On Retailing

Tuesday, October 3, 2000

Fitness industry praises Hest

Exercise equipment retailer still growing after small start

Twenty years ago, Albert and Paula Kessler couldn't put together the financing to start a health club. Now, they're the nation's top independent retailers of fitness equipment, according to an industry magazine.
   Hest Fitness Products, 4730 South Padre Island Drive, has provided exercise equipment in Corpus Christi for the past 20 years, adhering to Albert Kessler's principle of improving people's health and quality of life through the products he sold. He did not want his equipment to sit rusting in garages.
   "I wanted to bring a valid product to Corpus Christi," he said.
   Other fitness retailers agree that he has lived up to that promise. Health and Fitness Business magazine has recognized Hest as the nation's No. 1 Independent Retailer. The recognition is awarded based partially on fellow retailers' and manufacturers' nominations. Of the about 200 ballots, Hest received about a dozen nominations, publisher Andrew Gaffney said.
   Highest praise
   An advisory committee selects the winner after checking backgrounds and verifying information regarding items such as customer service through interviews with other vendors and manufacturers.
   Out of 20 nominees, Hest Fitness Products garnered the highest praise, Gaffney said.
   "They're considered kind of like pioneers," he said.
   It's a distinction for which Kessler said he never planned, especially considering he couldn't find financing for his original venture: a health club.
   Kessler said he wasn't a health nut during his days at King High School, but suddenly found himself interested in keeping fit after graduating in 1973.
   "It just clicks with some people," he said.
   Oil detour
   He worked for two years at American Health Studio, a fitness center that has since closed, and the experience convinced him he'd like to start a health club of his own. After a few years in the oil business, Kessler began seeking financing in 1979. After failing to find any, Kessler decided on an alternative: a fitness store, which opened in 1981 as Health Equipment of South Texas, later shortened to HEST.
   Getting it going was one of the bigger weights on his shoulders.
   "Corpus Christi had a very depressed economy back then," Kessler said. "We almost moved out of Corpus to go do this somewhere else."
   The couple pressed on, and the lean times turned to good ones after they opened a store in San Antonio in 1989.
   Eight stores
   The bigger market helped boost sales. Since then, the couple has opened eight stores in the state: one store each in Austin, McAllen and Corpus Christi; two in San Antonio; and three in the Houston/Clear Lake area. Hest Fitness Products has about 70 employees in Texas, with about 25 in Corpus Christi. On average, Kessler said, the shops can see as many as 50 customers per day.
   Kessler said he has learned a few things during that growth, such as how the market operates on a different adage: no rain, little gain.
   "Whenever it rains, we know we're going to have a good day. I have no idea why that is," he said. "That's why we need more rain in this town."
   Abreast of trends
   Also, he said, yesterday's hot items - free weights - have given way to higher-tech machines such as treadmills and multipurpose home gyms. Monitoring equipment that automatically changes resistance levels according to particular users is also big, Kessler said. He attributes that trend to younger clientele - which itself is another trend.
   "We're seeing a wider span," he said. "Now we're starting to see people in their mid-20s wake up and realize the benefits of exercising."
   Keeping up with the trends has meant staying ahead, and more store expansions are expected. Kessler said no new stores are planned for Corpus Christi, but a new store should open in Houston soon.
   Also, a store could open in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by 2002.
   "We had no idea we'd get this big," he said.
  

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On Retailing is published every other Tuesday in the Caller-Times business section. The column includes news of new, relocated and expanded businesses in the Coastal Bend, plus retailing trends and profiles. Ideas may be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, TX 78469; e-mail Michael Hines at hinesm@caller.com; fax items to (361) 886-3732; or call (361) 886-4316.

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