November 27, 2006
August 09, 2006
Picking up speed
Since starting 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment nearly 15 years ago, founder and chief executive officer Dick Enrico has been the marketing muscle behind the fitness equipment retailer.
The pudgy 66-year-old Twin Cities entrepreneur is best known as his company's TV and billboard pitchman for its signature slogan: "Why buy new when slightly used will do? Except when the deals are this good!''
But Enrico is proving these days he can do a lot more than pitch a quirky jingle. He is leading Eden Prairie-based 2nd Wind on an aggressive expansion plan that would bring the company's store count to 120 or so by the end of 2007 — triple the number it had just two years ago. That raises two big questions: Will 2nd Wind be able to manage such accelerated growth? And as demand for home-fitness equipment slows, can 2nd Wind outpace the market?
Risk has been part of Enrico's modus operandi for more than four decades. A serial entrepreneur who grew up on Minnesota's Iron Range, he started and closed nearly two dozen small businesses, from selling pots and pans door to door to renting TVs and cell phones, before launching 2nd Wind in 1992.
He had noticed a treadmill he'd purchased for his personal use was gathering dust at home and suspected there might be money to be made selling used fitness equipment. To test out the idea, he ran a series of newspaper ads, including one offering NordicTracks for rent. The ad generated 500 phone calls, and 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment was born.
Enrico picked up the merchandise for his first 2nd Wind store, a 1,500-square-foot shop in St. Louis Park, from classified ads and garage sales. That store generated about $22,000 in sales its first month; Enrico soon added a second store, and sales reached about $400,000 in 2nd Wind's first year.
By 1995, however, Enrico was finding it tougher to obtain enough used merchandise, so he started selling new equipment. Over the years, the company shed its "scratch and dent" image. Today, 97 percent of 2nd Wind's sales come from new equipment, Enrico says.
2nd Wind sells familiar names like Bowflex and Stairmaster and runs the gamut on price, from used NordicTracks for $50 to new Life Fitness elliptical machines costing as much as $4,100.
2nd Wind doesn't carry nutritional supplements or other fitness accessories. "I'm just a specialty retailer focused only on exercise equipment,'' he said.
Enrico considers 2nd Wind's trained sales force one of its advantages over its competitors. Its 225 sales associates are certified fitness consultants who are required to go through classroom training and pass a stringent exam before 2nd Wind allows them on store floors.
Already the largest specialty fitness retailer operating under one name, 2nd Wind has been picking up speed lately. By the end of 2006, Enrico predicts the company will have 90 stores and sales of more than $90 million, a big jump from 39 stores and $51 million in sales just two years ago. And although the privately held company doesn't divulge its earnings, Enrico said 2nd Wind's profits rose 25 percent in 2005.
But Enrico's aggressive growth strategy may be bucking industry trends. Between 1990 and 2005, U.S. sales of home fitness equipment more than tripled, from about $1.7 billion to $5.6 billion, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. In the late 1990s, sales grew by double digits; but this year, the trade group is predicting a more moderate increase of 6 percent, to about $5.9 billion, to be split between giant retailers like Sears, big-box players like Dick's and Sports Authority and specialty fitness merchants like 2nd Wind and Push Pedal Pull.
And 2nd Wind's existing stores are showing signs of strain. Sales at stores open at least a year — a key measure of a retailer's financial health — rose only 1 percent in 2005, and have declined 7 percent in 2006 to date.
"The retail climate in the last three or four months has become very challenging,'' Enrico admitted. He speculated that economic factors, such as high gasoline prices and rising mortgage interest rates, are resulting in flabbier business for fitness retailers.
"I'm very aggressive and a very big risk taker,'' said Enrico, whose younger brother Roger was CEO of PepsiCo. While 2nd Wind has been his greatest success, Dick Enrico has had some duds along the way, such as 2nd Wind Pool-n-Spa, a retailer of pools and hot tubs he launched four years ago that proved to be "disastrous,'' he said.
After two years, Enrico dropped pool sales and merged the hot-tub business into five existing 2nd Wind fitness stores. The company intends to drop the spa business after this summer, he said.
Enrico says he wished the company's same-store sales performance had been better this year. But he said he's expanding because he sees opportunities in new territories, as well as his home base.
This past week, 2nd Wind opened seven mall stores in the Chicago market and this month plans to add two more stores in St. Louis, where it currently has 11 locations.
One reason 2nd Wind is able to open so many stores so quickly is because the company is leasing space short-term in shopping malls, typically for a year.
While 2nd Wind could get bounced out of its mall locations with as little as 30 days' notice, the company can set up those new stores within three to five days for substantially less than the four to five months it takes to build free-standing stores, Enrico said. As a short-term tenant, 2nd Wind saves money because it doesn't have to assume long-term lease improvements for the temporary stores, he said.
In the meantime, 2nd Wind gets good exposure and access to high customer traffic, Enrico said, noting that the company's existing mall-based stores are generating "better than expected'' sales.
Another benefit of the quick-store expansion: The company gains efficiencies by spreading its operating expenses over more locations, including its high-profile media advertising, on which it spends about 3 to 4 percent of each dollar in sales.
In the Twin Cities, where 2nd Wind has nearly 20 stores, the company recently opened a store at Eden Prairie Center in Eden Prairie and this past week took 2,200 square feet at Southdale Center in Edina.
While Enrico's long-range growth plans are indefinite, he said his company is likely to expand from the Midwest south and possibly to other larger metro markets such as Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix, where the populations could support at least six stores.
The typical customer at 2nd Wind is between the ages of 35 to 60, primarily female, and includes people who are in good shape and those who want to be, Enrico said.
"People will drop in and out of regular exercise because of their life circumstances,'' Enrico said. "They may buy the equipment because they need to deal with high blood pressure or diabetes. Or it may be event-driven, such as attending a class reunion.''
As baby boomers age and the nation focuses on the growing problem of obesity among children and adults, Enrico feels good about 2nd Wind's growth prospects. This spring, 2nd Wind began hosting Kinergy, a three-week pilot fitness and nutrition class developed by the Children's Physician Network, at its Woodbury store. The novel arrangement is believed to be a first between a health care provider and fitness equipment retailer, said Jan Jachimowicz, spokesman for Children's Physician Network.
The pilot program has offered participants tips on healthy eating and exercise and a chance to test various fitness machines at the 2nd Wind store.
So far, fewer than two dozen children and their parents have taken the course, so it hasn't had a dramatic affect on 2nd Wind sales.
But the retailer has picked up some incidental business by offering participants 5 percent to 30 percent discounts on fitness equipment.
"Just about everyone who has gone through the program has wound up buying a piece of equipment,'' said Adam Lindquist, 2nd Wind director of business development.
May 03, 2006
The King of Johns: A conversation with Dick Enrico
Dick Enrico's friendly grin may be the best-known face in Twin Cities bathrooms. Enrico, who is the chief executive of fitness-equipment retailer 2nd Wind Exercise, is the star of advertising posters in more than 400 restrooms locally. We asked him what it's like to be the face of bathroom ads.
Q What do you say to people who wouldn't think of selling their products in restrooms?
A I think it's one of the best-kept secrets out there. Here's the issue, in the minds of advertisers who don't utilize it: They perceive restrooms as being beneath their dignity. My rebuttal to that is this: You show me a customer that doesn't need to use the restroom and chances are he's a candidate for the Welander Quist funeral home. I don't care if you're the president of the United States, at some point you will have to use the restroom.
Q Do you ever get recognized in public restrooms?
A It happens all the time. I can tell you a funny story. For years I've dominated the restrooms at the State Fair. I'm in every restroom. So a couple years ago I'm walking the grounds and the call came for myself personally, so I go to the closest men's restroom and the place is packed -- I mean packed. And I look up and every single ad in there is one of myself. Rarely do I feel intimidated or uncomfortable but I felt uncomfortable. So I wait my turn and muscle in up next to the trough. So I'm looking straight ahead at myself and so is everybody else. And I can just feel the energy in these two dudes on each side of me. So the dude on the left finishes up sooner and he spins around, and he's so damn excited he can hardly wait to tell his wife.
Q How lucrative is restroom advertising for 2nd Wind?
A It's hard to measure. We have an adage, though: When you're everywhere you don't have to be anywhere. And we're everywhere
March 10, 2006
Skye Williams Benefit Fundraiser
A town of less than 1,300 people are coming together along with people from around the state to support a 5 year old boy badly burned just before Christmas.
Jacob Wasmund: "I thought it was amazing we pulled up here and couldn't find a parking spot. It's incredible see this many people show up."
At Woody's saloon and eatery in Braham. They're filling their plates, and filling the hearts of 5 year old Skye Williams' family.
Stefanie Williams: "It's amazing. There are really no words for it."
The spaghetti benefit dinner, to help mounting medical costs for the little boy burned over 95-percent of his body by a candle just before Christmas.
Andrea Werk: "Just to know we are helping out in a small way is great."
For Skye's mother Stefanie, it's been two months of ups and downs.
Stefanie: “Today is a happy day actually. It's nice to see everybody come out."
The food, entertainment, combined with a raffle and silent auction hopes to raise 10 thousand dollars.
Stefanie: "One business owner in town, we didn't even know him and he donated a thousand dollars. Just out of the blue."
Gary Klingner: "It's bigger than we thought it would be and it all goes to a good cause."
Many here know the family, others are strangers.
Jake Mauer:"We caught your story last week on the TV and it touched us."
Like Joe Mauer's parents.
They brought a signed jersey, ball and bobble head from the Twins catcher for the auction.
Jake:” "We thought it would be a good way to help out the community, to help out the little boy."
Dick Enrico: "Would you pay 20 bucks? Would you pay $25?"
And you might know this guy from TV, Dick Enrico from 2nd Wind who brought bobbleheads of his own, some going for 60 dollars.
Stefanie: "You can say thank you a million times but there really isn't no words."
Tonight the owner's of the restaurant are still totaling up how much money they received for Skye.
However, they'll continue to accept donations throughout the week
February 23, 2006
2nd Wind Opens 57th Location
2nd Wind today opened their 57th Midwest Location in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Store is located on the corner of Hwy 41 & Hwy 44, across from the Citgo Station. The store is packed with new and used exercise equipment and staffed with two A.C.E. certified trainers. The details of the new store are below:
Store Manager: Paul Ecklor
Address: 2550 Washburn Ave S Suite #A
Oshkosh, WI 54904
Phone: 920-420-3889
Fax: 920-420-3876
Email: oshkosh@2ndwindexercise.com
Store Hours: 10-9 M-F; 10-5 Sat; 12-5 Sun
February 14, 2006
2nd Wind Reports that CB Richard Ellis Becomes Commercial Client
2nd Wind Announced today that CB Richard Ellis has become a 2nd Wind Commercial Client.
Dick Enrico Puts His African Adventure Video Online
Dick Enrico recently visited Africa and brought back some footage of his travels.
2nd Wind Plans for Online Store
2nd Wind today announced plans for an online store via www.2ndwindexercise.com . The fitness market is evolving and so does 2nd Wind.
In a recent analysis of online spending in various categories, fitness-related items came up as the third-fastest growth area. The survey, contacted by consumer behavior specialists comScore Networks, found that sales in the Sports & Fitness category reached $72.6 million for the first three weeks of January alone. That figure was up 41 percent over the same period in January 2005.
For comparison, the fastest-growing area was Event Tickets (up 50 percent). The second-fastest growth category was Consumer Electronics, which grew 43 percent—just 2 percentage points more than fitness.
The analysis excluded travel-related purchases, large auctions and corporate purchases.
2nd Wind plans to launch the site at www.2ndwindexercise.com within the next few months.
The Snay Way from 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment
Every few weeks, Kyle Snay has someone snap a picture of him. "Taking pictures is one of the best things you can do to measure progress and receive feedback," he says. "Scales are unreliable, especially once you start weight training." Muscle weighs more than fat, you know the deal.
And he's come a long way since he first scrutinized his "before picture," one year ago while competing in the first Men's Health Abs Diet Challenge. While Snay didn't win the contest, he landed in the top ten. We've kept our eye on him ever since. He became a convert of the Abs Diet and didn't stop after his six weeks were up. He made the Abs Diet his lifestyle and has continued to improve.
When Snay began his first challenge in September 2004, he weighed 227 pounds. In six weeks, he dropped 22 pounds. Even after the challenge, he continued to lose weight until he was down to 193. But Snay still wasn't satisfied by the scale's dip. He says he lost some muscle along with the fat. Since then, he's spent the last few months packing on more muscle in our Leaner by Labor Day program -- now called Thinner Through Thanksgiving. (You can participate too!)
Now he weighs in at 202--the same as when he finished the challenge last year--but his overall physique has changed. The pictures speak for themselves.
Snay has made the Abs Diet his way of life. He offers insight and advice as a normal guy who lives the program. One forum member valued his advice so much, he sent him cash with a note that said, "You give better advice than my gym--and I pay them for it." Snay sent the money back, but the gesture showed him that his advice is getting through to some people. It's certainly getting through to us.
The Snay Way
Weekly Workout: Four-to-five sessions of lifting and two sessions of high intensity interval training (HIIT- a 25-minute cardio workout in which you alternate bouts of speed with lower-intensity levels). One day off.
Mon:
Chest, Shoulders, Biceps
Tues:
Back, Triceps, Abs
Wed: HIIT in the AM, legs/abs in the afternoon
Thurs: Chest, Shoulders, Biceps
Fri: Back, Triceps, Abs
Sat: HIIT
Sun: Rest
For his lifting days, Snay completes mini-circuits for each muscle group (chest, shoulders, biceps) by alternating three different exercises that work a specific area until he's completed three sets of each exercise. Then he'll move onto the next muscle group and do the same--for a total of 10 exercises.
Nutrition: Snay continues to eat 6 meals a day, including foods from the Power 12 in every meal. He's a big fan of protein smoothies, and often adds spices (cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg) or extracts (vanilla, almond) to give the flavor a kick without the calories. He drinks about two gallons of water each day.
Supplements: Creatine, glutamine, whey protein, flax oil and seed, fish oil capsules, green tea extract, and multivitamins
How Kyle Goes the Extra Mile
1. Make lunch time, crunch time. Snay plays desk jockey all day at his job, so when the noon lunch bell tolls, he abandons his desk and skips the lunchroom to make better use of his hour break. It takes him five minutes to eat, so Snay gets active by playing racquetball, tennis, or hitting the campus gym for an HIIT session. "You'll have time to work out, if you make it a priority," Snay says.
2. Change it up, every time. Snay tries to make an improvement in every workout, either by adding more weight to the barbell or squeezing out one more rep. He also includes a different exercise in his workout each time.
3. Bring it home. As a family guy -- married with two young children (a 1-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son) -- Snay doesn't waste any time working out that could be spent with the kids. So he wakes at 4:30 a.m. to lift weights, while everyone's still sleeping. That's where his home gym comes in, allowing him to work out when he wants to. Snay purchased the Hoist V2 as his home gym, but says free weights can do the job just as well.
4. Put your workout where you can see it. Every time Snay gets the next issue of Men's Health, he rips out the poster workout and 15-Minute Workout and posts them to his walls. He now has hundreds of workouts on his walls, so there's no excuse for failing to try something new.
Picture Perfect
After all this, Snay is happy with the way he looks. People treat him differently and look at him differently. "I'm a completely different person. Not just in terms of lifestyle, but I have an incredible amount of self-confidence," Snay says. When he first started working out, he couldn't run three blocks, but now he can run four miles without breathing heavy. "It's incredible what I can do now that I'm in shape."
2nd Wind Honored Again With Growth 50 Award
2nd Wind Exercise Equipment., the Midwest’s largest dealer of new and used exercise equipment, has been honored as a Business Journal Growth 50 firm.
2nd Wind Exercise Equipment, which was listed as the #43 fastest growing company in 2004, has experienced 58% growth over the last year to reach #38 in the Twin Cities Business Journal Growth 50 honor roll.
“2nd Wind has come a long way over the past 13 years,” said Dick Enrico, CEO, 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment, “We are honored to be recognized as a Twin Cities fastest growing company for the 5th consecutive year.”
"2nd Wind offers a unique environment," added Enrico. "Our customers come to 2nd Wind for a life changing experience, an opportunity to learn from the experts and to find the top exercise equipment products that aren’t available in any other retailer."
2nd Wind is passionate about fitness solutions for their clients and continually changes the way the world looks at exercise. 2nd Wind operates 54 stores in 7 states and has a philosophy of "Customized Fitness Solutions" and an environment that educates, motivates and develops individual programs to achieve and obtain measurable, realistic goals while optimizing their customer’s chance for a successful, life changing fitness experience.
For more information on 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment, visit http://www.2ndwindexercise.com
About 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment
2nd Wind is the Midwest’s exclusive dealer of new and used exercise equipment lines, which include Life Fitness, Parabody, True, Hoist, PaceMaster, Vision, Octane, and a host of others. Now with 54 retail stores and an "award winning" commercial division, 2nd Wind has become one of the most successful and largest fitness dealers in the U.S. with projected sales this year in excess of $70 Million.
2nd Wind also offers a free VIP program that offers free personal training, healthy recipes, fitness articles and exclusive discounts on top home fitness equipment. More information about the 2nd Wind VIP program is available at: http://www.2ndwindexercise.com/vipreg.html
Rave Reviews For New Life Fitness Treadmills
Life Fitness, the leading manufacturer of a full line of commercial cardiovascular and strength-training equipment, has received glowing reviews from leading magazines and Web sites for several models in its new line of home treadmills, which deliver a variety of features to meet the needs of a wide range of users. SmartMoney magazine put its money on the Life Fitness T3-0 (MSRP: $2,199) in its January 2006 issue. The magazine rated treadmills in four categories, and the Life Fitness T3-0 ran away with top honors. American marathoner and Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi put several treadmills through their paces for SmartMoney, and in the end, the T3-0 easily out-distanced the competition receiving four stars (out of four) for overall performance, power, design and features. In fact, the T3-0 was lauded in the article as "easy to use and packed with features," and that's right on target. The T3-0 features the FlexDeck shock absorption system, wireless heart rate monitoring and 12 workout programs, four My Workouts user presets and five HeartSync heart rate controlled programs. The entire SmartMoney article can be seen at http://www.smartmoney.com/mag/index.cfm?story=january2006-treadmill
But the words of praise for Life Fitness treadmills didn't stop there. In its February 2006 issue, Runner's World magazine said that the Life Fitness T7-0 was "perfect for runners who crave variety in their workouts." With FlexDeck Select, which allows an exerciser to easily adjust the cushioning of the deck to any of three different settings, and 18 different pre-programmed workouts, the words of praise for the T7-0 are well earned. The Runner's World article can be seen at
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-52-72-0-9266-1-1X4X8X12X16- 6,00.html
If you're looking for a second opinion on the Life Fitness T7-0 treadmill, the TreadmillDoctor.com ( http://www.treadmilldoctor.com ) makes a diagnosis. In its 2005-2006 Best Buy Awards, TreadmillDoctor.com, an engineering and services company that specializes in the fitness industry, prescribes the T7-0 treadmill, calling it a "home run" and "one of the best treadmills built exclusively for the home" in naming it the first runner up in the Best New Product Category. The site went on to say, "It is simply the best system we have seen yet in terms of simplicity and expected durability." TreadmillDoctor.com also named the Life Fitness T3-5 a "Best Buy", calling the new treadmill "a huge value proposition."
"Receiving such high praise from a mix of important experts and opinion leaders is a great honor," says Dan Wille, vice president, Consumer Retail Business, Life Fitness. "It validates the innovation, technology and high quality that we put into our treadmills and all of our products." You can find all the treadmills at www.2ndwindexercise.com
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- Extended Warranty Story on Kare11
- Picking up speed
- The King of Johns: A conversation with Dick Enrico
- Skye Williams Benefit Fundraiser
- 2nd Wind Opens 57th Location
- 2nd Wind Reports that CB Richard Ellis Becomes Commercial Client
- Dick Enrico Puts His African Adventure Video Online
- 2nd Wind Plans for Online Store
- The Snay Way from 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment
- 2nd Wind Honored Again With Growth 50 Award
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