TECHNICAL SPORTSWEAR AND ONLINE COMMUNITIES DRIVE NEW LUXURY

©Reebok

In a world still coping with the Covid-19 pandemic, social media weekend feeds of parties and restaurants are no longer on the agenda. Instead, consumers of all ages are donning leggings, pounding pavements, doing burpees in their living rooms and posting their progress on platforms such as Strava or Nike Run Club. Online fitness communities have soared over the last 12 months in response to the closure of gyms and restrictions on spectators at sports events. For many, outdoor pursuits are helping to beat lockdown boredom and provide a sense of purpose to the dullness of daily life in a pandemic.

Now, athleticwear brands are tapping into these fitness communities to reach hyper-engaged audiences, hardware companies launching complementary apparel and luxury brands are exploring the potential of technical athleticwear. The power of digital community networking was recognised long before the Covid-19 pandemic began. Likewise, growing consumer interest in health and wellness is a long-term trend. Now, these two trends have converged and accelerated, creating networks of consumers ready to invest in fitness apps, equipment and clothes. Fitness networks nurture a sense of belonging and as networks strengthen, participants are naturally ready to step up their spending on higher performance quality products.

More than 74 million athletes worldwide use Strava, an app that enables users to track routes and metrics for outdoor activities like running and cycling. But it's the social aspect that’s attracting 2 million newcomers to the platform each month, as users like to follow their friends and use their home feeds to give kudos or comments. Strava reports a substantial increase in athleticwear brand activity on the platform, typically involving the creation of clubs or challenges, allowing to connect with the consumer. The world is craving new ways to connect to the things that have always been important to them — their colleagues, their workouts, their communities, which further fuelled consumers’ desire to access both product and content digitally in an easy and intuitive manner.

What makes fitness communities special is the long-term and quality engagement, where the user committed over a period over to achieve a goal. It is the power of gamification that lends the user a really satisfying feeling at the end, which the user ultiamtley associates with the brand, offering high engagement and return on investment. For example, Le Col, a leading cycling brand, reports 10x higher engagement on a Strava post than on an Instagram post. On Running, which has always been considered a technical brand for runners, reached more than 140,000 sign-ups on Strava with its Run Your Local Mountain challenge, reaching a much wider non-specialist audience as more consumers take up running.

Nike is another good example of a brand that has built exclusivity around fitness networks. Nike launched the first iteration of its run club, NRC, in 2010. Since its foundation, runners from around the world have logged more than 100 million runs over the last 12 months. The app links seamlessly to in-app purchases and offers exclusive drops and discounts on Nike goods. Munich-based Keller Sports has developed a similar multi-channel approach in recent months by developing a holistic ecosytem that offers online and offline experiences, an integrated communist and leverages the power of gamification to drive engagement and reward active users with discounts.

BCG’s Sarah Willersdorf notes a decline in trust in institutions, media and government. Instead, consumers are seeking out communities and networks online, she says. “They are looking to cross-connect or find trusted communities to seek out information from,” she says, resulting in a hyper-engaged network of consumers in the fitness space. Luxury brands have tended to steer clear of technical athleticwear, but there are signs that they are ready to push more into this product category, which is considered highly technical, creating a certain level of barriers to entry. Designer Victoria Beckham launched an ongoing collaboration with Reebok in 2019, with drop four released in December 2020. “'Balancing the stringent technical requirements to withstand a workout with a feminine and flattering silhouette has been a real focus for us,” says Beckham. “Each item has to work hard for multiple aspects of a woman's life.” Victoria Beckham CEO Marie Leblanc de Reynies notes that the company continues to see a growing demand for these products, adding: “Our goal is to bridge performance with an elevated aesthetic, and we have always had a great response from our highly engaged VB x Reebok community.”

After all, brands like Peloton or Strava offer key characteristics that sit at the core for luxury brands, which are hyper-engaged consumer communities with staying power and a willingness to pay. It remains to be seen whether luxury brands will explore further, however there are plenty of high-income consumers in these new fitness communities, which the likes of Peloton and Strava are already serving, which could benefit from extended product portfolios.