Former University of Florida Football Player Makes Winning Retail Move
By Angela Bussone, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville
Sep. 3–Going from designing home gyms for the stars in Beverly Hills to selling fitness equipment in St. Augustine may seem akin to playing for the NFL and one day being relegated to the Arena Football League.
But for Dan McLean, a former University of Florida football player, opening up a specialty fitness equipment store in St. Augustine has been a winning venture.
McLean opened First Coast Fitness Equipment with his wife, Allison, to fill a void he saw in the burgeoning St. Augustine area.
Unlike most home gym equipment retailers in Northeast Florida, First Coast Fitness Equipment is not a franchise and is an exclusive dealer of top fitness brands like LifeCore, which is found in trendy health clubs across the country.
According to the National Sporting Goods Association, approximately $24 million was spent on home exercise equipment in the U.S. in 2006.
But the business isn’t restricted to the average consumer looking to forgo health club memberships: It supplies and services equipment for fitness facilities at housing developments in the area, such as Legacy Trail at World Golf Village and Summerhouse in Crescent Beach, and also supplies home gym equipment to rehab patients. The company is also working on finalizing agreements with hotels in the area to supply and service equipment.
“It’s a combination of bringing health to the community so we can offer consultations, service and the equipment,” Allison McLean said.
Dan McLean said his business works with Flagler Hospital’s Rehabilitation Center, and provides exercise equipment to patients so they can continue their rehabilitation at home. For instance, he has had orthopedic surgery patients purchase items like reclining bikes to aid rehabilitation after knee surgery.
In addition to the variety of customers the store serves, the owners’ backgrounds aid in the retailer’s success. Dan was a personal trainer in California, managed fitness stores and designed home gyms for clients in Beverly Hills, and coached a semi-professional football team, allowing him to give advice on proper technique and use of the equipment.
Allison McLean is a cardiopulmonary technologist at the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Flagler Hospital, enabling her to shed insight to customers who are interested in purchasing home equipment to aid in their cardiovascular rehabilitation. Allison McLean has nothing to do with patient referrals to First Coast Fitness Equipment; patients are sent to the business through the Rehab Center, which is independent of her work at the hospital.
One of First Coast Fitness Equipment’s best-selling items is the LifeCore elliptical machine, priced between $995 and $1,995. Dan McLean said his friend owns the LifeCore company, based in San Marcos, Calif., so he was able to become the first dealer of the brand for the Northeast Florida area.
One reason it was important for the McLeans to get LifeCore dealer status is that now, no business will be able to come within a 30-mile radius and sell the same fitness equipment line. And Dan McLean says he would eventually like to open stores in Jacksonville or Orlando and keep the St. Augustine store as a hub, but he plans to keep the focus on customer service.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville
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