Reebok hopes to launch fad

Two decades after revolutionizing women's fitness with step aerobics, the Canton company has unveiled "Jukari Fit to Fly," a new exercise program that the company is bringing to gyms worldwide. Through a partnership with entertainment company Cirque du Soleil, Reebok is attempting to create more fun in the gym and reclaim its reputation as the women's fitness expert with an hour-long workout that includes a mix of cardio, strength training, balancing, and core training on a contraption known as the FlySet.

The equipment hangs from the ceiling and consists of a three-stranded rope with a 360-degree swivel point attached to a steel bar that strengthens and lengthens the body and creates the sensation of flying during the workout. Jukari comes from the Italian word "to play."

Reebok chief executive Uli Becker, in one of his first interviews with the US media, said the brand had lost its focus on women, a key segment that helped fuel Reebok to the top of the fitness craze during the 1980s. New research by the company uncovered an opportunity to create more excitement and enjoyment for women's gym workouts.

"We can't do everything," Becker said. "It's as much about fixing the business overall as figuring out what is the destiny. One of our clear priorities going forward is to go back into that business, revolutionize it, revitalize it, and make Reebok the dominant player."

In recent years, Reebok has lost a lot of ground to Nike in the women's market, mostly because of a lack of good product, according to John Horan, publisher of industry newsletter Sporting Goods Intelligence. SportScan reported last month that Reebok's US market share by dollars declined to 1.9 percent in 2009 compared with 3.6 percent last year. Nike Inc., by comparison, increased its market share to 45.7 percent in 2009 compared with 43.3 percent last year.

"I think Reebok wants to develop lots of content for women as a way to reconnect with them. The key to this will be having some compelling product to go with the content," Horan said. "They did create the Step program about a decade ago, so it's certainly possible to do this."

Since Adidas acquired Reebok in 2006, the German sporting goods giant has struggled to turn around the Reebok brand, which analysts say lost focus in recent years with entertainment and lifestyle initiatives, hiring musicians as endorsers and throwing hip-hop parties in a failed effort to attract new customers. Becker admitted it has taken longer than expected to improve Reebok's sliding sales and the economy has not helped either. Earlier this year, Reebok said it planned to lay off 310 employees in North America, including 113 workers in Massachusetts, because of tough economic conditions.

Analysts say attempting to invent a new fitness fad is the boldest move yet to have consumers look at the brand in a new way. Over the past few weeks, Reebok has launched the Jukari Fit to Fly classes at gyms in about a dozen big markets around the world, including Munich, Montreal, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London, and Mexico City. Gyms typically have to invest in the equipment and Reebok provides instructors with training on how to use the FlySets. The company currently offers Jukari to employees twice a week at its Canton headquarters during lunch hours and will have consumer classes available there this summer.

Along with the gym programs, Reebok has also unveiled a new high-end Cirque du Soleil apparel and footwear collection, including a $135 woven jacket with a signature chevron angel smocking on the cuff and waistband, and a $50 kimono.

"It's not just about the products themselves, but also how we can create within the world of the gym a unique and different effort that can become a big wave," Becker said. "In order to turn a brand around, you need to create newness and have an innovative concept. Jukari is one of them. We need to make sure consumers look at Reebok again in a way they might not have done in the last 10 years."

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.