The pandemic of COVID-19 led to the temporary closure of health clubs and gyms owing to worldwide lockdown, impacting the demand for workout equipment in 2020. As a result of decreasing demand for fitness centers, the sector faced a temporary slowdown. Several people avoided going to the gyms owing to the virus. On the other hand, this aspect led to a rise in the revenue of fitness equipment companies as the demand for workouts from home soared. For safety reasons, individuals chose to practice indoors with their own fitness equipment. Home fitness companies have entered the fitness industry and are here to stay. The market is expected to expand from 2021 to 2027 at a CAGR of 7.8%.

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• Market trends impacting the demand of workout companies
• 12 top fitness companies behind fitness industry’s boom

Market trends impacting the demand of workout companies 

Current market trends led to the spike in demand for at-home fitness equipment and the profits of workout companies. With the emergence of a budding ecosystem that includes customers, service and workout companies, complementary sectors, and government initiatives, the fitness industry in the United States is developing at a fast pace. Let’s have a look at the factors revolutionizing the industry.

1. Consumer’s interest in a customized and hassle-free fitness regime

The hectic schedule and long hours of work, crowded fitness centers amidst the pandemic and parking issues have led to a rising number of people who are actively inclined to work out at home. The difficulty of traveling to a fitness center to use the machines is eliminated by home workout equipment that is currently provided by some of the best fitness companies with high-tech features. This is also becoming an extremely cost-efficient alternative over time. Transport, training equipment, trainer fees, and membership fees are some minor and recurrent expenditures contributing greatly to consumer inclination towards home fitness equipment.

‍2. North America witnessed significant growth in home fitness equipment 

Increasing health awareness among consumers led to significant growth in the North American industry of fitness companies. Other key reasons that drive the demand for the exercise equipment market in the area include increasing obese populations and health concerns. For instance, in 2016, around 39.6% of American adults were found obese under the National Health and Food Examination Survey.

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3. Increasing incidents of fitness-related diseases

The entire world is concerned about the severity of cardiovascular illnesses, diabetes and osteoarthritis. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of mortality, according to the World Health Organization. However, many fitness companies promote a healthy lifestyle via some sort of sport and other physical activities. 

As a consequence, a rising number of people are involved in physical activities such as training programs and packages or just self-exercise. This drives the development of the market for fitness equipment companies.

4. The growing trend of bodybuilding

Following their role models in movies and sports, Gen-Z is also starting to exhibit interest in bodybuilding activities. Today, bodybuilding has become a norm for all people indulging in fitness activities. This has led to an increase in the demand for at-home fitness equipment because now individuals not only rely on the gym to achieve their fitness goals but also on at-home high-technology gym equipment. 

5. Government health Initiatives led to the use of workout equipment at home.

An increase in the number of initiatives from the government’s end is also leading to soaring demand for at-home fitness and equipment for the same. This is ultimately the cause of the hike in revenue of fitness equipment companies. The government is encouraging individuals to lead a healthy lifestyle by participating in physical activities through countrywide initiatives and strategies. Its goal is to shift people's habits from inactive to physically active lifestyles.

12 top fitness companies behind fitness industry’s boom

Mirror, Zwift, Tonal, Peloton, iFit and Nordic Track are some of the interactive health & fitness companies that provide home exercise equipment for the convenience of the users. In order to encourage users to take an active interest in their own health, these interactive platforms use real-time customized health data. Moreover, they also provide a social connection with friends and other platform users, which encourages those who are in need of social motivation and accountability. Importantly, this health-based data may be combined with some advanced wearable technology such as Apple watches and Fitbit for an accurate reading.

There is a multitude of firms entering the fitness market which offer various equipment that helps you to carry out your fitness regime from home including cyclists, cross-fit, yoga, and dance courses. The various home-based equipment range from costly stationary cycles and treadmills to cheaper choices like yoga and bodyweight strength training. Let’s dive deep into the industry to see the top fitness companies who are leaving quite an indelible mark in the home fitness market.

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01. Tonal Systems Inc

The first company in our list of the biggest fitness companies is Tonal Systems. With its simple-to-use approach, Tonal solves the problem of fitness at home. Tonal, the exercise equipment company provides a large wall-mounted, rectangular gadget that shows interactive workouts on a big screen. One big advantage of Tonal and the system is a set of adjustable arms. Each arm has a cable that gives up to 100 pounds per arm adjustable resistance. 

Tonal had an incredible year in 2020, with revenues more than doubling and best-in-class member engagement and retention rates. It had established a 40-location countrywide collaboration with Nordstrom, bringing the company's store footprint to 60. Tonal continues to expand its position in the linked strength training area, with more than 90% market share and a net promoter score regularly above 80.

02. Johnson Health Tech

Johnson Health Tech Co is an exercise equipment company. Since 1975, the business has been in one of the top fitness companies. Matrix, Horizon Fitness, Synca Wellness, and Tempo Fitness are just a few of the well-known fitness companies that come under the family of the company.

Johnson Health Tech’s commercial brand, Matrix Fitness, maintained a two-figure growth rate of $620 million in worldwide annual revenues in 2019, up 17.5% over 2018. In total, throughout the same time period, Johnson Health Tech increased 13,6%. Although the firm witnessed sales expansion internationally, it also witnessed impressive growth in U.S. e-commerce retail sales. Sales in America and the Asia Pacific accounted for the biggest improvements. Most notably, US Matrix sales increased by 36% from last year as a result of the pandemic.

03. Peloton 

Peloton is changing the face of fitness companies by combining high design with cutting-edge technology to offer live and on-demand fitness group classes led by top instructors. Peloton provides a comprehensive and socially connected experience that makes every workout both efficient and addicting. By combining hardware, software, and content, the company creates the most unique, efficient, and addicting workout experience on the market.

Peloton is a home gym company that has been rapidly expanding in the past few years. Revenues increased from over $440 million in FY'18 to almost $1.83 billion in FY'20, a per year increase of more than 100%. Equipment sales increased from $350 million in FY18 to $1.46 billion in FY20, with 626k Bikes and Treads delivered in 2020 alone. The company's base of linked fitness customers increased from 246k in FY'18 to roughly 1.09 million in FY'20, resulting in revenue growth of about $80 million to $360 million. Peloton's entire membership base grew to 3.1 million at the end of FY20, including customers who solely pay for Peloton's digital subscriptions.‍

04.Strava

Strava meaning "strive" in Swedish is a fitness monitoring software that employs GPS technology to record real-time distance and speed for sports such as bicycling and jogging. Strava downloads increased to 3.4 million in May, helping the business earn $6.4 million in revenue, increasing 179 percent and 166 percent from January.

In the second quarter of 2020, Strava led an overall record growth in app downloads throughout the health and fitness category, which grew by a whopping 47 percent from the previous year. The rates outperformed record highs in January when demand and sales for fitness items and services were at their peak.

05. ICON Health & Fitness

ICON, based in Utah, originally entered the home fitness market as an exercise equipment company in the 1980s with devices including trampolines and folding treadmills. After a few decades, the private firm has grown to become one of the top fitness companies and marketers of home and gym exercise equipment.

Most of their solutions, such as performance tracking or live content distribution, include a digital or connected component. This aspect has been a focal point for ICON and its brands. ICON's subsidiary brand and streaming platform, iFit, garnered $200 million in 2019 and provides customers with personalized virtual exercises and live courses. These exercises are supplied by NordicTrack, ProForm, Freemotion, and other associated equipment, which are used to measure the workout data of the users.

06. Technogym

Technogym is yet another exercise equipment company catering to gyms, hotels, and spas in over 100 countries. It is also one of the top workout companies that provide home-friendly fitness equipment.

Technogym reported a decrease in first-half sales to 222 million euros from 295 million euros a year earlier in September. Sales of the company's home exercise equipment, on the other hand, increased. In the first half, direct sales of exercise machines and online training programs to clients increased by 50%. They currently contribute 30% of the group's sales, up from 20% in 2019.

07. Gymshark

Gymshark, a fitness clothing company, became the UK's newest £1 billion startup. Gymshark's success is based on its ability to comprehend its target audience. Gymshark stays up to date and adapts to changes in customer behavior and trends.

Gymshark's full-year income up through July 2020 was £258 million, according to recent figures. This is an increase over the previous year's figure of £176 million. It is one of the well-known fitness companies that are consistent in generating organic online traffic and higher revenue.

08. Lululemon

Sweatpants replaced business suits as regular wear for millions of people who started working as well as working out from home. During this time, Lululemon became one of the leading fitness companies under the category of fitness clothing retailer. Lululemon's net sales increased by 22% to $1.1 billion in the third quarter, which ended Nov. 1, and online sales increased by 155 percent to 61.4 percent of total revenue in the second quarter.

Lululemon, along with athletic retailers Nike and Under Armour, outperformed the retail industry as a whole in January, according to location analytics startup Placer.ai. Despite a significant drop in store visits throughout the pandemic, Placer.ai reports that Lululemon witnessed an increase in store traffic by the end of December and into January 2021.

09. TrueCoach

TrueCoach is an app, that is widely used by coaches who offer individualized fitness programs to their members. TrueCoach had a 300 percent surge in new users from February to March 2020. This is majorly due to the demand for online fitness trainers during the pandemic. 

A 100 percent rise in user growth was already predicted by the firm. Moreover, the actual user growth increased by 200 percent in Q2 i.e. double the company’s prediction. During and after the pandemic, similar healthcare & fitness companies and applications witnessed a rise in their usage.

10. Tone & Sculpt 

Tone & Sculpt is an app that uses study guides and eBooks to help individuals get in shape and stay healthy. Between April 2019 and April 2020, the female-focused fitness and nutrition app, co-founded by fitness celebrity Krissy Cela and Jack Bullimore, experienced over 400,000 downloads and claimed an 88 percent increase in downloads and a 261 percent rise in yearly revenue.

Following the initial lockdown, the ads and campaigns of the brand took a positive turn where the average number of exercises done per month on the app climbed by 126%, while the average number of times users worked out per week increased by 20%.

11. Nautilus Inc

Nautilus Inc, a Vancouver exercise equipment company, witnessed that quarterly sales climbed 94 percent as the pandemic continues to boost purchases of treadmills and fitness cycles, but it still recorded a quarterly loss as it works through restructuring expenses.

Sales in the second quarter were $114.2 million, up from $59 million the year before. Nautilus also had $34.2 million in back orders at the start of the third quarter. The shares of the company have risen 738 percent since March’20. Nautilus' quarterly revenues of $105.5 million exceeded Wall Street expectations.

12. FightCamp 

FightCamp is an exercise equipment company, located in California, offering an at-home boxing system that includes smart boxing gloves that measure punch count and pace, as well as subscription-based training DVDs. Versus, the company's latest feature, allows users to compete with others on the leader board online.

Over 1,000 seminars, exercises, and training sessions are available at FIghtCamp.

So far, FightCamp members have thrown over 1 billion punches, and revenues have increased 30 times in the previous two years.

Home fitness is here to stay!

Home workout companies that provide equipment, accessories, and applications are becoming the new norms as they are here to stay in the industry. These are also developing trends in the home fitness equipment market for providing physical exercises at the convenience of the users, which may inspire and motivate people to keep up their fitness objectives with entertaining games and realistic training situations. Their leading demand is not just because of the fact that they excite and inspire people to exercise through the use of technology, but also save thousands of dollars on gym memberships. 

Wondering what would make your task of operating a fitness studio as easy and convenient as home workouts? Book a demo with us to ease your operational burdens.