Now that Cybex International is a private company, Art Hicks, president and COO of the company, anticipates having more time and resources to move Cybex forward and meet the changing needs of customers.
Now that Cybex International is a private company, Art Hicks, president and COO of the company, anticipates having more time and resources to move Cybex forward and meet the changing needs of customers.
On Feb. 6, Cybex shareholders approved Cybex’s plan to go private, a plan originally approved by its board of directors in October. Shareholders will receive $2.55 per share, and the company now is owned by CEO John Aglialoro, his wife Joan Carter (who is on the Cybex board) and the couple’s company, UM Holdings.
About five shareholders attended the 30-minute shareholders meeting at the company’s Medway, MA, office, Hicks says. The rest of the shareholders mailed in their proxies. The vote was “overwhelmingly” in favor of the privatization, Hicks says.
Shareholder lawsuits over the terms of the privatization may continue, Hicks says, but those should go away now that the transaction is done.
Over time, being private will give Cybex more resources and freedom to do what it wants to do, Hicks says.
“We pride ourselves on being nimble and flexible yet big enough to have all state-of-the-art equipment and continue to focus on being the best in the industry,” Hicks says. No more reporting of the quarter-to-quarter financial results will not only free up time for management but also will allow decisions to be made without concerns about fallout from analysts and shareholders.
For the past several years, Cybex has focused on vertical markets, such as universities, the military and hotels. That focus is likely to continue as the company looks to offer more customized solutions for customers. A start to that was Cybex’s 525 line, which is more price competitive for markets, such as hotels and residential fitness, where that is a focus.
Cybex also will ramp up efforts to help its customers customize their equipment so the customers can be more competitive and differentiated in their markets.
“Manufacturing in the U.S. and being set up the way we are to be flexible and nimble really gives the ability to work with a specific customer for specific needs,” Hicks says. “Depending on the volume and needs, we could customize a line for a specific customer.”
This month, Cybex will introduce fitness programs on its equipment through applications that allow members to run through programs on their own. Cybex also has created functional training-type programs that can incorporate the company’s Bravo functional training line in the functional training areas of clubs, a move that allows traditional clubs to compete in this area with smaller functional-training studios.
The programs can be used with a trainer in a small group circuit setting or with a video or other instructional technique that allows people to run through the circuits on their own, avoiding the wait for specific class times and making use of space that might otherwise be unused for many hours of the day.
“We are really trying to make sure we are helping the end member achieve their fitness goals, and in the meantime, help the customers and clubs retain their members and help their business models,” Hicks says. “It’s one thing to make great equipment and throw it out there and have people figure out how to use it, but our job has to be broader than that. We have to help people get results and help our customers with their business.”
As the company seeks to help its customers, the move to being private could help Cybex in that it could make potential purchases of other vendors easier, Hicks says, although he adds that the company has no immediate purchase plans. Instead, partnerships may make more sense for now, especially related to the introduction of the fitness programs.
“As we roll out these fitness programs, maybe partnering with people who do this for a living and know those models and can provide trainers for these programs worldwide, that may be a great way to partner as opposed to just equipment folks, but it could be either way,” Hicks says.
