fit added a paywall in May 2020 and saw over 50000 members enrol for the services and
online sessions.
• Cure.fit also provided live sessions to the Cult.fit members. They also introduced the concepts
of energy meter and teleconsultations, so that they could make the sessions more interactive
and impactful rather than the members just following the videos to keep up with the movements
and sessions.
• To contribute to the well being of the people impacted by the Covid-19 disease, Cult.fit also
started a #MovementForMovement campaign and the funds raised through the campaign were
transferred directly to the PM CARES fund.

Performance in Covid-19 Times

Cult.fit had to face severe losses due to the pandemic for the first three months owing to the spread of
the virus and the lockdown imposed by the government across the country. It had to further face grave
challenges as the perceptions of people developed after the pandemic grew even stronger and lethal.

However, they were smart enough to utilize the digital space to their advantage. With the introduction
of the online membership and lessons and live sessions, they actually saw the number of members and
subscriptions grow.

They were quick to realize that the people were in search of some activity while sitting at home and
they had the resources to capitalise on the gap. They were also quick to take actions involving
sanitization of the gyms and equipment do that passionate people could come and workout as soon as
the conditions became favourable.
References

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2020/apr/06/covid-19-fitness-start-up-cultfit-
launches-movement-to-donate-to-pm-cares-fund-while-you-workout-2126364.html

https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/features/technology-reshaping-fitness-industry-gyms-in-india-
coronavirus-lockdown-cultfit-curefit-app-2261996

https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/cultfit-launches-movementformovement-
challenge-to-donate-to-pm-covid-relief-fund-103650.html

https://blog.cure.fit/featured/engineering-a-new-normal/