Battered by financial difficulties, the Alexander Group (亞力山大集團), parent company of the nation's leading fitness centers, Alexander Health Clubs, (亞力山大健康休閒俱樂部), yesterday shut down all of its 20 branches without prior notice to members.
"I regretfully announce that all branches have suspended operations," company chairwoman Candy Tang (
Tang said that the company had experienced plummeting sales over the past two-and-a-half years caused by a "poorly performing economy, the fallout of credit and cash-card defaults and rising inflation."
PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
In spite of an estimated NT$2 billion in annual revenues, Tang yesterday claimed that the company's board was recently scammed for NT$95 million, which triggered a liquidity problem to her already financially troubled gyms.
She did not say whether the company would reimburse some 10,000 members as well as the company's 1,000 or so employees.
Disappointed gym members yesterday besieged the company's outlets, with some accusing the Alexander Group of fraud.
A woman surnamed Lin, interviewed on TV yesterday, said that she had signed a contract with Alexander on Sunday.
"Knowing that it may soon suspend operations, Alexander were still touting for new members," Lin said.
Chen Po-ching (
She also lambasted the company for having only notified its employees of their fate by brief messages after reaching a decision to suspend operations at around 2am yesterday morning.
A joint lawsuit can only be brought by a group of more than 20 consumers before applying for a juncture to freeze company assets, Chen said, who also urged members to contact their banks as soon as possible to discontinue monthly payments.
Wu Cheng-hsue (吳政學), director-general of the Consumer Protection Commission, said he had had problems reaching company executives yesterday, including Tang, who was once named one of the best female businesswomen in Asia.
At the age of 22, Tang opened her first dance club expanding her business and founding the Alexander Group in 1993.
However, the group has been suffering from financial difficulties after tapping into Chinese markets by establishing a Shanghai-based flagship fitness center in 2002 with capital of NT$50 million and three other Chinese branches.
Domestic banks including First Bank (
Pending contract terms, Chinatrust will assist the bank's credit cardholder members of Alexander to seek legal compensation should the firm's closure be permanent, the bank said in a statement yesterday.
The bank will also stop cardholders' monthly payments to Alexander.
Taipei prosecutors yesterday said that Alexander may face fraud charges, without ruling out the possibility of preventing Tang from leaving the country.
The Council of Labor Affairs yesterday vowed to press Alexander for follow-up compensation for its employees, including salaries for this month and redundancy payments.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors