China's fitness equipment export industry has been experiencing extremely high growth rates in the past few years. In the period January to July 2005, overseas shipments in the line from China suppliers amounted to US$908 million, an increase of 42 percent from the same period in the previous year. If this rate of growth is sustained for the rest of the year, which seems very likely, overseas shipments will cross the US$1.8 billion mark.
However, this is slightly less than the 49 percent year-on-year growth rate registered in 2004.
One of the key reasons for the steep rise in exports is the fact that the industry is still young and developing. In addition, with less than 200 makers currently involved in exporting, competition is not as high as in other industries in China. New manufacturers, therefore, continue to join the line.
The following are some of the trends we see in China's fitness equipment export industry:
• Exports will continue to experience high growth rates in the next couple of years, as more buyers from the US and the EU increasingly turn to China for their sourcing needs.
• Although home-use equipment will remain the main product category for most suppliers, a few large companies will increase the output of professional or gym-use fitness equipment.
• The US will remain the top export destination for most fitness equipment manufacturers in China, but many companies will also increase shipments to the EU.
• Higher raw material costs will force some suppliers to increase export prices. By and large, however, most will keep prices stable.
China's fitness equipment exports are dominated by treadmills, exercise bikes, home gyms and free weights. These are also the scope of this report.
The Products & Prices section in this report details the features and price ranges of these products. The latest trends in design and function are discussed in the R&D/design section.
The Manufacturing section explains the processes involved in equipment manufacture and how these differ in small and large companies.
The majority of fitness equipment suppliers are wholly mainland Chinaowned, but there are many foreigninvested makers too. In fact, most of the large suppliers are foreign-invested or owned, in particular by Taiwan companies.
Reflecting the industry composition, 56 percent of the companies profiled in this report are locally owned while 24 percent are Taiwan-invested. The rest are either owned by companies from other countries or publicly listed.
The Industry Overview section elaborates on the industry composition, highlighting key characteristics of the different types of suppliers.
This report has profiles of some of the leading fitness equipment makers in China.
Shandong Relax, which specializes in home gyms and free weights, has been included in "China's Top Eight Good Sporting Goods Companies" several times by the China Culture and Education Sporting Goods Association.
Industry Overview
China accounts for most of the world's output of low-end and midrange fitness equipment. The country is particularly strong in the manufacture of home-use products such as treadmills, exercise bikes and home gyms. But it still lags in the production of high-end items for professional use, as most suppliers lack the technological capability and design expertise required to manufacture these products.
Makers also produce other types of fitness equipment such as free weights, elliptical machines, stair climbers and steppers, but the majority of these too are basic products.
There are only a few companies making high-end professional fitness equipment. These are mostly large foreign-invested companies with adequate resources to invest in design development, advanced production facilities and imported machinery.
In fact, Taiwan is the biggest investor in mainland China's fitness equipment industry. Five of the leading suppliers in the country are Taiwan invested or owned. Several of these suppliers are located in the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, and the city of Shanghai.
Aside from this handful of large suppliers, buyers will find that the majority of fitness equipment makers in China today are small and midsize companies with limited design development capability.
However, a few companies are cooperating with local design companies and universities to improve their designs and add value to new products. Coordinating with these institutions is a relatively quick and economical way to gain product expertise for these domestic companies that lack the resources to invest in R&D.
A notable example is Cixi Shangguan, which has teamed up with Zhejiang University to enhance the electric circuits used in its aerobic equipment.
Products made
Irrespective of company size, the majority of fitness equipment manufacturers in China offer a range of products, usually two or three product categories. But there are many companies that specialize in only one type of equipment.
There are more suppliers focusing solely on treadmills than on any of the other types of fitness equipment. This is mainly because demand for the product, especially home-use models, is growing steadily.
Seven companies featured in this report export only treadmills, five focus on free weights and one produces only home gyms for export. None of the makers exports only exercise bikes.
In general, treadmills, exercise bikes and home gyms are available from all the main production hubs — Guangdong Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai.
Few companies in Shanghai offer free weights as these only involve basic metal processing. But there are some makers in the provinces of Anhui, Shandong and Zhejiang producing the line.
Supplier Profile
Beijing Sanhesongshi Machinery and Electronic Co. Ltd
ISO 9002-approved Beijing Sanhesongshi was established in 1985 but started exporting only in 2003. In 2004, the company exported US$3 million worth of fitness equipment, a quarter of its annual sales of the product.
Aside from fitness equipment, the company makes massage chairs, massagers, household electrical appliances and baby carriers. Fitness equipment takes up 80 percent, or US$12 million, of the company's total annual sales.
Beijing Sanhesongshi has four factories, one each for PCBs, metal processing, plastic processing and sewing, and general assembly. The Global Sources team visited the general assembly factory located in Tongzhou district, a two-hour drive from Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The other factories are in Hebei.
The company plans to double its total exports in the next 12 months.
Products
The fitness equipment line includes high-end aerobic type products such as treadmills and exercise bikes, and others such as home gyms, stair climbers, rowing machines, cross trainers and elliptical machines. Treadmills range from US$350 to US$750. The most competitively priced magnetic bike is at US$100.
Cables and gas springs are outsourced locally, while the motors come from Taizhou in Zhejiang.
The R&D team consists of 25 designers who release three to four new products every year. R&D focuses on improving product functions. The group has designed a magnetic bike with six preset programs according to age range. Each program has 12 subclasses according to difficulty. The user can set a target of the amount of calories to be burned during the workout.
Another design is the multifunction home gym with a vibration massager and an ionizer.
All this column of information contained in China Sourcing Reports is the result of original, independent and impartial research conducted by Global Sources analysts.
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