03/22/2017 10h34

POLAR starts operations in Brazil

Headquartered in Finland, Polar, a pioneer of wearable sports and fitness technology and leader in heart rate monitoring for over 40 years, starts its own operations in Brazil.

Investe São Paulo

POLAR celebrates its forty years of activity worldwide and announces the beginning of its activities in Brazil.Coupled with its precursor technology, market expertise and a new platform of products and services, the company decided to explore the growth opportunities of the fitness, running and sports activities generation in the country.“Brazil is the second largest market in number of gyms in the world and has the potential to be among the top 5 countries for POLAR by 2020,” said Eva Hilf - Global Commercial Director of Polar Electro.  

In view of this scenario, POLAR now has its own operation with direct import, resale of its products, solutions and services in Brazil through its online store, www.polar.com./br, specialty stores, partnerships with sports-related consulting services and selected sports clinics.Among the new solutions are the systems for gyms and collective sports teams and specialized customer service structure at the company’s headquarters, in São Paulo.

The construction project of the company’s distribution center has been relying on the support provided by Investe São Paulo, the investment and export promotion agency associated with the Department of Economic Development, Science, Technology and Innovation of the state of São Paulo.“We assisted the brand by providing several strategic information, showing the advantages of entering the market through the largest consumer market in Latin America.I even believe that after a few years of positive results, we will be able to show the Finnish executives the advantages of nationalizing part of the production,” said Ermínio Lucci, Agency’s director.

The entire global portfolio of products will be launched simultaneously in Brazil, in April this year, featuring heart rate and activity monitors, GPS, various performance metrics and more advanced items such as fitness tests.  The solutions are intended to both beginners in physical activities and professional athletes and are integrated into Polar’s ecosystem via the Polar Flow platform.Available in web version and iOS and Android app, the Polar FLOW integrates all the athlete’s activities, allowing athletes to share their training, activities and results among friends, coach or personal trainer, directly or via social networks, on a premium experience, including photos and videos.

As the CEO of POLAR in Brazil, the company appointed Igor Meskelis, an experienced executed in the industry of sporting goods, who spent the last seven years working at Adidas group, as Head of e-Commerce in Latin America, as his last position, having previously worked at McKinsey and Accenture.

“To gain 25-35% market share over the next two years, POLAR focuses on innovation, product quality and solutions, customer service and own technical support coupled with a careful selection of partners seeking to ensure the success of the brand in Brazil,” said Igor Meskelis.

To access Polar’s website in Brazil, please visit:https://www.polar.com/br

 

About Polar

Polar is a pioneer in heart rate monitoring, activity trackers and training computers.With nearly 40 years of experience and a heritage in innovative physiological and sports medical research, the company caters to all levels of fitness by offering a comprehensive product range including GPS watches, cycling computers, activity trackers, training apps and online services.Our award-winning training computers are the number one choice among consumers worldwide, being sold through over 35,000 retailers globally.Headquartered in Oulu, Finland, Polar is a privately-held company that operates in more than 80 countries.For more information, please visit polar.com/br.