In 2011, two brothers, Ryan and Shane McGrotty, saw a gap in the fitness and strength training equipment market. They were working with fitness companies as part of their affiliate marketing business and, as strength training enthusiasts themselves, they were disappointed in the offerings, the time-consuming and dated ways of purchasing equipment, and the cost of the equipment itself.
They set out to do better. In 2012 – based on the three pillars of innovation, customer service and value – they launched REP. Pepin Dumbbells
For the next twelve years, they would focus on home and garage gym equipment, grow from a team of two with a 1,200-foot garage, to a facility footprint of over 300,000 square feet, and worldwide distribution.
Now, their 165+ person team of passionate fitness enthusiasts take the company’s dedication to those three pillars, their industry expertise and insights and their full line of innovative products to the commercial market.
REP’s intention? To make procurement the easiest and most fun part of owning a facility.
“We’ve built a reputation in the home market based on having great and creative products that are high value, and people know we will deliver on whatever their needs may be,” Caitlin Jones, Director of Sales and Support, tells Athletech News. “It’s about ease of doing business, and we are excited to bring innovation to those tired old procurement processes we see in the commercial market.”
Changing the Equipment Game for Facilities
When it comes to product use, Jones says they will take their experience from the home gym market to the commercial market as well.
“In the commercial market, the selling points on the products tend to be tailored to the buyers, rather than the end user,” she explains. “We are well positioned to balance the needs of both gym members and operators because in the end, if the members love the products the facility will thrive.”
Regarding how REP will differentiate itself in a crowded fitness equipment market, Jones spells it out.
“I think first is the procurement process,” she says. “We plan to bring a fresh new approach that’s straightforward, fast and easy. If someone needs help designing the flow of their space and needs, we can help with custom layout designs and equipment selection. But I think a lot of people want things at their fingertips and want to be independent in their purchase process, versus using stale sales catalogs and meeting with sales reps.”
Their fresh approach allows customers to shop their website themselves with approved discounted pricing.
“If a CrossFit box wants to replace all of their barbells and weight plates, they can go to our site and do it in a couple of minutes and move on,” she says.
And with 99% in-stock rates, they can deliver fast.
“Let’s say someone is working to open a new facility and dealing with contractors, permits and moving-target deadlines,” she says. “He or she needs to have a handle on product delivery dates, but fulfillment can take six to eight weeks with most companies and it can be very rigid. We can usually deliver the next day, and/or pivot quick to to answer the customer’s needs.”
Innovation Where It’s Needed
Jones points to innovation as another area in which REP stands out.
“Developing fun and creative products that answer to the user’s and the operator’s unique needs is what REP was founded on,” she explains. We’ve launched over 100 products since our inception.”
To that end, REP is working to develop a cardio line using a newly patented adjustable fan blade technology.
Traditional cardio fans adjust the resistance by changing how much airflow is let into the blades via opening and closing the vents. REP’s new technology keeps the shroud constant, creating a much broader resistance range – both easier and more difficult – than other air resistance cardio products on the market.
Further, The REP Runner Treadmill offers a sled feature that mimics the feeling of pushing or pulling a sled, so users can toggle between explosive strength training and traditional running and completely customize their training.
“I think another thing we bring to the table with the cardio products and all of our products is the ability to do a lot with little space,” says Jones. “The home market requires products with small footprints so that’s what we’ve always developed, and more and more the commercial market desires this too.”
And finally, Jones says the fact that the company is family-owned makes a big difference in how they do business.
“Shane and Ryan are very much present and tied to the day-to-day and that helps foster the vision,” she explains. “They started this company with an intense customer-centric approach and it’s the crux of our culture. Every decision we make is based on the impact it will have on the customer.”
She says REP is uniquely equipped to do this – in both the home gym and commercial markets.
“We are growing and we are ready for the challenge of entering this new market,” she says. “We benefit because we are starting from the ground up and can develop processes and products the customers want. We are basically starting with a clean slate in this market, yet we come with years of experience with the end user.”
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