The Nautilus Group, Inc. is teaming up with Sears, Roebuck and Co. to begin a test of its Schwinn Fitness brand of cardiovascular equipment at select Sears locations nationwide.
Under the agreement, Nautilus will test market certain of its Schwinn fitness exercise bikes in 30 full-line Sears' stores beginning in the third quarter of 2004. The test will consist of the Schwinn Fitness upright exercise bike and recumbent exercise bike, both of which include Schwinn's quality features.
Tim Hawkins, Chief Customer Officer of Nautilus commented, “The strength of Schwinn Fitness branded products combined with Sears' commitment to providing the most trusted and preferred brands creates an ideal relationship. Ultimately, the Sears consumer will be rewarded with quality fitness products from a great retailer.”
“We are very excited to be working with a global retail leader of the stature of Sears,” said Gregg Hammann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nautilus. “Earlier in the year, we stated that one of our key strategic initiatives based on our extensive consumer marketing research was to expand our product placement in the retail market through execution of a differentiated brand and product approach. This differentiated approach creates a winning strategy for all of our retail partners.”
“As the nation's number one retailer of fitness equipment,” said Jeff Rothe, Vice President/General Merchandise manager for Sears, Roebuck and Co., “we're committed to bringing the latest in fitness innovation to our stores. We also pride ourselves on offering a wide selection of popular brands to our customers. Currently, we sell the top three brands in fitness and this test will determine the position the Schwinn brand has with our customers.”
