How does Oiselle and ElliptiGO stay in business???????

Almost every female runner I know loves Oiselle. I usually have to buy on sale from them, and I don't buy a ton, but as my older gear in the big name brands wears out, I am replacing with Oiselle as the cuts are a lot more flattering. Most people I know just order online. Their product is similar to lululemon, but without the stuck up exclusive reputation that lululemon has. I realize that people on here think Oiselle is exclusive, but compared to lululemon they are extremely open and supportive to women of all skill levels and body types.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

the quality IMO is not any better than some cheaper brands,

This is the same thing I thought the first time I was in a Lululemon store. My wife wanted to look at their stuff, so I went over to the mens section. Maybe the mens stuff is different than the womens, but the quality of the running stuff just wasn't there for the price point. Both the shirts and shorts were heavy and felt kind of..I don't know..stiff? I have a few pairs of North Face "Better than Naked" shorts and can tell you that they are much better than these Lululemon ones were. My only thought was "there is no way real runners are wearing this stuff...it's meant for casual/weekend warriors"

CA Coach wrote:

And our team owns 3 Elliptigos.

It's true Eliiptigo is working hard to get their products into high schools and colleges, which is a very sound business strategy

However, I don't see these getting past the 'fad' phase into a lasting, legitimate product. They'll fizzle out over the next 15-20 years as current models begin to break down, there's no where to get them worked on, and people (or teams) don't want to replace them

---

Oiselle, on the other hand, should only continue to grow. There's much upside in fashionable women's running/workout apparel - and a giant hole created by the 'shoe' companies that can't (for the most part) get women's apparel right.

Also as lulu-lemon's crash continues, this should open up a greater market share for Oiselle, should they want it

Honestly, they should have picked a more marketable name

Who the f_ck knows how to pronounce that sh_t the first time they see it? Plus, it's not incredibly memorable.

ElliptiGO is for a very niche market and will struggle.

Oiselle on the other hand is definitely on the way up. They are in Fleet Feet stores - among others - and Fleet Feet's reach alone is quite expansive. It's something like 150+ stores across the US.

[quote]Online Sales wrote:

It's the 21st century. You don't need storefronts.[/quote

Yes and no. You won't get the product to sell online, usually unless you have a storefront.

A Ham wrote:

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

the quality IMO is not any better than some cheaper brands,

This is the same thing I thought the first time I was in a Lululemon store. My wife wanted to look at their stuff, so I went over to the mens section. Maybe the mens stuff is different than the womens, but the quality of the running stuff just wasn't there for the price point. Both the shirts and shorts were heavy and felt kind of..I don't know..stiff? I have a few pairs of North Face "Better than Naked" shorts and can tell you that they are much better than these Lululemon ones were. My only thought was "there is no way real runners are wearing this stuff...it's meant for casual/weekend warriors"

From my experience, it depends on the product. I love the Oiselle shorts and the lux line. The shorts definitely seem a higher quality than the Nike tempo shorts that I grew up on. They have a better fit, better pockets, and wick moisture better. The lux line is somehow incredibly soft and warm and also wicks really well...much warmer than a Nike drifit top. I'm not a huge fan of the Oiselle bras though because they don't breathe well and the basic Nike bra is cheaper and seems to last forever.

They are a private company so they can say whatever they want.I don't think they are doing well. At running events there may be a few fickle women runners wearing their stuff because it's the latest, but any company that deliberately excludes non-white and overweight women is bound to fail.

It's The Truth wrote:

According to a Business Insider profile last year, Oiselle's current revenue reached 10 million a year in 2014, and they have plans to open stores in San Francisco, Chicago and New York over this year and next year.

Does ElliptiGo sponsor anyone besides Meb? A few grand a year and a free trainer to Meb to have him constantly use and endorse your product on his social media is certainly worth it, i would think.

SonOfRitz wrote:

If I was at the point of needing an ElliptiGo type device, I would rather use an elliptical inside or just ride a road bike. I don't see forking over the cash to

1) look ridiculous and get harassed 10x as much as when I'm running

2) use it once a year

My 2 cents

Quite obviously, you haven't ridden an ElliptiGO. You don't get harassed at all. In fact, you get an amazing amount of positive feedback. I, too, expected to get ridiculed. But, you see, most of the people you'll ride past are actually into fitness gadgetry, and they see this as a fun, new option (honestly, you're treated with far more respect that you probably get as a runner). You also just might find, if you did ride an ElliptiGO, that it's a helluva lot of fun. I used it for cross training when I was injured, and I was bummed when I had to set it mostly aside to return to a run-heavy schedule once healed--although my son (age 22 now) started riding it then, and was instantly a convert. Something else, it's far more applicable to running that a road bike because it more closely adheres to the Specificity of Exercise rule (the exercise you do in practice must be the same as what you do during competitions). The stride generated on an ElliptiGO is actually very similar to a runner's stride when going slightly uphill. And it's advantage over an elliptical machine is that you're actually outside, covering some territory (and can do things like hill climbs and hill reps). It's advantage over the Bionic Runner is pretty significant, starting with the fact that the Bionic Runner has such a short stride length--I haven't seen one of the new model ElliptiGOs, so I don't know what their stride length is. For full disclosure, ElliptiGO provided me with a used bike for training when I was injured a couple years back, so I have a biased opinion of the company itself. But I do not have a biased opinion of the results.

I must say, that I purchased and Elliptigo, 8 speed model, and have been very happy with the results.

I asked the dealer if there was any special pricing available, and he immediately gave me 15% off the retail price.

By my calculation, this put it in the same price range as a quality treadmill or elliptical trainer for home use.

I view the Elliptigo as an extension of my training program. In the past, my mileage limit is about 70 per week, above that I risk injury. With Elliptigo, I am able to continue to train hard 70 mpw, but add a second workout daily, without injury. It is not difficult to ride an additional 80-100mpw on the Ebike.

I have not found anything that replicates running the way that Elliptigo does.

Over the past year, with this approach, my times have improved, my VO2 max has improved, and I have remained injury free.

Yes, it is an investment, but I would rather cross train outside than inside.

SonOfRitz wrote:

If I was at the point of needing an ElliptiGo type device, I would rather use an elliptical inside or just ride a road bike. I don't see forking over the cash to

1) look ridiculous and get harassed 10x as much as when I'm running

2) use it once a year

My 2 cents

Yep, I think the ElliptiGo is a cool concept, but I just couldn't see myself using one of these in populated areas. They look ridiculous. Indoor elliptical is the way to go.

Hopefully they will improve the sports bras. Some of them are cute/fashionable/different compared to other brands, but don't offer much support. The elastic band on mine got twisted up after 1 wash. Oiselle seems to listen to customer feedback though. For example, making shorter and longer versions of the Roga short.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

Hopefully they will improve the sports bras. Some of them are cute/fashionable/different compared to other brands, but don't offer much support. The elastic band on mine got twisted up after 1 wash. Oiselle seems to listen to customer feedback though. For example, making shorter and longer versions of the Roga short.

But tRg you forgot one things..most women runners don't need support ;)

How are the wedding plans going?

I mean, can't imagine either has terribly high OOH so can only assume the only major costs impacting them operationally are DC (you see lots of athletes with these but in a sense you should over leverage your DC dollars in the early years of your company) and COGS, which is a factor. Can't speak to the specifics of either but in general you can run a business for a long time breaking even until you really take off.

I own two wool tops from Oiselle, and they are my favorite pieces of clothing in my entire wardrobe. Soft, breathable, warm, flattering and in the colors I chose, subtle enough to wear with jeans as casual street wear. (Not on board with tights as pants, though...)

Elliptigo s are really for injured runners so the best shot they have to survive is to get into as many high schools and colleges as they can. When you are injured it changes your perception of a product. This happened to me with my running shoes, I now wear a smaller brand. They are not the most stylish running shoes but they work and keep my foot from hurting.(I have made fun of my own shoes many times) I would have gladly jumped on an Elliptigo in high school or college during my injured time to keep from losing a lot of my fitness. I hated going to the pool or being confined indoors. However I would never be caught riding one for fun, they look goofy and riding a bike is a lot of fun. It makes more sense for a program to have multiple ways to help a runner cross train. Adding an Elliptigo is just one more piece of equipment that can help.

CA Coach wrote:

And our team owns 3 Elliptigos.

Your HS team owns three $2,500-$3,500 machines?? Wow. Good for you.

A Ham wrote:

But tRg you forgot one things..most women runners don't need support ;)

That's a cop out and I mostly meant that a bra with no support is not worth $50+.

A Ham wrote:

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

the quality IMO is not any better than some cheaper brands,

This is the same thing I thought the first time I was in a Lululemon store. My wife wanted to look at their stuff, so I went over to the mens section. Maybe the mens stuff is different than the womens, but the quality of the running stuff just wasn't there for the price point. Both the shirts and shorts were heavy and felt kind of..I don't know..stiff? I have a few pairs of North Face "Better than Naked" shorts and can tell you that they are much better than these Lululemon ones were. My only thought was "there is no way real runners are wearing this stuff...it's meant for casual/weekend warriors"

Interesting, but I have had the same experience. The reason is that the brand typically caters to the males who typically accompany their fit GFs/Wives into the store.

I am not trolling, but most of the guys who take their wives into LuLuLemon are going to be the more all-around athletic types who are more likely to play basketball with their buddies and then meet the wife for yoga. The are not a running company by any means. Even their most basic running shorts are meant for guys who go for a 3 mile jog and then grab coffee with friends in the same clothing.

I get their "look books" because my wife has bought a lot of their stuff over the years. I also get catalogs for this brand Qor, which I find similar for men:

I have never bought anything from them, but looking through it is easy to tell that it is for big guys who like to drop cash on active wear.

The odd thing is that I got a LuLuLemon running shirt one time like 10 years ago and LOVED it. I totally wore it out. I tried to go buy a few in the subsequent years and have never been able to figure out what it was. It was a simple long-sleeved tee that fit perfectly, but everything else I have tried from there has been way too big and stretchy.

CA Coach wrote:

Lots of girls on my high school team wear Oiselle.

And our team owns 3 Elliptigos.

They are way to dangerous to send a HS or College kid out to hit the road using an ElliptiGO.

I don't believe you, what school are you from?