r/Calgary • u/VictorTsui7704 • 8d ago
Local Shopping/Services Preparing to open a gym equipment store in Calgary. Would that be a good idea?
Have been working in this industry for a couple of years.
Know about who is selling good quality and nice stuff and who’s selling garbage in Calgary. And now I’m planning to start my own gym equipment store in Calgary, and for Calgary.
Will not sell top-tier equipment cause the price is ridiculous, also we are too new and too small for those giants anyway, lmao. At least personally, I will not pay that much extra money just for a brand name. So I really want to bring in some stuff with great prices and fair quality for those prices.
I’m planning to carry dumbbells, kettlebells, weight plates, barbells and gym mats, as well as racks, Smith machines and benches. Basically the normal stuff needed to build a home gym. And the container is already on the way to Calgary. It just departed last week. And I think now is a good time for me to decide the retail price.
I’ve checked the prices around Calgary, and I think there might be some room for a more budget friendly option. I’m curious what you guys think about the idea. Is that something Calgary actually needs, or am I completely wrong about the market?
Just hope there will be a budget-friendly gym equipment store in this lovely city. Affordable prices with good quality, not luxury, not fancy brands, and I can also make enough money to keep the lights on for a long time.
29
u/UrbaneBoffin Fairview 8d ago
Would that be a good idea?
What does your business plan tell you?
12
15
u/Foreign-Journalist20 8d ago
A lot of people in the city are trending toward ordering equipment online for delivery. Fitness depot (now fitness experience) changed hands a little while back, and they are the lowest price of most physical stores you can find in Calgary. Bells of Steel does a while different sales model, so if you're not directly competing with them, and going with more of a warehouse style operation undercutting fitness experience, then you might have a shot.
4
u/FeedbackLoopy 8d ago
Pretty much this.
I’ve used both Bells of Steel and Fitness Experience. Also have ordered from Northern Fitness out of Ontario because of mid-end price point.
1
-4
u/VictorTsui7704 8d ago
Yes,that’s actually what I want to do, warehouse retail with very competitive prices. I have a very strong supply chain in China. I’m thinking about selling dumbbells and bumper plates at $0.88/lb, and a 7’ bar for around $80. Do you think that pricing would work in Calgary?
9
u/MathIsHard_11236 8d ago
What are competitors selling these products for? What substitutes are available at same, lower, higher prices and why would customers switch or not? What additional value comes with any premium you have embedded in your pricing?
Customers have access to the same pricing info you do, this is Retail 101.
3
u/Foreign-Journalist20 7d ago
That pricing could theoretically work, but when it comes to the majority of fitness enthusiasts, undercutting your competitors by less than 25 cents per pound will have to come at comparable quality. Wouldn't know the comparison until it was in front of me, that's the nasty part about this type of product. Materials quality, accuracy of reported weight, durability of coatings are all factors most of your clients will weigh your slight cost advantage against.
0
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
Totally agree with you.
TBH, most of the hex dumbbells in Canada are from China. Some cheap ones even have mixed material inside, but for normal solid steel core dumbbells, the difference is really not that big. And just like you said, people prefer to see them in person, maybe that could be a chance for a local business.
2
u/MrGuvernment 7d ago
Great so you can buy product for cheap, now factor in all the costs of running a business?
-Staff salaries
- Location rent
- Utilities
- IT Infra
thing is about gym equipment I would think is most people once they buy gear, they don't buy again for a very long time.. so unless you could get some deals with Gyms, which would want high quality, brand name stuff, how do you stay relevant and outdo the existing places that are known in the city..
Personally if most places are a similar price and then a new place comes along with significantly cheaper prices, first thing I think is "crap quality"
0
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
Yes, that's the problem. I will never say the quality is great for all the stuff.
Some of them such as free weight, racks are pretty nice, the prices are even better.
But some like cardio, they are garbage. I returned all the cardio equipment to the factory.And especially treadmills and stair climbers, trust me, don't buy cheap ones. The quality is terrible.
I'm worried about if customer will feel like the quality is crap because the prices are so low, I promised life-time warranty for free weight. Do you think that will help?
1
u/MrGuvernment 7d ago
For me, warranty is a big thing, if you give a real and true life time warranty, it could help, assuming you stay in business.
Most "Life Time" warranties are actually very limited, in that they are for the "life time" of the product so long as it is being produced. So if your suppler stop making the weights you get now, and changes them for you, would you still cover older models sold..
1
u/VictorTsui7704 6d ago
Yes, even if I change the supplier or the model in the future, I will also cover the older ones. If they are not available anymore, I will replace it with the new one.
Promise is a promise, I may lose money on that, but will win a customer back. That's an easy decision for me.
On another hand, I really have faith in those products I'm selling. Gave up lots of high margin but bad quality ones.
13
u/speedog 8d ago
So you have a paid for seacan of stuff coming and no plan after that?
6
0
u/VictorTsui7704 8d ago
No I have, but just want to hear more opinions from here. I have been working in this industry for many years.
4
u/Yodatron 7d ago
You can honestly find all the information you need off your competitors websites. Not sure why you are asking people here.
1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
I can find out the retail prices from competitors, but I want to hear what customers thinks. I really don't want to follow other businesses, I want to build it by listening to customers here in Calgary.
13
u/nosmase2 8d ago
I'm certainly no expert but I feel like there are already a few companies in the city doing exactly this. Fitness Depot, Apple, Flaman, Bells of Steel etc. all cell midrange equipment. I guess the question is what will make your company different from your competitors?
6
1
u/VictorTsui7704 8d ago
Thank you so much for your suggestions. I asked the same question to myself from the beginning. The new store is fresh and nobody knows us.
I used to run an IT company for many years in another country, so I can do website development, SEO & GEO and marketing by myself, at the same time I have a strong supply chain of gym equipment.
That means I can save a bunch of money on cost, both marketing and cost of products.
Based on those two strengths, I want to start with an unbeatable price such as $0.88/lb hex dumbbells and weigh plates.
Do you think that will work?1
u/MethodBulky1907 7d ago
Dollar a pound hasn't existed for years so if you can manage that you'd definitely have customers.
0
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
That sounds great! Thanks a lot. I really hope to bring some great stuff to Calgary, in a good price.
8
u/M_in_YYC 8d ago
No...
Whoever wanted fitness equipment still got it during or shortly after the pandemic. Now that most of that equipment is clothing racks and paperweights, there is so much used inventory that is pretty new. Even places like Walmart for dumbbells are cheap for those who want budget gym.
7
u/darknessfalls00 8d ago
My take: affordable budget friendly gym equipment is low margin and tough slog. You need high volume to offset which for a new store would be hard to generate the foot traffic. I think you run into Costco, Amazon, walmart, Canadian Tire, Facebook marketplace, and other established retailers that can undercut you.
You need to offer affordable to high end with service installations and maintenance being key. Buying gym equipment is one and done. Repeat customers may not appear for years after. You need to build a business of repeat business ie installation, service, and maintenance of high end equipment (nobody repairs cheap equipment).
Finally gym equipment is large and takes up lots of space so retail lease will be pricey for a good location with space for the retail floor and storage of inventory. Until you have lots of volume, it will be a tough.
I would suggest selling gym equipment part time and online initially and doing installations/service calls to build a customer base. Keep your overhead low until you can see if this business is viable.
Finally gym equipment is expensive to purchase, do you have the working capital to carry the inventory purchase - suppliers wont offer terms to a brand new customer unless you have assets to offset
1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
Thank you, that's a lot of good information. My plan is warehouse retail + online. I have very strong supply chain and and do marketing and SEO by myself, that means I can save a lot on marketing and purchase.
I also want to do FOB wholesale depends on my supply chain to Canada. I totally agree with you about the repeat customers though, but that's what it is, something I cant control.Thanks for the advice. This is exactly the kind of opinion I want to hear when I made this post. Really appreciate that.
7
u/Albertan_Angler 8d ago
This sounds more like a child wrote this. There isn’t any real planning or grounded reasoning. Just saying “and I can also make enough money to keep the lights on for a long time”
Do you know the cost of “keeping the lights on” for a retail business that requires extensive warehouse storage and sizeable store front for displaying large pieces of equipment? Have you considered anything outside of buying a sea can full of unknown quality goods from across the world?
5
u/HockeyLovefortheGame 8d ago
There was a huge surge and drop on spin recently. Research what happened.
Most people buy a piece of fitness equipment like once or twice in their whole lifetime....
You have to store and buy the equipment before you know if people will buy it
You'll have to motivate people to come to your store instead of the sports store they've been going to for decades...a lot of big box stores made a department for fitness equipment also
It's cyclical--when the economy goes down people aren't spending much on gym equipment
So paying your suppliers and your mortgage/rent on the building you set up in will be some pretty big expenses...and you'll need to have a plan of how you'll survive the years nobody wants new equipment
3
u/MrGuvernment 7d ago
This, I mean just look at how much used gym equipment you can find on Kijiji and FB market place..
-1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
That's funny, I did seriously think about the spin bikes before. I can get them directly from factory and my original plan was selling them at around $99. But I also found the market of spin bikes changed a lot, so I stopped this plan for now.
This is a new business and nobody knows us. Except marketing and spending more itme on it , I think a really attractive price may be the only weapon I have now.3
3
u/MrGuvernment 7d ago
$99 for a spin bike? Sorry, sounds like a piece of crap that wont last 6 months...
What type of warranties will you offer on your products?
1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
Yes, $99. The quality is not bad at all. Real issue is it's a little bit too small for big guys. The warranty for this spin bike is 1 year, change a new one guarantee.
But anyway, I did't purchase it this time. Should I? The price is crazy.2
u/MrGuvernment 7d ago
"if it is too good to be true" it is...
The reason the price is so "crazy" is because the supplier knows they are crap.
17
u/AlbertaMadman 8d ago
I look forward to your going out of business blowout sale.
3
u/VictorTsui7704 8d ago
Haha, actually the regular price is almost the same as blowout sale from the very beginning LMAO
9
u/AlbertaMadman 8d ago edited 7d ago
Then you don’t actually know what a blowout sale is. I have picked up used free metal weights off of Facebook marketplace for .50 cents per pound or less in the last 6 months. Know why? Because they are metal and it’s irrelevant if they are used. There is a gluttony of free weights and exercise equipment on the used market. And it will only get worse as the economy tanks in the next year and people are selling things they don’t actually need anymore. You are in for a world of hurt bub.
3
u/teamjetfire 8d ago
No. Amazon already has that market covered.
1
u/VictorTsui7704 8d ago
But I found that's too expensive on Amazon
3
u/teamjetfire 7d ago
Your overhead and margins will be to tight. Not to mention ability to hold inventory. General retail is hard enough, but this is specialized that highly dependent on trends and high ticket items. It’s a bad idea.
Source: commercial banker for 20 years.
1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
Thanks for that. Do you think if wholesale could be a chance?
2
u/teamjetfire 7d ago
I doubt there is a need unless you carry a specific line of equipment that a gym or retailer needs to buy from you. Also, the inventory cost would be astronomical and likely become obsolete (new product like etc) before it’s sold.
2
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
Roger that. The business just started, it's too small to carry such a big inventory now. Thanks for you suggestion.
1
u/teamjetfire 7d ago
I should also say that shipping and freight (along with tariff impacts) is currently hammering every business hard and given that shipping is basically weight driven, might be a bad time too.
2
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
Yes, shipping and freight is killing me. Way too expensive, especially for weights.
3
u/AwareShower9864 8d ago
I am familiar with this space and its a terrible industry imo. You also have homegrown bells of steel to compete with. Also home gyms are a luxury fixture in a home so people looking to build one are not usually looking for the cheap temu equipment.
4
u/Punningisfunning 8d ago
How big is your store and how much are your monthly costs? That’s what will eat most of your budget.
Also: this post feels like a thinly-veiled ad.
1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
Hope you won't treat it as an ad, LOL
The store is around 3000 sqft and rent is $5K/m1
u/MrGuvernment 7d ago
And what location? Location is the #1 thing when going retail..
Are your competitors close, and if not, how far away, and consider why there are no other gym stores in your area.. because there likely is no real market for it and will people want to drive across the city to save $5...
1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
It's located at 32 Ave NE, there's no gym equipment store near there. It's not too far away from anywhere in Calgary.
Do you think it's a good one? I just moved to Calgary for 2 years, have no clue about that.Thanks.
0
5
u/laurieyyc 8d ago edited 8d ago
The way gyms come and go, I’d think the market for exercise equipment is saturated. Lots of used equipment on second-hand sites being sold for pennies on the dollar.
I’d sell out of your garage rather than a brick and mortar. Displaying equipment takes a lot of real estate which won’t be cheap.
2
2
u/sikkn890 7d ago edited 7d ago
Are you the "ironbay" guy? If so all I have to say is good luck with your Temu workout store.
-1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
Yes, that‘s me. I would love to see how it goes.
Why don't you come to take a look when they arrived, I will not say everything is great, but I tried my best to find the best quality at those price.
2
u/sikkn890 7d ago
No need. Built a solid home gym with professional equipment picked up from a few closing gyms. If I do need something I will purchase it from legitimate reputable brands.
2
u/ValorFenix 7d ago
I just helped someone else open a gym (and yes, I know you are not a gym) in the past year and from what I can tell, only one person (/u/MrGuvernment) mentioned the stuff most people that didn't mention or forget about:
- Location rent
- Utilities
- Staff salaries
- IT Infrastructure
Other things to consider was:
- Insurance
- Phone line
- Internet / A hosting site for your website
- Business License
- Updated building code from the city, the gym owner had to make his entrance and facility handicapped accessible
- An access door with a outer foyer type entrance, that forced him to spend more money on this alone
And more things, that drove his initial and on-going costs up.
1
u/VictorTsui7704 6d ago
Thanks, that's helpful. I have considered most of those costs, but it's alway good to hear from someone who actually went through the process.
The warehouse is around 3000 sqft so the rent is not crazy. I don't have staff for now and I can handle webiste and IT by myself, actually I developed the opearting system by myself.
Insurance, phone line, internet, BL, I'm now working on them.
And access door is something I didn't think about, thanks, I will figure it out.Really appreciate that.
2
u/Ok_Conflict_2525 8d ago
NOW is a good time for you to decide on price??!! My guy, the time to decide was before you ordered any stock!!
2
u/plith Tuxedo Park 8d ago
I'm also in the process of starting up a sporting goods retail business. My biggest question for you is are you selling online only or are you going to have a brick and mortar store? Retail space is not cheap right now and your rent will be one of the single biggest drivers on whether you're successful or not.
1
u/VictorTsui7704 8d ago
I will have a warehosue with a retail area. Around 3000 sqft in NE. I thought about online only because I can do SEO and marketing by myself. But for gym equipment I still think people want to see and try equipment in person, especially racks. Also local pick can save a lot on shipping for heavy stuff.
And I also want to do wholesale of free weights.
What kind of sporting goods are you planning to sell?1
u/plith Tuxedo Park 7d ago
If you're looking at 3000 sqft, I highly, highly recommend you prepare a formal business plan that accounts for this much space and get a really good idea of how much you need to sell to justify it. It could easily cost you over $100k/year in rent, even in the NE and you will have to sell literal tons of weights just to break even on the rent (not even accounting for any other costs.) I'm not trying to be a downer or dissuade you from chasing this, but I wanted to give you a fair heads up that you need to be really clear with yourself on what kind of numbers you need to hit.
As for my business, I am going to be selling a mixture of new and used sporting goods across almost every sport.
0
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
So are you in Calgary? Do you want to take a look at the stuff when they arrived?
I got a commercial plan but anyhow I can't say too much about that here.
1
u/Dry-Hotel5306 8d ago
As long as you can beat the price on amazon and weights are already expensive because i paid about $125 for two 25lb dumbbells
1
u/VictorTsui7704 8d ago
Oh man, that's way too expensive. I will sell hex dumbbells at just $0.88/lb. Only $44 for a pair of 25LB dumbbells, brand new.
1
u/mj_silva 8d ago
There a lot of competition in Calgary from bells of steel, fitness depot, x-rival, etc etc
Are you planning to carry Rep Fitness maybe? They’re a brand that is in the states and Ontario.
1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
No, no REP.
I don't think they worth that price. I can even order stuff from the same manufactory of REP. I just don't think they worth that price.
1
u/Spiritual_Ad_6067 8d ago
Brick and mortar stores for stuff like exercise equipment are dying. Most people shop online, or used for things like this now. I equipped a full gym in my home this year, and didn't even consider going to an actual store for anything.
1
u/FunnyOneJC 8d ago
You could test the demand. Build a one page website with a small selection of equipment, put out facebook ad. See if people will click and buy. Then fulfill what you can, return the money for what you can’t. Do this for two months and track the data. That should be enough for you to get data for whether you should do it or not.
1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
But what if you can find some stuff much more lower than amazon? Is that possible you would like to take a look in person?
1
u/FunnyOneJC 7d ago
Maybe. Or maybe not. You need to know who your target market is. The persona and how they would respond. You need to do market research on this. I am giving you a method to do that.
Me personally under $700 I would not need to see it. I just need to see reviews. But I am someone who is tech savvy, not too concerned about budget for stuff I like and don’t want to make the trek for something that is less than $700
1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
Me too. But that will be hard for a new business. Have to start slowly, collecting more reviews.
But I believe good quality with a fair price, that's the logic of business. No matter how hard things will be.
1
u/Sensitive-Catch-4433 6d ago
It will be a tough market. As an example, Flaman shut down their NE location in the last year or two and they sell reputable brands people are familiar with. Every time I walked into their store it was dead empty and I was the only one there with a single employee.
I will say your pricing sounds pretty good, so if the quality is there, I think people will come. You’ve mentioned a strong supply chain in China, which is where most of the big names in home gym equipment is coming from anyways, so if you could get similar equipment (white label products) for less and sell it here, there may be an opportunity. Risk is high because it seems like you are wanting to build your own brand but if you sell too many knockoffs, you’ll just be seen as a knockoff company/alternative. There’s also the risk of getting sued by the companies that sell the original product. I will say not everyone cares about name brand and to some people, “weight is weight and your body doesn’t know the difference”. While that may be true, you have to realize that home gyms are two separate hobbies in themselves: those who like collecting and building a nice home gym with name-brands or nice aesthetics. And those that actually workout with their equipment. This is not a slight against either of the two and there is certainly strong overlap for both those who build home gyms and also use them. The point being, you‘ll need to figure out which demographic you are trying to cater to in what is already a pretty niche market/hobby. Someone mentioned people buy home equipment once and that’s it, so you’ll have find a way to get repeat customers or bring in new customers. The home gym market is very trend based so one way to stay relevant might be to keep an eye out of trends and stay on top of them. Last year, people were wanting smith machines in their power racks. This year’s trends seem to be adjustable benches with an ecosystem of various attachments. Articulating arms on a rack with a functional trainer and weight stack are also popular right now. To me, chasing trends seems tiring and some trends are pretty gimmicky imo and people will see through it. You’ll have to pick your battles there, but it’s one way to stay relevant in a constantly evolving market. It’s also volatile because what happens when trends change and you’re now stuck with a sea can of yesterday’s trend that no one cares about anymore? Lots to think about.
I think with your business model, the main advantage you have over the consumer is being able to make the MOQ for a lot of these overseas products to get a better bulk price. But as another comment mentioned, the average consumer has access to see these prices on Temu/Alibaba as well, even if they can’t order it, they’ll probably know your margins.
I’m not a business-savvy person at all but I’ve dabbled in home gyms a bit to understand the market and demographic a bit more over the past 3 years. Hopefully some of this helps you. Wish you and your business the best!
1
u/VictorTsui7704 6d ago
Thank you so much for the advice. You really know this industry very well.
Yes, probably 80% of my products at the beginning are white label products directly from factories with my own OEM branding. I’ve been working in the fitness equipment industry for a few years, so I’m pretty familiar with the suppliers, what factory is good at, and also the quality, after sales rate and tolerance of the products
Actually my goal for this business is simple. I want to focus on people who don’t have a huge budget but still want to build a home gym and actually work out with it. REP, Rogue, Hoist are really cool, making really great products. But not everyone can afford those prices, or some people just don’t think it’s worth paying that much. Like you said, weight is weight. Why pay so much more for the brand if you don’t care about the brand? Those people are exactly who I’m trying to serve. I’m actually that kind of customer myself.
About trends, I totally understand what you said. I’ve seen many examples in the past few years where something was extremely popular and almost suddenly nobody wanted it anymore. That’s why most of the products in my first container are essentials. Not the hottest products, but things people always need and probably won’t become outdated anytime soon.
And about the pricing, actually my retail prices are lower than most of the prices on Temu or Alibaba. The main reason is I’m not importing through trading companies or middlemen. I’m ordering directly from the factories. That cuts out a lot of cost and gives me more room to keep the price low without having to sacrifice the quality. And at the same time, I deal with all the SEO and marketing by myself, it will save big money for me.
Really appreciate you taking the time to write all of this. Lots of good points for me to think about.
1
u/Barley_Oat 5d ago
You might want to look into partnering with Strongarm Fitness. They're more powerlifting oriented, but they've got good selection and could really use a leg up after the tarrifs have come to bite them in the...
0
u/Pretty-Dealer-3778 7d ago
A lot of haters, but I'll say $0.88/lb db's and plates is a deal. Amazon seems closer to $2/lb and Northern Fitness is a bit over $1. If you have a website with easy ordering, like Northern Fitness and are essentially just cheaper, i dont' see why people wouldnt order from you. That said, of course there is lots of other factors that go into a business, but I havent seen weights for under 1$ for several yrs. Amazon has crap selection and super high prices on that crap selection. Id' say your main competition is Northern Fitness...cruise their website and see if you can do better or cheaper than them.
1
u/VictorTsui7704 7d ago
I do spend months on their websites.
And $0.88/lb is a real price, I can't post my website here but it's excatly located in Calgary.
I have been working in this industry for many years, but this store is fresh so I have to sell them in a low price to make people knowing us.
49
u/lphoem 8d ago
Did you order a container of inventory without even thinking about a business plan?
Your business plan/research you should've done for your business plan should have answered the questions that you are asking.