Kohl's and Planet Fitness might be a match made in apparel heaven
Kohl’s department stores recently partnered with Planet Fitness, a national gym chain that promotes a judgment-free workout zone.
The idea for Kohl’s is to shrink the footprint of its stores and to partner with a brand that pairs well with moms and promote sales of athleisure wear, a major category for the retailer.
Kohl’s appears to have found a valuable partner in Planet Fitness.
The gym counts about 4% of the United States as customers, according to YouGov’s Plan & Track data. That’s more than other, similar gym brands, such as LA Fitness (2%), Crunch Gym (1%) and Blink (less than 1%).
Planet Fitness customers do overlap with Kohl’s customers, but there’s lots of room for growth. Over the last 90 days, just 36% of Planet Fitness customers reported also being customers of Kohl’s.
Furthermore, about 59% of Planet Fitness customers say they are in the market for clothing and apparel over the next three months. And the same group was more likely to have spent between $350-$500 on clothing in the last three months.
It’s one thing to identify opportunities, but getting the right kind of customers is important. In that respect, Kohl’s may have found kindred spirits in Planet Fitness patrons, according to attitude statements from YouGov’s Plan & Track index.
About 39% of Kohl’s shoppers and 40% of Planet Fitness members tend to agree with the statement that “Working out to stay fit is important to me.” And more Kohl’s shoppers (34%) than Planet Fitness customers (30%) say they tend to agree with the statement: “I work out at least once a week.”
A similar overlap exists between Planet Fitness members and Kohl’s shoppers in terms of fashion. About 30 % of both groups tend to agree with the statement: “I keep up to date with current fashion trends.”
Similar “tend to agree” crossover exists on questions like, “It’s important for me to be physically active in my spare time,” “It’s important to stay looking young,” and “It’s important for me to feel attractive.”
So, a Kohl’s partnership with Planet Fitness has the potential to draw in new customers to its stores that have similar attitudes about fitness, fashion and shopping. And Kohl’s can entice those customers potentially browse for the latest fashion trends before or after exercising. It’s a good pairing.
