Troubled fitness equipment company Nautilus announced Thursday that it will revert to its original name, Bowflex, in November, six months after selling the rights to the Nautilus brand.
The Vancouver-based company sells home exercise equipment under the BowFlex, Schwinn and JRNY brands. The company’s business soared during the pandemic, when gyms closed and exercise enthusiasts began training at home.
However, once the coronavirus pandemic subsided and people returned to gyms, sales declined.
Sales in 2022 fell by more than half, from $590 million to $287 million. The Vancouver company posted a loss of $108 million. Nautilus laid off about 80 people, or about 15% of its workforce, in February. The company’s stock, which hit a high of more than $24 in 2021, closed Thursday at 67 cents. Last month, the New York Stock Exchange warned Nautilus that it was at risk of being kicked off the exchange due to its low stock price.
Desperate to shore up its balance sheet, Nautilus sold the rights to its name last May for $13 million. However, Nautilus did not say at the time what it would call itself in the future.
We have now chosen to revert to the original name.
The Vancouver company, originally known as Bowflex of America, marketed its eponymous home gyms through informational television shows in the 1990s. The company changed its name to Direct Focus in hopes of replicating the business model by selling other products such as mattresses and nutritional supplements.
That effort failed, and the company acquired the Nautilus line of workout gear and adopted the name.
The return to the BowFlex name reflects the company’s focus on its “strongest consumer brands,” the company said Thursday.
— Mike Rogoway | [email protected] |
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