NordicTrack

NordicTrack is an American home-fitness brand that combines exercise equipment with digitally delivered training. Its product portfolio has included treadmills, incline trainers, ellipticals, stationary bikes, rowers, strength products and related home-workout equipment. The brand is particularly associated with the idea that a machine can function as more than a piece of hardware: through the iFIT platform, users can follow instructor-led workouts, adjust training variables and exercise in filmed locations around the world. The business originated in 1975 as PSI NordicTrack. Its initial commercial breakthrough came from a cross-country-ski simulator, a product designed to reproduce the alternating arm-and-leg movement of Nordic skiing in the home. Direct-response television and magazine advertising helped turn the ski machine into a recognizable consumer fitness product during the late-1970s and 1980s home-exercise boom. By the middle of the 1980s, the company had grown from a family-run operation into a sizeable manufacturer and sales organization. In 1986, the Paul family sold the business to CML Group, a publicly owned company, in a transaction intended to provide capital for further expansion. Following the acquisition, NordicTrack broadened beyond ski simulators. Its range came to include leg machines, treadmills, strength trainers, rider-style equipment and elliptical products. The brand also pursued dedicated retail distribution, including NordicTrack Fitness at Home outlets, while retaining the direct-to-consumer marketing approach that had helped establish it. Over time, NordicTrack became part of the wider ICON Health & Fitness portfolio, alongside brands such as ProForm and Freemotion. The next major transformation was the integration of connected software and subscription content. Under the iFIT ownership structure, NordicTrack machines were increasingly designed around interactive coaching, streamed classes and location-based workouts. This positioned the brand in the connected-fitness market alongside companies such as Peloton, while preserving NordicTrack’s established strength in larger cardio machines. Features promoted across different generations have included trainer-led sessions, automatic changes to speed, resistance or incline, scenic outdoor content and programs intended for different fitness levels. The COVID-19 pandemic increased consumer interest in home exercise and made immersive digital fitness a central part of NordicTrack’s communications. Campaigns such as “Outside of Ordinary” presented equipment and iFIT content as a way to experience destinations while travel was restricted. In 2021, the “Go Somewhere New” campaign received Super Bowl exposure and used Jade Bird’s adaptation of “I’ve Been Everywhere” to connect NordicTrack equipment with virtual travel and outdoor training. Later advertising emphasized the company’s technology, trainers and product design through platforms and themes including “World of Intelligent Fitness” and “Incredible Machines.” NordicTrack remains an active consumer brand within iFIT Health & Fitness. It sells through its own digital channels and other retail and distribution partners, with availability varying by market. Its current positioning rests on the combination of substantial home-fitness hardware and a recurring digital training ecosystem. The brand’s principal challenge is to distinguish that combination in a crowded connected-fitness category while maintaining the reliability, usability and value expectations associated with established exercise-equipment manufacturers.

NordicTrack began in 1975 as PSI NordicTrack, an American exercise-equipment company. Its signature early product was a home cross-country-ski simulator. The machine sought to reproduce the alternating upper- and lower-body action of Nordic skiing and offered consumers an aerobic workout without requiring access to snow or specialized sporting facilities. The company benefited from the expansion of home exercise in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Its marketing relied heavily on direct-response television and magazine advertising, a method that allowed a relatively specialized product to reach a national consumer audience. The ski machine became the brand’s defining product and helped NordicTrack establish a position in the growing home-fitness equipment market. By the mid-1980s, the company’s manufacturing and sales operations had expanded substantially. Although the business was profitable, its owners concluded that further growth would require the resources of a larger corporate group. In 1986, NordicTrack was acquired by CML Group, a publicly traded company led by Charles M. Leighton. The transaction marked the end of the business’s initial family-run phase and gave it access to additional capital and distribution capabilities. NordicTrack subsequently extended its product range beyond ski simulators. It introduced or sold equipment spanning leg exercise, treadmills, strength training, rider-style workouts and elliptical motion. During the 1990s it also developed dedicated retail distribution through NordicTrack Fitness at Home outlets, while continuing to use direct marketing. The brand’s identity consequently shifted from a single-product specialist to a broader home-fitness equipment provider. Later ownership placed NordicTrack within ICON Health & Fitness, the Utah-based fitness-equipment group that also operated ProForm and Freemotion. The group’s development of iFIT added software, filmed workouts, streaming classes and subscription services to its hardware portfolio. NordicTrack equipment became increasingly associated with screens and interactive training, with instructors guiding users through studio and outdoor sessions and, on compatible machines, controlling settings such as incline, speed or resistance. This connected approach became especially important during the pandemic, when consumers sought alternatives to gyms and travel restrictions increased the appeal of virtual outdoor experiences. NordicTrack’s “Outside of Ordinary” campaign presented iFIT content as a means of experiencing destinations from home. In 2021, its “Go Somewhere New” commercial received Super Bowl placement and used Jade Bird’s recording of “I’ve Been Everywhere” to promote virtual exploration through NordicTrack machines. The parent company pursued a possible public listing in 2021 and filed U.S. registration materials under the proposed IFIT ticker. The filing described NordicTrack as one of several equipment brands within a larger interactive-fitness business. The proposed IPO should not be treated as evidence that the brand itself became a separately listed company. Later marketing efforts included the “World of Intelligent Fitness” and “Incredible Machines” themes, reflecting an effort to recast a legacy equipment name as a technology-enabled fitness brand. Today NordicTrack is an active iFIT brand focused on home cardio, strength and interactive training. Its competitive proposition is the integration of recognizable exercise machines with a large library of instructor-led and location-based digital content. The brand operates in a category shaped by competition from traditional fitness-equipment manufacturers and connected-fitness platforms, making product quality, content breadth, subscription value and ease of use central to its ongoing positioning.

1. 2021Super Bowl “Go Somewhere New” campaign

   A nationally visible campaign uses Jade Bird’s recording of “I’ve Been Everywhere” to connect iFIT workouts with virtual travel.

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2. 2021iFIT files proposed IPO registration

   NordicTrack’s parent files for a proposed Nasdaq offering under the IFIT symbol; the filing does not establish a completed listing.

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3. 2020“Outside of Ordinary” campaign launches

   NordicTrack promotes immersive home workouts and virtual destination experiences during the pandemic.

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4. 1990Dedicated fitness retail expands

   NordicTrack develops NordicTrack Fitness at Home retail outlets while continuing its direct-response sales activity.

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5. 1986CML Group acquires NordicTrack

   The family-owned business is sold to publicly traded CML Group to support expansion and provide greater corporate resources.

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6. 1975PSI NordicTrack is incorporated

   The business that developed the NordicTrack brand is incorporated as PSI NordicTrack.

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Premium and upper-mainstream home fitness built around connected hardware, instructor-led training, immersive destination content and the iFIT digital ecosystem.

• NordicTrack Ski MachineCross-country ski simulator1975

  NordicTrack’s foundational product simulated the alternating arm-and-leg movement of cross-country skiing for indoor aerobic exercise. Direct-response advertising helped make the machine a defining home-fitness product during the late-1970s and 1980s exercise boom.

• NordicTrack Commercial TreadmillsTreadmill

  The Commercial family is a major NordicTrack treadmill line, generally positioned around substantial running surfaces, motorized speed and incline adjustment, and compatibility with iFIT interactive workouts. Specific specifications and model availability vary by generation and market.

• NordicTrack X Series Incline TreadmillsIncline treadmill

  The X Series emphasizes steep incline training and guided workouts. Models such as the X22i and X32i have been used in NordicTrack advertising to demonstrate trainer-controlled settings and the combination of intensive cardio equipment with iFIT content.

• NordicTrack Studio CycleConnected exercise bike

  NordicTrack Studio Cycle bikes are indoor cycling products designed for instructor-led and location-based training. The S22i appeared in advertising for the “Go Somewhere New” campaign, which presented cycling as a digitally mediated way to explore outdoor environments.

• NordicTrack Ellipticals and FreeStride TrainersElliptical and cross-trainer

  These products provide low-impact cardio and cross-training formats. FreeStride models have been promoted as adaptable machines whose motion can vary with the user, while compatible versions connect to trainer-led iFIT programming.

• iFIT Interactive TrainingDigital fitness platform

  iFIT is the connected software and content ecosystem associated with NordicTrack. It offers live and on-demand instructor-led sessions, destination workouts and programs spanning cardio, strength and other training types. Compatible equipment may respond automatically to trainer programming.

• 2021Go Somewhere New

  United States

  A Super Bowl commercial used Jade Bird’s recording of “I’ve Been Everywhere” while showing users undertaking iFIT workouts in scenic locations. The message presented NordicTrack as a way to discover new places without leaving home.

  Outcome. The campaign was designed to broaden awareness across younger and older adult audiences and strengthen NordicTrack’s competitive position in connected fitness.

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• 2020Outside of Ordinary

  United States

  Developed during the pandemic, this campaign promoted NordicTrack equipment and iFIT content as a way to experience landscapes and destinations from home when ordinary travel was constrained. The campaign used nationally televised advertising and extended social-media content.

  Outcome. The agency described the work as a multimillion-dollar campaign intended to capitalize on increased demand for immersive home fitness; independently audited performance figures were not provided.

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• World’s Largest Treadmill Dance

  United States

  A social campaign turned treadmill exercise into an entertainment spectacle by combining influencers, dancers and unexpected participants. Its creative premise was intended to make a traditionally functional product more humorous, energetic and shareable.

  Outcome. The producing agency reported more than $5 million in tracked revenue in one month, 152 press features and 32,000 social shares. These are agency-reported campaign results.

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• 2021Pursue a public offering for iFITStrategy

  The parent company sought capital and a public-market profile during a period of rapid growth in connected home fitness.

  What changed. iFIT filed registration materials for a proposed Nasdaq IPO under the IFIT symbol, with NordicTrack among its brands.

  Aftermath. The supplied sources establish the proposed offering but do not establish that it was completed.

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• 1986Sell the business to CML GroupM&A

  The owners believed that continued expansion required more capital and corporate resources than the family-run business could readily provide.

  What changed. NordicTrack was sold to publicly traded CML Group.

  Aftermath. The acquisition moved NordicTrack into a larger corporate structure and supported subsequent product and distribution expansion.

  Acquisition consideration. $24 million (1986 transaction)

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• 2023NordicTrack appoints Mark Phillips as chief marketing officer

  MediaPost reported that Mark Phillips joined iFIT as chief marketing officer to help refresh NordicTrack and iFIT’s connected-fitness positioning and support new campaigns.

  Leadership change
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• 2021iFIT files for a proposed U.S. initial public offering

  The parent of NordicTrack filed registration materials for a proposed Nasdaq listing under the symbol IFIT, describing a connected-fitness business with NordicTrack among its equipment brands. The offering was presented as proposed rather than completed.

  Other
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• 2021iFIT seeks a valuation of about $6.6 billion in proposed IPO

  Reuters reported that iFIT planned to offer shares at a proposed price range and sought to raise capital through a U.S. IPO during the pandemic-era surge in home fitness.

  Other
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• 2021NordicTrack airs “Go Somewhere New” Super Bowl campaign

  The campaign used Jade Bird’s version of “I’ve Been Everywhere” and showed iFIT workouts as a way to explore destinations through NordicTrack equipment.

  Campaign
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1. NordicTrack company history and acquisition background
2. NordicTrack historical company profile
3. iFIT proposed IPO registration statement
4. Reuters report on proposed iFIT IPO
5. NordicTrack Super Bowl campaign case study
6. NordicTrack Outside of Ordinary campaign case study
7. NordicTrack social campaign case study
8. NordicTrack appoints Mark Phillips as chief marketing officer