Best Buy gets into health and fitness

MINNEAPOLIS - Best Buy announced that it is introducing health and fitness products at 600 Best Buy stores across the country and online at Bestbuy.com.Available products include personal gear related to running, walking, swimming and yoga as well as other fitness accessories.

Best Buy’s national expansion follows a pilot program launched a year ago, during which the company tested a broad selection of health and fitness gear in 40 stores in select markets.

“We were encouraged by the enthusiastic response we saw from our customers during the initial pilot of these health and fitness products,” said Chris Koller, VP portable electronics solutions group at Best Buy. “We clearly tapped into a desire for Best Buy to provide the latest and greatest technology to enhance health regimens, and to help people discover how they can integrate these devices with other personal technology to monitor and share their progress, and to stay motivated.”

The products will be housed in a30-foot-long in-store health and fitness presentation area enables consumers to sample many of these devices before they buy, the company reported. On display are state-of-the-art heart rate monitoring watches, pedometers, special MP3 players, earbuds, headphones, yoga mats, scales, blood pressure monitors and other products from leading manufacturers such as Gaiam, GoFit, H2O Audio, MIO, Polar, Sportline and Yurbuds.

Consumers interested in health and fitness products will have access to trained Best Buy Blue Shirts to help them better understand how technology can support their personal wellness, the company reported.