Munich-based eGym GmbH is acquiring the entire mobile apps division of Netpulse, the San Francisco-based leading provider of customized apps for fitness facilities. Netpulse's current CEO, John Ford, will become the new head of eGym North America.
Netpulse's new CEO is Alex Peacock, previously the company's Chief Commercial Officer. Tom Proulx, Chairman and co-founder of the US company, will join the eGym Board of Directors as a new member. The parties have agreed to keep all details of the transaction confidential.
Netpulse is the number one provider of customized mobile marketing apps for fitness clubs, helping them increase member engagement and boost revenue. Netpulse has thousands of clients worldwide, including US heavyweights such as Planet Fitness, Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness, as well as numerous European gym chains, including Virgin Active, Migros, DW Fitness First, and INJOY.
eGym's software-based, intelligent training solutions are in use in several thousand fitness and healthcare facilities across Europe. With its open cloud platform eGym ONE, the Munich-based high-tech company intelligently connects equipment that currently sits side by side in studios to create a holistic training experience. Over 50 industry partners have already connected their devices to eGym ONE, including Matrix, Precor, Polar, and Runkeeper.
eGym and Netpulse join forces
eGym co-founder and managing director Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer said:
"Even at our first meeting at SIBEC in Austin two years ago, it became clear that John shared our vision of a fully connected training space. Netpulse has impressed us in many ways since then: with its outstanding management team, its deep roots in the US fitness market, and its highly scalable and highly customizable IT platform. Last but not least, Netpulse has grown by 90 percent in each of the past two years! Through our sales partnership, the idea evolved to work together to support our customers, the club operators, in fully exploiting the potential of mobile digital technologies for their gyms. For both our companies, meaningful fitness data for all members is the be-all and end-all of our work. Valid training documentation is a key factor for successful training and sustained high motivation. Furthermore, we are increasingly connecting more and more equipment from other manufacturers with our open cloud platform eGym ONE. This continuously expands the training space connected by eGym."
On to unlimited possibilities
John Ford commented on the upcoming acquisition:
"This is the combination of the largest vendor-agnostic digital fitness platform and the largest open mobile platform. eGym brings its superior software and industry expertise to the Netpulse app. It starts with members being able to view their workout data directly in the app. Netpulse will continue to stay true to its mission of bringing innovation to fitness studios – now with the new energy and resources of two companies. We want our customers to benefit from a fully integrated system without having to give up their freedom of choice when it comes to equipment. Gym operators also no longer have to worry about their future viability and implement costly stand-alone solutions. Once the entire training area is digitized, the new possibilities are virtually endless."
Back in October of last year, eGym and Netpulse announced the conclusion of a distribution partnership for North America. Since then, Netpulse CEO John Ford has been responsible for eGym's sales in the US and Canada. eGym's innovative training tools, such as the eGym Member App, will be directly integrated into Netpulse's mobile apps as part of a product integration plan. In return, eGym is driving Netpulse's rapid expansion in Europe.
