2022-05-31 23:23:42
Russian fitness clubs may soon face a shortage of electronic exercise equipment. Three people working in this market told Vedomosti about this. Some foreign brands have already banned deliveries to the country, says Georgy Koryagin, director of the manufacturer and supplier of sports equipment Hasttings, he did not name specific brands. And those who are ready to ship the goods, according to him, faced logistical difficulties – the high cost of containers or building chains for shipping goods through other countries (Turkey, Poland, etc.).
Indeed, there are problems with transport companies that deliver, for example, from the United States, adds Valery Chistyakov, a representative of MFitness (a distributor of Precor). At the same time, he recalls that sports equipment did not fall under the sanctions. Due to difficulties with logistics and the purchase of foreign currency, it has become more difficult to pay for equipment to the manufacturer, says a representative of Spirit (an American brand, but the simulators themselves are made in China and Taiwan). However, according to him, despite the fact that logistics has risen in price several times, and the shipment time has increased, it did not stop its deliveries and sales.
There are also problems with spare parts for exercise equipment, Elena Silina, president of the National Fitness Society, points out. According to her, due to their absence, 15% of fitness clubs have idle equipment in cardio zones.
There is already a crisis of spare parts for servicing the existing fleet of simulators, Koryagin confirms. And by December, according to him, the industry will face a serious shortage of sports cardio equipment.
Fitness clubs ask for support
The national fitness community has turned to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with a request to take support measures. “During the two years of the pandemic, the fitness industry has shrunk by 40% from more than 13,000 to 7,800 facilities,” the organization said in a letter. As proposals, industry representatives are asking for a zero income tax rate (as in the IT sector), to introduce a cashback system (as in tourism) and cheap non-refundable fares (similar to the aviation industry), as well as to reduce VAT from 20 to 10% on supplies of sports equipment from friendly countries. A representative of the government apparatus confirmed receipt of the letter.
Warehouse stocks of electronic simulators are now minimal, if we are not talking about the mass segment, Koryagin points out. On Yandex.Market, for example, you can no longer buy treadmills and exercise bikes from Life Fitness and Technogym premium brands, although you can find several offers from Precor there. The cost of professional treadmills that are used in fitness clubs starts from 200,000 rubles. in a relatively inexpensive segment (brands Shua, Bronze Gym, DHZ) and can exceed 1 million rubles. in the elite (Technogym, Life Fitness, Precor), Silina says. According to her, the simplest home equipment is much cheaper, but such simulators differ from professional ones in the variety of programs, the type of fabric, wear resistance and overall quality.
In 2021, Russia imported $548 million worth of sports equipment and equipment, of which $100 million, according to the Federal Customs Service, is electronic simulators and power equipment.
In fact, this group includes all new simulators with electronics, since they are not produced in our country, says Mikhail Burmistrov, general director of Infoline Analytics. Koryagin also said the same. According to him, this is due to the complex process of manufacturing high-tech equipment (chips, moving elements, etc.). Although domestic companies can produce mechanical treadmills and strength training equipment, the expert adds. Koryagin recalls that all imports to the country come mainly from China and Taiwan, although the brands themselves can be European or American.
Most critical for the Russian market is the lack of production of cardio equipment, Silina notes. According to her, domestic suppliers are ready to engage in import substitution and transfer all production processes to Russia, but this requires state support in terms of creating a material and technical base for the production of special metal components and electronic control boards. This slows down development and is a serious problem, since it will take about five years on average to create a full cycle, she notes.
It is unlikely that in the current economic situation and in the context of declining incomes of the population, fitness centers with new equipment will be massively opened, Burmistrov believes. According to him, for some time such facilities will be able to work with simulators that have already been in use. But spare parts will inevitably rise in price anyway, so it will be possible to repair such equipment, but with the loss of the warranty, as is now happening with cars, the expert argues. According to him, it is possible to prevent an acute shortage with the help of parallel imports.
Koryagin considers this tool meaningless when it comes to premium cardio equipment. It’s easier to buy Asian-branded goods, as the logistics of well-known brand products through other countries will greatly increase the cost of goods and double taxation makes this idea unattractive for business, he concludes.
The representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade did not answer the question of Vedomosti whether there is a production of simulators equipped with complex electronics in Russia, indicating only that they are available in retail and on the Internet. According to him, there are no simulators in the list of goods allowed for parallel import and no such requests have been received by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. He clarified that, together with industry associations of manufacturers, the department regularly monitors the availability of the necessary sports equipment and equipment for both mass sports and professional athletes.
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