August 15, 2023 - News

Echelon Enters Connected Strength

But its focus won’t be on the living room.
Echelon

The market for smart equipment may have shifted from the home to the gym.

The latest: Connected fitness equipment manufacturer Echelon unveiled the Echelon Strength Pro, a free-standing smart screen complete with a pulley system for resistance training.

Priced at $4,999 (and requiring an active monthly content subscription), the first units are set to ship in October.

Between the lines: Looking past the obvious consumer-focused connotations, the company’s announcement is rife with language that suggests this model is destined as a B2B bellcow, citing its ruggedness as a “dual benefit” for extreme commercial use and a solution reducing “time needed, stress and headaches” for studio owners managing equipment.

Echelon CEO Lou Lentine also indicated that its reach would go beyond gyms:

“This is an accessible solution for owners and properties – from multi-family complexes to boutique gyms to hotels – to deliver that high end, well-rounded workout without worrying about noise levels, product durability or safety.”

Why it matters: It’s undoubtedly a bad time to be a manufacturer targeting at-home fitness, with Tempo moving on from its screen, Tonal enduring a downround, Peloton going all in on its app, and the futures of CLMBR and lululemon’s MIRROR uncertain. An exclamation point, even quarterly earnings winner Technogym reported significant drop-offs in consumer sales.

Which is why the Strength Pro is likely purpose-built for the weight room, not the living room.

Strength in Numbers

Commercial sales could be a promising next act for connected fitness companies, particularly those capitalizing on the popularity of strength training and desire for data-driven personal training.

  • Smart strength bench makers Arena and Vitruvian developed commercial-grade versions in pursuit of B2B sales.
  • AI-enabled strength system creators Speede Fitness and OxeFit target collegiate and pro athletic weight rooms.
  • This summer, Peloton signed as a supplier to Liverpool FC and inked an immersive connected experience deal with Chicago-area YMCAs.

Looking ahead: Exercisers have always wanted omnichannel, so being where consumers live, work, and play isn’t a bad strategy. But Echelon may be reinventing the wheel here, and it’s a big TBD whether the market is tapped.

Ryan Deer
Ryan Deer
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