For Those in Sporting Goods, Opportunity Knocks
As we’ve seen in recent news, the coronavirus is disrupting many industries, but one where there is perhaps a lot of upside for enterprising companies is sporting goods, athleisure and home gym setups. Here are a few of the key trends we’ve been tracking.
Home Gym Equipment
Yelp tracked data related to consumer searches in the wake of the coronavirus and found that there was a 500% spike in searches for home gym equipment.
A massive surge in demand for resistance bands, dumbbells and kettlebells left retailers like Rogue Fitness to scramble to find new production foundries in the US who could handle the influx of orders. The lion’s share of sporting equipment manufacture is outsourced to Asia.
The gym rat’s loss is potentially a huge gain for a new crop of companies that are seeking to recreate the gym experience at home, at a premium price tag.
Home Workouts with “Smart” Technology
Everyone’s familiar with the proverbial treadmill or elliptical trainer gathering dust in the corner of the living room, serving more as a clothing hanger than a workout solution. Taking a fresh approach to the task of staying fit while at home are a number of new startups like Peleton and Mirror, and they are bringing new “smart” features like live workouts and tracking.
Key players on the market include:
- Peloton, who has a range of options and price categories including their flagship offering, the Peloton Bike ($2,245), and the Peloton Tread ($4,295). These items are supported by a subscription model for classes, as well as the Peloton App, which anyone can use for online classes.
- Mirror bills itself as an “near invisible home gym” and is an interactive flat panel display you mount on the wall and use to take classes in strength training, yoga, Pilates and more.
- Tempo, Tonal and Forme Life are all looking to become the “Peloton of strength training at home,” using resistance bands and other forms of technology to make users forgo their gym memberships for a four-figure home equipment purchase.
- Fight Camp is an at-home boxing kit and subscription service that brings the premium home fitness experience to the once rough and tumble discipline of boxing.
Athletic Apparel
The so-called “athleisure” market, valued at over $150 billion dollars was poised for growth even before the coronavirus pandemic had people working from home. Athleisure, or activewear is a type of sportswear that can go from gym to street. The category may include leggings, shorts, tops and sneakers. In a survey conducted by JP Morgan in the spring on stimulus spending, a quarter of respondents chose the athleisure category as their top three priorities for spending.
Along with major brands like Nike, Reebok and Adidas, Lululemon has long been a pioneer in using digital to enhance customers’ brand awareness and affinity through digital and e-commerce tools.
Electric Mobility
New options for electric bikes, scooters and skateboards are proliferating, keyed to a new interest in sustainable transportation with style.
- From Trek, the Trek Allant Plus is a sleek e-bike made of carbon fiber which weighs only about 50 pounds, and is currently one of the lightest e-bikes on the market today.
- Scooters have proven to be a smart and portable option for urban dwellers with small spaces. Consumer can expect to spend between $500-2000 on scooters from Unagi, Levy, Swagtron and Segway. The rugged Apollo Pro can apparently top out at 40 miles per hour.
- Onewheel is a self-balancing single wheel electric board-sport, recreational personal transporter, often described as an electric skateboard and they have models starting at around $1,000.
How ACCUR works with the Sporting Goods Sector
ACCUR has had a long track record of recruiting top executive talent for a range of consumer facing industries, but especially apparel, sporting goods and other consumables. As numerous startups pivot to capitalize enthuse emerging opportunities, we’re here to help strategize around finding the best hires to support expansion and innovation. Contact us to discuss your staffing needs.
