Last week, athletic apparel company Lululemon Athletica announced it would be buying the interactive home gym, Mirror, for a cool $500 million. The deal comes as a breakdown of the current pandemic landscape and the fact that gyms have become a scary place for germaphobes and members alike. As these two companies enter into agreements, they are establishing themselves with the fitness and wellness society as legit contenders for workout enthusiasts without entering a gym.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 19: Lululemon remains closed on May 19, 2020 in New York City. COVID-19 … [+]
Capitalizing on the stay-at-home workout trend, Lululemon has decided to go all-in on its previous investment last year in 2019 with the Mirror home gym to increase its “digital and interactive capabilities” as they mentioned in a press release. With yoga, boxing, meditation, a $40 personal training session which was introduced last year, live stream, and on-demand sessions, Lululemon and Mirror are looking to take the sleek home gym to new levels during a pandemic that is predicted to take us into 2021.
Founder and CEO of Mirror, Brynn Putnam was a former dancer at the New York City ballet and opened a fitness boutique back in 2010, called Refined Methods, this reported by CNN Business. She hosted classes in a Manhattan church throughout the week and needed her set up to be nimble enough to move in and out allowing for Sunday service.
CENTURY CITY, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 19: (L-R) Sara Foster, Kate Beckinsale, and MIRROR Founder & CEO … [+]
She needed mostly to resolve her fitness issues as she was pregnant and figuring out how to squeeze a workout into her schedule. Putnam saw the affinity for mirrors and how costumers gravitated to them as they exercised and through that analysis, Mirror was born.
Putnam wants Mirror to be a key component to staying healthy from home and it has a “different approach than the competition,” she tells CNN Business.
Dave Knox, author of Predicting the Turn says to Forbes, “In the short term, it is not about massive scale and reach but instead deepening the relationship with their consumers across their entire fitness journey.” Since Lululemon has invested in Mirror, they have broadened their engagement with costumers, hosting fitness sessions at their store locations and branding themselves as part of the Mirror system.
“Lululemon was already going down this path by offering fitness classes in some of their stores. Now they can have a similar relationship with consumers in their homes through Mirror,” Knox mentions. Putnam has also acted as an ambassador for Lululemon.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 22: A Lululemon store remains closed during the coronavirus pandemic on … [+]
Putnam explained to Forbes how she has two of her Mirror units in her home, one in the bedroom and one in the guest room. “If [Lowell – husband] wants to box and I want to do yoga, we can,” she says.
Celebrity yoga instructor, writer, therapist, and globally recognized for her TrillYoga, Claire Fountain has noticed the influx of yoga interest during the pandemic. “Since quarantine began, there has been a huge push for remote yoga and meditation,” Claire explains. She has been teaching yoga to pro athletes in the NBA, NFL, and MLB while catering to brands like Amazon, Nike, Adidas, and Target.
She continues, “I also do clinical mental health, and there has been a push for that as well. People are looking for ways to feel better and best support themselves, often from the inside out.”
Claire also recognizes the quality that gyms bring to the lives of people. “As gyms try to evolve to fit the current needs of people and the pandemic, people are evolving, too. I assume some have developed workouts at home and realized they do not need a gym. Others have been reminded how much gym matters for them – be it the social aspect or just needing ‘home’ to be a place solely for relaxation,” she says in comparing gyms to home workouts.
Claire Fountain, yoga instructor, writer, therapist, and founder of TrillYoga,
“I’ve long championed that yoga and wellness, as a whole, need to be accessible to everyone – as they are, in their homes or wherever they are most comfortable.” Claire advocates about finding the physical space to workout.
She has also noticed a demand from brands on fitness. “Brands have also been pushing more wellness content – from yoga classes to meditation classes, to group fitness classes. It feels like brands want to support consumers, not only with their products but with access to practices, like yoga, that could be useful for them,” she explains.
Influencers are taking to their timelines, flexing in yoga positions, furthering the idea of at-home fitness. “I’ve been practicing yoga for over a year now but it was only recently that I started posting more about [yoga] since people have been asking me about my daily routines and rituals,” says vegan and style influencer Chris Lavish of New York City.
“I feel more people have found different outlets for maintaining their body and mind that doesn’t involve the gym,” he explains about the need for actual gyms. Lavish continues, “meditation and yoga can be done anywhere and everywhere which is why it’s so appealing to a lot of people.”
As gyms look to find ways to compete for your time and money, they will need to find ways to get through the continuing pandemic to survive. “For the time being the gyms may be closed but they definitely won’t be closed for good. Our social instincts thrive when we are around people who share the same interest,” Lavish suggests.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 30: Jessica the photographers housemate, takes part in an online yoga lesson … [+]
Tech brands in the fitness arena have seen an increase in customer support as Peleton is now valued at $16 billion and Hydrow, a rowing startup, raised $25 million and is valued at over $100 million. Companies like these are competing for the same at-home luxury retail space as Lululemon and Mirror.
Yoga, meditation, and fitness have been major components of staying sane throughout quarantine. Even as we start making our way out the door, doing activities like running, biking, or just finding places to safely social distance, our physical and mental health is still considered fragile. Yoga and meditative activities are progressive ways for remaining healthy, especially since it’s something that can be done in seclusion.
Mirror, which launched in 2018, looks to be a standalone company after the acquisition is finalized with Putnam remaining as CEO. They will operate within the Lululemon umbrella and continue to makes sales, which Lululemon estimates to come in at $100 million for 2020.
Mirror sells there screen devices for $1,500 while providing Bluetooth accessories for things like heart monitors, an app to organize your workout agenda, and allowing up to six users per Mirror device. Offering a monthly service fee of $39, Mirror can competitively help you fully embrace your homebody and temporarily cancel that gym membership.
