The connected fitness market is quickly growing and ICON's streaming fitness service iFit recently raised $200 million to invest in technology, expand its content library, and reach more potential users.
"Where we are very distinctive in this exploding connected fitness marketplace is that iFit is interactive. iFit is interactive with equipment, with our trainers, with our workouts, and with our members," ICON Health and Fitness Vice President of Marketing Colleen Logan told Cheddar.
Logan says the iFit technology is so interactive that users will not have to "imagine" a workout destination — the streaming service will take you there. "We don't have you imagine you're climbing the mountain. What we do is actually take you to the mountain, so we take our crews and our mountaineers and we shoot the whole trek," Logan said.
The technology also allows users to feel the mountain. "Our technology actually controls the incline and decline of the treadmill so as you start out in the rainforest or as you make your way up the summit you're feeling the incline and decline as the exact topography," Logan said.
As the connected space continues to grow with competitors like Peleton, Logan says with new capital they now have the opportunity to take advantage of the connected fitness trend and offer a range of products.
"While a lot of people in the connected fitness space offer one product at one price point we have tremendous range because we don't think fitness should be a luxury," Logan said.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. in the current fiscal quarter will be sourced from India, while iPads and other devices will come from Vietnam as the company works to avoid the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on its business. Apple’s earnings for the first three months of the year topped Wall Street’s expectations thanks to high demand for its iPhones, and the company said tariffs had a limited effect on the fiscal second quarter’s results. Cook added that for the current quarter, assuming things don’t change, Apple expects to see $900 million added to its costs as a result of the tariffs.
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