In January 2021, The Washington Post wrote that “Health and fitness equipment revenue more than doubled, to $2.3 billion, from March to October, according to NPD retail data. Sales of treadmills soared 135 per cent while those of stationary bikes nearly tripled, depleting inventories.”
That’s quite some encouragement for anyone who has been thinking about investing in a gym equipment business! So, is selling gym equipment a business opportunity? Hell, yeah! With the Covid-19 pandemic, there are people who no longer go to the gym. But does that mean that they never work out? Of course no. They work out from the comfort of their homes.
A rise in home gyms
Before the pandemic, people paid a monthly fee to access the gym. Then the pandemic hit the whole world and people were told to stay at home if they could. If someone is too anxious to leave their house due to the fear of contracting the virus, they are not going to the gym again. At least not until Covid 19 is over and we don’t know when that’s gonna happen.
As you already know, exercising is one way to help your body be strong and build up your immunity. Governments and health institutions are insisting on the importance of staying fit day in day out in a bid to help our bodies fight the Coronavirus. This has seen even people who never used to work out before adopting a routine of exercising regularly.
Gym trainers have also been forced to move where their clients are – home. To be able to train their clients online, these clients need to have the necessary gym equipment. So, if a certain gym had 100 clients and all these clients or at least 70% of them are now working out at home, there is no doubt that the demand for gym equipment goes up.
Gym equipment on rent
These people working out from home have two choices; to either buy or rent the gym equipment. You, on the other hand, as a business person, can start up a gym equipment business where you either sell them, rent them out, or both!
Some of this equipment is quite pricy and one may not afford to buy it as soon as they want. Instead of stopping their fitness routine, they can choose to rent until they are ready to buy their own. You can rent out your gym equipment to individuals, groups, or smaller gyms that are just opening and do not have all the necessary equipment.
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Fitness coaches who work from home are also your target clients. These are people who may not have enough resources to buy all the equipment at ago, or, do not have space at home to keep all the equipment they need for work. Yet, they need to train their clients online. They for sure will be looking out for a business that rents out their gym equipment.
Starting a gym equipment business
Selling gym equipment is a profitable business but like with every other business, you must do your assignment. How profitable your business will depend on various things, among them doing market research.
Here are a few things to consider if you are looking into starting a gym equipment business:
Market gap For Gym Equipment
Who are you going to be targeting? Also, how many people run a similar business in your locality? If so many people are already doing it in your area, you can consider a different location. Not unless you have a very unique selling point, you want to start your business where the demand is high and supply is insufficient.
Budget For Starting Gym Equipment Store
How much money are you willing to commit to this business for a start? It’s okay if you can only manage to start with a few pieces of equipment and get more as the business grows. If your budget allows you to only buy a treadmill, don’t hesitate to start. Most of the leading businesses we know started pretty small.
Warehouse/online store
Consider how you are going to be running your business. You can either have a physical warehouse or you can do your business purely online. If finances cannot allow you to have a physical store, online is the way to go. The good thing with online is that you don’t need to pay for rent and licences. All you need is a website and social media platforms to market your equipment. Once you get a client, the equipment can be shipped directly from the manufacturer or the supplier. Could it get any better?
Reliable gym equipment suppliers
You can have everything figured out but if you cannot rely on your supplier, your business will soon be no more. Look for a supplier that delivers on time and one who will never let you down. If your supplier is unreliable, you automatically become unreliable to your clients. That’s not a good thing for your business.
Gym equipment and their benefits
Different pieces of gym equipment have different benefits. There are those that are meant for cardio, building muscles, losing belly fat, among others. Think about your potential clients and what results they are looking to achieve. This will guide you to know which equipment to buy for your business.
Selling
In this era, having an online presence is almost inevitable. Think of how you intend to reach your prospective clients and budget for it. If you have a physical shop, you have an advantage of people passing by and discovering your business. However, if you are only online, market yourself as much as you can until people know about your business. Have an advertising budget to help reach as many people as possible.
Conclusion
Selling gym equipment is a profitable business as long as you work smart and do your research. You would rather take a longer time researching than start one in a rush, only for the business to collapse before you even make a profit. If you know people who are already in the business, find out how they operate and see if there is a better way to do things. Remember that it’s okay to start small. After all, even Steve Jobs started out in his parent’s garage.
