With Peloton, an in-home virtual spinning class, spending £50m on getting into the UK, athleisure brands may be losing the in-home territory they deserve with their devoted fitness followers.
Peloton is a virtual spinning class in which members live stream classes to their homes as they furiously cycle on a custom-made Peloton bike. Having risen to success in NYC, the brand is investing £50m in the UK market, focusing on ‘Mamils’ (middle aged men in lycra).
They’re not the only ones bringing boutique fitness classes home. Fiit claims to be ‘Netflix but fitter’ and allows you to ‘train with the best’, as well as offering specific technology to help you track your workout, be it cardio, yoga or HIIT. AsanaRebel also deliver yoga-inspired workouts straight to your living room. This new generation of home workouts builds on the resounding success of paper-based fitness schemes, which catapulted the likes of Instagram sensation Kyla Itsines into the limelight. This is the Jane Fonda aerobics VHS of 2018.
But as these new brands gain traction, they are increasingly stealing share from athleisure brands, who desperately need to reclaim their territory. People connect brands such as Lululemon and Adidas; they see them as an ally on their fitness journey. Just take the success of Sweaty Betty Live and ‘The Studio @ No.1 Carnaby’, the upgrade of their in-store weekly sessions. Who better to support you in an in-home workout than the brand that sewed your leggings?
What’s more, these brands were there at the beginning of in-home training. The Nike Training Centre app, in which celebrity and Nike ambassador trainers act as a PT in your pocket, is one of the most successful in-home work out apps, and was one of the first. Yoga gear giant, Gaiam, have a successful Yoga Studio App, bringing zen to your home, whilst cult cycle wear brand, Rapha, have had success with their cycling app ‘made for cyclists, by cyclists’.
Consumers know that athleisure brands understand and engage with the type of workout they want, why they want it, and how they want it. They have a connection with their customers enviable across other industries.
As brands like Peloton race to the top, it’s time to ask the question: how can athleisure make the most of their connection with customers and penetrate deeper into the heart of customers’ fitness journey beyond what they work out in?