Current Market

Industry

What is the industry?

Excercise Equipment

Markets within the industry?

Treadmills, elliptical, exercise cycles, free weights

What is the size of the market?

The exercise equipment is a $4.22 (US – 2008) billion business and treadmill sales account for 25.9% of that entire category.

After treadmills, the next two largest fitness categories are elliptical machines ($892 million) and exercise cycles ($455 million).

Consumer spending for exercise equipment accounts for 75% of the entire exercise equipment category

Landscape

Competitive Landscape

Demand is driven by consumer income and demographic trends. The profitability of individual companies depends on unique product designs and effective marketing. Large companies have some advantages in brand recognition, but small companies can compete effectively by building unique products.

Products, Operations & Technology

Major products are motorized treadmills, stationary bikes, stair climbers, rowing machines, and elliptical "cross-trainers," collectively called aerobic exercisers; and weightlifting machines ("strength training"), and traditional weightlifting equipment ("free weights" and benches). In addition, there are a large number of ancillary products. This equipment allows individuals to exercise by themselves in a limited space. The two major market segments for fitness equipment are the home and the institutional exercise equipment market (including health clubs, corporations, apartments, and hotels). The home market is by far the largest and has grown significantly in the past decade. Products are made and marketed separately for the two segments.

Products for home use are mainly treadmills and exercise bikes. Cost is a primary consideration; so home equipment is generally built with lighter materials, as it is rarely used more than one hour per day

Players

Fitness Brands

Bowflex, Cateye Fitness, Cybex, Gold's Gym Equipment, HealthRider, Keiser, Kettler, Landice Treadmills, Life Fitness, Lifestyler Treadmills, Nautilus, NordicTrack, Powertec, Precor, ProForm, Scwhinn, SCIFIT, Star Trac Treadmills, Weider

Who are the players within this exercise equipment industry?

The US fitness equipment manufacturing industry consists of about 100 companies with combined annual revenue of about $3 billion. Major companies include Cybex International, ICON Health & Fitness, Life Fitness, Nautilus, and Precor. The industry is concentrated: the top five companies account for more than 50 percent of revenue.

Trends

What are key trends from past year within the industry?

Functional Training

Functional strength training has been popular for years and will continue to be popular in 2010 with people wanting exercise that makes a little more sense in their daily lives. We'll see more of these functional workouts with a focus on dynamic, whole body movements that mimic the activities you do each day.

Quick tips for making your workouts more functional:

  • Focus on Compound Movements - Multi-muscle movements, like squats and lunges are great functional exercises because they're movements we do every day.
  • Use Free Weights: Machines often support the body in a way the body isn't supported in real life. Using dumbbells or bands forces your body to support itself, which is much more functional