By YANG Yuman

Fitness app Keep was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this July, raising around HK$192 million (175.4 million yuan, US$24.6 million) globally. The stock then rose strongly, pushing Keep’s market value to HK$15.9 billion.

In August, Keep began to run out of puff, and things headed downhill even faster than they had risen. Keep\’s stock price is now less than HK$16, a long way below the HK$30 IPO price. HK$7 billion has been lost.

From August, Keep saw significant fluctuations, until December 4, when it was included in the Hong Kong Stock Connect. Instead of being perceived positively, this led to a massive sell-off and the price reached HK$14, a new low.

Keep has spent heavily on content and courses, but has lost users in droves, 2 million in the first half of this year. Subscribers fell by a fifth and Keep generated revenue of only 69 million yuan in H1, another sharp decrease, with advertising income performing especially poorly. Keep lost a net total of 220 million yuan.

The size of the Chinese fitness market is enormous, but as competitive as it is expansive. As fitness centers and outdoor sports return to pre-pandemic level, Keep will face many challenges.

With a declining stock price and loss of users and traffic, coupled with the intense competition in the fitness market, Keep, once hailed as the top sports technology stock, is exploring new ways to achieve profitability.