The home exercising industry has seen a rollercoaster of a year, with a surge in demand creating vast opportunities and high expectations – but also a vast array of problems. Following a turbulent few years, Tonal has been able to secure fresh funding and announce a new chief executive to further its mission of becoming the home gym of choice.
As the pandemic hit the nation and gyms closed, people desperate for a work out turned to the booming home exercising trend. But going from a crowded, luxurious gym to a cramped home setup wasn’t a smooth transition. Various companies scrambled to take advantage of the high demand and the majority of home exercise products on the market lacked necessary features, were tricky to use and expensive.
This is the backdrop Tonal faced in 2020; trying to reign supreme in a growing market marked by a lack of trust, overly expensive products and wastage of resources. But instead of trying to prop up an industry struggling with its own quality issues, Tonal sought to make it better.
With a $250 million investment and a new CEO, Tonal believes it can turn the home work out industry around. Formerly a senior vice president of Amazon Robotics, Nicole Leverich joined the Tonal team in December. Her mission is to juggle the delicate balance of meeting consumer needs while also showing restraint when it comes to expenditure.
Leverich’s appointment comes as the home exercise market struggles to define its identity. With competition for market share so high, Tonal must strike the balance to become the market leader. Leverich’s strategies have already started to shine through, with a focus on research and development instead of marketing, building quality not quantity, and (most importantly) focusing on the customer experience.
From bulky pieces of equipment that only offered a limited range of exercises, to a sleek and modern product that offers a personalized fitness journey, Leverich has begun to transform the home exercise market. With the global pandemic still affecting people’s access to gyms, Tonal is positioned to become the home gym of choice and turn the industry’s rocky few years into a long term powerhouse. The global fitness industry is on the cusp of radical change and the fresh funding and new leadership of Tonal appears to place them in prime position to reap the rewards.
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