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.
