Image Source: Visual China
Beijing, June 24 (TMTPost) – Chinese fitness service provider Keep announced that its two apps for overseas markets, which are Keep Trainer and Keep Yoga, will suspend operation after June 30 this year.
Keep Trainer’s loyal users left comments on the announcement, expressing their love for the app. Some users said that there is no similar app on Google Play that can replace Keep Trainer.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said that he would like to be Keep’s first user in overseas markets when visiting the company’s headquarters in Beijing in 2017.
Keep launched its overseas app Keep Trainer in 2018. The app received the title of “Best App for Self Improvement” on Google Play that year. As of January 2019, Keep Trainer and Keep Yoga had a user base of ten million. The two apps supported 17 languages and provided services in over 180 countries and regions.
Users complete workout tasks or watch advertisements on Keep Trainer to gain virtual coins which can be used for purchasing training plans on the platform. In comparison, users in China have to pay for training plans with actual cash. The app for the Chinese market also has lots of features, which in some way makes it difficult for users to navigate and use. Some Chinese users would download the overseas version for workout guide.
Keep had ambitious plans for overseas markets. But the company stopped uploading major updates for Keep Trainer after 2019.
In China, Keep mainly makes money by selling fitness equipment and sports apparel. According to the company’s prospectus, 55.1% of revenues came from the sales of fitness equipment and sports apparel. Keep’s overseas apps did not have clear ways of commercialization.
The two apps have already been removed from the App Store and Google Play Store.