14 Jul 2021
iFIT makes big move in digital fitness with acquisition of Kayla Itsines' Sweat app
BY Tom Walker
iFIT Health & Fitness has acquired Sweat, the popular, female-focused fitness platform set up in 2015 by Australian fitness trainer and entrepreneur Kayla Itsines and co-founder Tobi Pearce.
The deal is believed to be worth around US$400m and will see Sweat become a standalone brand in the iFIT portfolio – which already includes the iFIT digital platform, commercial equipment provider Freemotion, home fitness brands NordicTrack and ProForm and strength line Weider.
The Sweat platform offers more than 5,000 workouts across 26 exercise programmes, ranging from HIIT and strength to yoga, barre and Pilates.
The Sweat app has been downloaded more than 30 million times since its launch and in 2020 it generated around US$99m in revenue, with most of it coming from the US market.
All of the content generated by Sweat and its team of personal trainers will now be available on the iFIT platform.
The move is part of iFIT's strategy to provide an omnichannel fitness experience, delivering content from its iFIT digital platform across health clubs, at home and on the go.
It also comes just weeks after iFIT completed a rebrand, changing its name from Icon Health & Fitness, which it had held since its launch more than 40 years ago. Founded in 1977, iFIT is one of the world's largest manufacturers of exercise equipment.
According to Scott Watterson, CEO and Founder of iFIT, the acquisition will provide opportunities for iFIT and Sweat to collaborate on content development, resulting in an increased range of exciting fitness experiences.
“Kayla, Tobi and the team at Sweat have built an incredible brand and community of fitness enthusiasts,” Watterson said.
"This acquisition extends our market reach into new geographies, demographics and fitness preferences spanning both home and commercial markets globally.
“The addition of Sweat will allow iFIT to further expand our membership base as well as add new fitness genres and modalities to our fast-growing subscription business, giving our company a tremendous competitive advantage.”
Kayla Itsines, Sweat co-founder, said: "I’m so excited to start the next chapter in Sweat’s journey and join the iFIT family of brands.
"iFIT is a global health and fitness technology company that will invest in Sweat to strengthen our member experience, they will also help us expand into other countries and help to diversify our workout content, which is so exciting.
“iFIT’s acquisition has opened the door to an exciting new future for Sweat where we can deliver greater fitness variety, choice and value for women everywhere.
"I will still be your trainer and all of our programmes are not changing or going anywhere."
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