Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders

While gyms were closed, and most of the population was stuck at home during the pandemic, the home exercise equipment category saw a huge boom in sales. With this came increased consumer appetite for connectivity and consolidation of their fitness experience across all the products in their home gyms.

Today's guest is Jim Barr, CEO of the iconic fitness brand Nautilus Inc. Also falling under the Nautilus umbrella are well-known brands like Bowflex and Schwinn. Before joining Nautilus, Jim was Group President of Richie Brothers, a global leader in sales of used industrial equipment, and Chief Digital Officer at Office Max, where he led the transformation of its online and omnichannel experiences.

In this episode, Jeff and I talk about how Nautilus managed the huge surge in demand for their products during the pandemic, how they've used digital technology to transform the customer experience, and how getting your team right is a key driver of success.

Show Notes

Summary: 

While gyms were closed, and most of the population was stuck at home during the pandemic, the home exercise equipment category saw a huge boom in sales. With this came increased consumer appetite for connectivity and consolidation of their fitness experience across all the products in their home gyms.

Today's guest is Jim Barr, CEO of the iconic fitness brand Nautilus Inc. Also falling under the Nautilus umbrella are well-known brands like Bowflex and Schwinn. Before joining Nautilus, Jim was Group President of Richie Brothers, a global leader in sales of used industrial equipment, and Chief Digital Officer at Office Max, where he led the transformation of its online and omni-channel experiences. 

In this episode, Jeff and I talk about how Nautilus managed the huge surge in demand for their products during the pandemic, how they've used digital technology to transform the customer experience, and how getting your team right is a key driver of success.

Highlights:
  • Jim discusses the current landscape of the home fitness industry (4:12)
  • Jim gives a breakdown of his strategic business plan North Star (7:15)
  • Jim talks about Nautilus' huge growth in digital members and how this was achieved (10:24)
  • Jim explains how a diverse portfolio of products has helped Nautilus grow (12:40)
  • How did the pandemic affect Nautilus' supply chain demand and how has this changed? (14:24)
  • Jim takes us through his personnel changes, and how this has benefitted Nautilus (16:11)
  • Jim talks through the pivot that Nautilus made to AI, machine learning, and vision and motion capture technologies (18:04)
  • Jim discusses industry competition and the power of the Nautilus brand (20:30)
  • How can diversity in retail channels manage risk? (23:21)
  • Jim talks about having a long-term view can help investors understand your story (25:31)
Links:
ICR Twitter
ICR LinkedIn
ICR Website
Jim Barr LinkedIn
Nautilus LinkedIn
Nautilus Website

Feedback:
If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, elizabeth@lowerstreet.co.

What is Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders?

In the increasingly crowded and competitive corporate and financial ecosystem, it’s harder than ever for companies to break through the clutter and be heard. The media, investors, agenda-driven influencers, even customers and competitors, are defining your business story on their terms. Therefore, it is imperative that companies take control and proactively drive the conversation with stakeholders in an effort to build & maintain equity value.

In Welcome to the Arena from ICR, Co-Founder & CEO of ICR, Tom Ryan, interviews key business and financial players who influence the fate of public or aspiring public companies in the capital markets. As a former Wall Street Journal ranked sell-side equity analyst and the founder of one of the largest strategic communications firms in the world, Tom understands what it takes to navigate this complex environment.

This is a forum for CEOs, CFOs, institutional investors, sell-side analysts, financial journalists, private equity professionals and other financial community participants to share their stories and give advice in an open and candid conversation.

For more information, visit http://www.icrinc.com