Our Retail Reimagined podcast team talked connected fitness this week. Here are the highlights.
The big four: Four brands dominate the connected fitness space: Nike, lululemon athletica, Peloton, and Apple.
Why? Each has a handful of features in common: connected fitness technology, premium prices, digital media content experiences, and experiential retail environments. Ultimately, it comes down to aspirational branding, said our analyst Andrew Lipsman. “Prestige fitness signals wealth and influence. It also signifies something scarce in today’s world: time and flexibility.”
Who’s doing it the best? Lululemon, according to our analyst Blake Droesch. He said that with the brand’s expansion into footwear earlier this year, it has been able to skyrocket to the top of the category alongside legacy brands.
But Apple’s penetration makes it hard to beat, he added. “If you have an iPhone, if you have an Apple computer, it’s so logical that if you want to get into connected fitness, you remain with an Apple product.”
Up-and-coming: When it comes to potential acquisitions, Droesch suggested Amazon buying Tonal is a no-brainer. “They’ve already invested in the company,” he said. Tonal would be a very strategic acquisition for Amazon, which has already begun to push into the healthcare space. Plus, it gives the retailer another rich source of consumer data, Lipsman said.