Fitness chain turns to Wii

A retail campaign entitled ‘We know fit….we know fun’ will be launched today in selected outlets, with a full roll-out planned for the spring. Staff have been trained in the art of Wii Fit games.

But getting Nintendo on board has been a long slog for the Colorado-based company, which says it’s been talking to Nintendo for six months. Sports Authority president David Campisi told The Wall Street Journal, "It’s taken us a long time to get to the finish line, but what we came up with was the idea to not just launch a product, because it’s not a new product, but to view the Wii Fit Plus as an opportunity to shake up the treadmill and sporting-goods business."

He added, "We’re thinking, ‘Mothers don’t like videogames machines. Well, what if we set them up next to the fitness department?”