The first company to pledge its support for PHIT America in late 2012 was The Active Network. Now, 150 companies have ‘signed the bottom line’ to get behind the national initiative to reverse America’s inactivity pandemic and Get America Moving.
Since Labor Day of this year, 13 companies and organizations have become sponsors of PHIT America. Two of those 13 new sponsors The Sports Authority (TSA) and Electronic Transaction Systems (ETS) have agreed to be Founding Sponsors. The Sports Authority is one of the sporting goods industry’s leading retailers while ETS is a pioneer and continued creator of innovative transaction solutions for today’s marketplace. Both TSA and ETS recognize PHIT America’s mission/approach and are committed to being a part of this campaign.
The other eleven companies which are General Sponsors of PHIT America include Brooks, Dunham’s Sports, Fleet Feet Sports, Gared Sports, Gym Source, ISSA, Markwort Sporting Goods, Nfinity, SKLZ, Titan Team Sports and Total Health Interactive (THI).
“When I learned about PHIT America at the recent Industry Leaders Summit, I knew we had to be supportive,” said Michael Foss, CEO of the Sports Authority. “Sports Authority and PHIT America are aligned in growing participation and play in America. Our industry has to work together to get more Americans to be active and playing more sports and Sports Authority is proud to help.”
“We at ETS realize we must all work together to increase physical activity in America,” said Ed Vaughan, CEO of ETS. “We are committed to the sports and fitness industry and hope to see athletic growth and participation by all, young and old. When I saw the inactivity trends, I knew how important it was for the formation and success of organizations such as PHIT America and felt that we had to do our part to try and help.”
“Our mission at Fleet Feet Sports is to change people’s lives by helping them become more active. I can’t imagine a mission that better aligns with the goals of PHIT America,” added Jeff Phillips, President & CEO of Fleet Feet Sports. “We are proud to support PHIT America with our No Boundaries program, finding ways to get cities to start a Mayors Fitness Challenge, and utilizing PHIT America tools to educate America about the inactivity pandemic and how to get more active, fit and healthy.”
Jim Baugh, Founder of PHIT America, is excited to see these new sponsors join the PHIT America team, especially the retailers. “There has been a great reaction to what PHIT America is doing from the retail community. Having retailers like Sports Authority, Dunham’s Sports, Fleet Feet, Titan Team Sports, and Gym Source support and believe in our cause and campaign is fabulous. We now have 20 retailers who are sponsors. Everyone is starting to realize we must work together to turn around the inactivity pandemic.”
“As I have said all along, we should have 200+ companies and organizations working together from our industry pushing our message to be active, fit, playing more sports. And now, we have the Mayors Fitness Challenge program which will enable sponsors to Get America Moving on a local level,” said Baugh.
At the Sports & Fitness Industry Association Industry Leaders Summit earlier this fall, research was revealed from Sports Marketing Surveys that revealed the percentage of Americans who are totally inactive has grown from 25 percent in 2007 to 28 percent in 2012. More importantly, this trend shows no signs of slowing down and will grow to a whopping 31.1 percent by 2018, which will reduce retail consumption of sporting goods equipment, sports apparel, and athletic footwear by $28 billion.
To learn more about the inactivity pandemic and trends, which parts of the industry are growing, and what you can do to help reverse this trend of inactivity, Click Here.
