Best Buy (BBY) is doubling down on its bet on health and wellness.
The retailer announced Tuesday that it will be selling a collection of high-tech at-home fitness equipment in more than 100 of its stores by the end of this year.
Starting Tuesday, customers will be able to purchase the new collection of equipment online. The new line of products includes Flywheel Home Bikes, NormaTec compression recovery systems, tech-driven rollers from Hyperice, connected row machines from Hydrow and NordicTrack connected treadmills. Stores will begin carrying the items in the near future.
“The new collection is just the latest example of Best Buy’s growing commitment to health,” Best Buy said in a statement. “Last summer, Best Buy acquired GreatCall, a leader in connected health for the active aging, which offers easy-to-use mobile products and customer care services to help older adults live more independently.”
The electronics retailer made a bet on GreatCall in the summer of 2018 in an effort to diversify its business and dip its toes into the health and wellness market. Well, now the company is doubling down on that bet with the launch of fitness equipment.
The move comes at a time when interest in at-home fitness and boutique workouts is booming. Peloton, an at-home on-demand fitness company, filed for IPO earlier this month. The $2,000 tech-focused spin machines and $4,000 treadmills focus on bringing the workout to the consumer and charge monthly subscription fees.
“We know there’s a growing intersection between fitness and technology, and no one knows tech like we do,” CMO Jason Bonfig said in a statement. “We’ve promised our customers we’ll help enrich their lives, including their health and wellness, by using technology. This is a great example of how we’re living up to that commitment.”
Jefferies analyst Jonathan Matuszewski thinks the new initiative is yet another reason to drive customers to shop at Best Buy. “This move reinforces the value of BBY’s stores and employees, and strengthens its competitive moat, especially versus Amazon,” Matuszewski wrote in a note Tuesday. “We see demonstrable cross-selling opportunities.”
Best Buy shares have soared nearly 28% in 2019 and have outperformed the S&P 500 (^GSPC), which rose 16% in the same time period.
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Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.
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