Echelon Pulls In $65 Million In Funding As ‘Connected’ Fitness Takes Off

Echelon Fitness of Tennessee has raised $65 million in funding as the internet-connected fitness company takes advantage of pandemic-fueled growth.

Echelon said it offers online classes with everything from “heart-pounding, high-intensity workouts, to calming yoga,” covering fitness needs at all levels. The company’s products include bikes, rowing equipment and treadmills along with “an app experience that allows its members to participate in both live and on-demand fitness classes.”

Echelon said in a press release that the latest funding round was led by Goldman Sachs Growth, along with participation from existing investor North Castle Partners. The fitness company said that Piper Sandler acted as financial advisor.

Lou Lentine, Echelon president and CEO, said his company was dedicated to offering innovation along with “affordable prices.” He said the new funding would “propel our business even further.”

Echelon’s products are available online as well as through retailers that include Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Costco and Amazon. The fitness company said it is out to “reach a broader customer base,” in terms of affordability, than its competitors.

The release said that North Castle had invested in Echelon in 2019 as part of the venture firm’s funding of businesses in the fitness, health and nutrition area.

Jon Canarick, managing partner of North Castle, said that Echelon had “experienced explosive growth” during the pandemic.

Stephen Kerns, a member of Goldman Sachs’ GS Growth, said his company was “incredibly impressed by what Echelon Fitness was able to accomplish with a very small amount of capital raised to date.” He added that Echelon’s range of products makes for “a broader reach to retailers and consumers alike.”

An Echelon competitor, fitness company Peloton, saw third-quarter sales grow by 232 percent to $757.9 million from $228 million a year ago. A big challenge: Delays have plagued consumer orders, a situation that will continue to constrain the company’s supply chain for the “foreseeable future,” according to Peloton.