Rep Fitness - Home fitness brand sees a 600% spike in sales as Americans use the shutdown to get in shape

“The new beta reports in Brightpearl are a huge help to us. The investments that the Brightpearl team have made in increasing the speed of reporting means that we’re able to extract and analyze our data in record time.”

Raising the bar

Denver-based home gym specialist Rep Fitness is reporting an average 600% increase in sales since the pandemic and online sales growth of over 800% in Q2 alone as more Americans than ever are working out at home or from their garage.

Shelter-at home, gym and office closures motivated by the pandemic has sent fitness equipment sales skyrocketing over the past few months. A report commissioned by eBay found that between March and April of this year, home gym sales increased up to 20 times in some categories compared with the same time frame last year. NPD Group reported that in March alone, fitness equipment sales rose 130% year-over-year, with benches up a whopping 259%.

“In the initial stages of the pandemic we experienced demand like we’ve never witnessed before”, says Alida Sholl, the Director of Operations at Rep Fitness. “In one day we saw more sales than in the entire 2019 Black Friday week.”

Even though gyms are reopening, Rep Fitness is still reporting unprecedented sales spikes, which suggest that the future of fitness might be at home.

“Interest is still exceptionally high”, explains Alida. “At first, we saw an uptake in the sales of smaller items, things like kettle bells and wrist weights when it seemed like shutdown might be a short-term thing.

“However, now we’re seeing considered sales of bigger ticket items such as squat racks and benches. That indicates that working out at home is becoming the new normal for many and this trend is reflected in the major upswing in major home gym investment across the country.”

However, despite the interest in setting up a home gym, many have struggled to find home gym equipment. Even before the run on home gym equipment happened, there was already a shortage of equipment to be found online. Now, given the surge of purchases, there is scarcely a kettlebell to be found anywhere.

All this adds up to a lot of delays and sold-out equipment. One fitness store in Houston reported selling eight months’ supply of free weights in just a week, and Rep Fitness has a shared experience.

“We literally sold out of all stock completely within the first two weeks of the shutdown”, says Alida. “It’s been difficult to keep up as stock flies out of the door almost as soon as it comes in. There have been delays – that’s expected in this climate, and we’ve found that by setting realistic expectations with our customers from the outset that they are much more understanding of the time frames we can deliver equipment to them.

“Where we do have a leg up on other brands though is our ability to report real-time on what’s being sold, when and where which helps us to avoid accidentally selling an item to customers which might already be sold out. Our solution provider Brightpearl has been really helpful on that end. When you’re processing thousands of orders each day and in this near constant state of expansion you need to be able to quickly analyze data and make fast and informed decisions on product, suppliers and inventory management. ”

Future Gains

Internally things are changing for Rep Fitness, whilst it began the year at 50 employees, by the beginning of 2021 they anticipate a 200% growth in its workforce, and these new starters must hit the ground running in order to keep pace with the skyrocketing level of demand.

“Brightpearl’s ease of use has been integral to the success of our new starters,”” says Alida, “its simple interface means that we’ve been able to get them using the software within a week which is so important when your customer service team is trying to review orders and respond to thousands of customers each week.”

“The new beta reports are also a huge help to us, the investments that the Brightpearl team have made in increasing the speed of reporting means that we’re able to extract and analyze our data and make quick decisions on inventory management.”

The $11.5 billion dollar fitness equipment industry is set for a shake up and Rep Fitness is now innovating products that are more suited to homes where space is at a premium.

“Our team anticipated the home gym revolution and we’ve been designing new products to allow those with limited space to work out from home.” says Alida.

“If you have three garages and acres of land then putting together a home gym can be relatively straightforward, but we’re in the process of bringing to market new products that are a valuable option for those fitness enthusiasts who don’t have that luxury. Watch this space.”

Buy home gym equipment today at www.repfitness.com