It's always amazing to me when people are surprised that things change in the fitness equipment industry. And if you want to skip the rest of the blog, what we are talking about is that you shouldn't be surprised if that brand you worked out with 20 years ago was no longer on the top of the industry.
And I speak as somebody who has been the Product Manager, and then the Chief Product Officer for the largest dealership in the industry. I was in charge of all the vendor relationships.
And I helped design equipment for over a dozen manufacturers and have advised and consulted with dozens more. So I have had something of a catbird seat as things have changed
Sometimes we're talking about the changes in a modality, like when functional cable machines started adjusting with the width as well as the height, which opened up a huge amount of options. Or when elliptical machines started adding in the upper body, between the first and second generations there (We are actually at Generation Four now, just so you know).
But the biggest one is the brands. Universal, and then Nautilus were the two biggest brands in the industry and then Stairmaster was the hot brand.. And then Life Fitness was by far the best known brand in the biggest. And then it was Precor with their elliptical.
But nobody stays on top forever. Nautilus became a lower level online brand that makes all the Bowflex Walmart equipment. And there's a different Nautilus whose name is licensed to make commercial strength equipment. Precor was bought by Peloton, and now both of those companies are in danger of shuttering.
And the same would be true for Peloton, who somehow thought, along with many other new connected fitness brands, that the pandemic high was going to last forever. And now $162 a share is down to $8 a share.
And that becomes part of my job when I'm talking to clients or facilities. To explain to them the landscape, which brands are on the upswing and which branch on the And it's not just because a brand may have not spent no money in r&d for the last decade because they've been bought and sold so many times. Parts Support is one of the first things that gets cut when these companies are trying to stay profitable or to slow their decline. And there are definitely companies right now that are very well known that I'm waiting months to get parts for because that's exactly where they are.
Not to mention one of these very well-known brands has dealers that still have inventory on treadmills and elliptical machines that are no longer even made. And they're not telling people that that's the reason they're on discount.
That's one reason I carry True Fitness, Landice Eleiko, and Hoist, in my portfolio. Those are about as rock solid as you can get.
That's one reason I carry True Fitness, Landice Eleiko, and Hoist, in my portfolio. Those are about as rock solid as you can get.
So it's always wise to see if you can find out what's really going on in the industry before you purchase anything. And if you're going to get parts support down the road. Maybe not as important with a dumbbell, but you're buying cardio or strength equipment, you want to be able to get support
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