Northern Lights Gettin' Busy

CORNWALL, CANADA- Strength manufacturer Northern Lights, which announced its entry into the U.S. market this past spring, has signed an exclusive deal with mega-chain BusyBody Fitness Warehouse.
Under the terms of the deal, BusyBody will carry the company's free weight strength line as well as some home gyms, according to Jhan Dolphin, director of U.S. operations and new product development, Northern Lights.
"It is a great way to first venture into a market," said Dolphin of the deal which will place the product in the close to 60 BusyBody stores-a number that continues to grow.
"They will be rolling out the line in BusyBody's Philadelphia stores as they deplete current product," continued Dolphin, "and will be in full swing by late September."
The move comes as a surprise to some insiders as it was reported that several more established names in the U.S. were in contention for floor space at the nation's leading chain.
"We don't take switching lines lightly," said Bob Armour, director of merchandising for BusyBody. "[Northern Lights' relative anonymity in the States] was an issue that we wrestled with," added Armour, "but after meeting with [Northern Lights' president] Edwin Cameron and seeing the production facility, we feel comfortable that it will be a good fit."
Strengthening the good fit provided by a Canadian-based production facility, which is capable of two-to-three times more capacity than its current output, is Cameron's and Dolphin's experience in retail; Dolphin at Omni Fitness and Cameron as president and CFO of Fitness Depot.
"There is no perfect replacement for Parabody," said Armour. "Each manufacturer had their shortcomings, but Northern Lights has as good of an understanding of the needs of a specialty fitness dealer as anyone. And that means something."