Nautilus, Inc. has named Darryl Thomas as President of the company's International Business and relocated him to London. The realignment better positions Nautilus, Inc. for significant growth in fitness equipment sales outside of the Americas, as the company seeks to deepen its market penetration in the commercial and club segment, along with retail and direct-to-consumer segments.
“We have identified a substantial and growing appetite for our high-quality branded fitness equipment in 50 countries around the world, and want to better position our organization to address these opportunities,” said Thomas. “Our plans involve further expanding our long-standing service of the commercial segment by offering complete lines of high-quality branded fitness equipment lines. In addition, we will be addressing consumer preferences for fitness training at home by making available our innovative branded fitness products.”
Thomas will have responsibility for supply operations, in addition to sales, marketing and business management functions. Before joining Nautilus, Thomas served in senior marketing and strategic planning positions with Levi Strauss and Company, and as Vice President of the Burger King international account team for Coca-Cola where he was responsible for the sale of Coca-Cola products to the company's corporate and franchise operations.
“Helping people around the world become more fit and healthy will require changing the game in health and fitness,” said Thomas. “We need to work closely with club leaders and retailers to provide consumers with the tools and education that will help them succeed and keep them motivated. It all begins by creating positive experiences for consumers that will generate enthusiasm and excitement while supporting lifelong fitness training.”
Thomas said Nautilus, Inc. prefers forming privileged relationships with leaders in each fitness segment, providing training, marketing, educational and service support. The company has key relationships in place with commercial clubs and retailers in Western Europe and the Asia Pacific region. In addition, the company works with leading distributors such as Move to Live in the Netherlands, The Fitness Generation in Australia, and Elite Fitness in New Zealand. He expects to add sales, marketing and operations staff to serve key accounts in Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.
