Connected-fitness company Ergatta is bringing its rowers to the UK

• Connected-fitness company Ergatta is bringing its rowers to the UK and Ireland.
• Presales for the £2,495 machine begin on Friday, with the first orders shipping at the end of the month.

Connected-fitness company Ergatta is bringing its rowers to the UK and Ireland, Insider can exclusively reveal.

Ergatta said its rower will retail for £2,495 ($2,882), including delivery.

Presales begin on Friday, September 16 online and at select distribution partners, and the first orders will ship at the end of the month. The rowers are exclusively distributed by WaterRower, Ergatta's manufacturing partner, and will be available at its London showroom from October.

Ergatta started selling its rower in the US in March 2020, where it currently sells for $2,499. It sold four times as many rowers in 2021 as it did in 2020, it said.

The company is also working to bring its rower to other European markets, potentially later this year.

Ergatta prides itself on its game-based approach, which the company says distinguishes it from other at-home connected-fitness rivals like Peloton and Hydrow that instead have instructor-led workouts. Peloton is best known for its bikes and treadmills, but has teased pictures of its upcoming rower. It hasn't yet announced a price or release date.

Ergatta CEO and cofounder Tom Aulet told Insider that the company is instead targeting competitive people who would prefer a gamified approach to instructor sessions. As well as pitting you against the machine for its goal-based plans and interval workouts, the rower allows you to compete against other Ergatta users in simulated races, the company says.

And, as well as performance, design is an important part of its rower, with Aulet telling Insider that it "looks like furniture."

Ergatta describes the product as a "handcrafted, premium" rowing machine. The machine can fit into the space of a barstool when not in use, Ergatta said, and can be easily wheeled to a new room.

He said that the compact nature of the rowers would likely be even more attractive to UK buyers, where homes are generally smaller than in the US.

The hardware is made in Rhode Island by WaterRower, which uses sustainably-sourced cherry wood. Aulet previously told Insider that it's the only major connected fitness brand that manufactures in the US, providing Ergatta with a huge competitive advantage when deliveries from China were disrupted during the pandemic.

As well as the hardware, you need to buy Ergatta's software to access its workouts. This is sold through a subscription model where customers pay $29 each month, or £29 for UK customers, available as an annual payment with one month free.

The company releases new software roughly every two weeks, including changes to the user interface and new games. Since Ergatta first launched in 2020, its added features like 3D racing, live competitions, and a new HIIT game. Ergatta said it regularly conducts one-to-one and group interviews as well as surveys, which it uses to determine its updates.

Ergatta said that its software personalizes each user's experience and automatically adjusts to their skill level, making the workouts more challenging as they improve.

And though Ergatta won't have its own storefronts, there'll be the opportunity for prospective buyers to try out the rowers at some retail stores, Aulet said.

Ergatta previously told Insider that business boomed so much during the pandemic that the company sold out of its luxury rowers multiple times. Aulet told Insider that he expects the stay-at-home fitness trend is here to stay.

Aulet told Insider that the UK was a "huge, exciting" market. He said there was big demand for Ergatta's rowers, with the company fielding inbound calls every week. And compared to Canada, the UK has more propensity for rowing, he said. Aulet said he thought Ergatta's gamification of rowing would translate well to a UK audience, too.

Sales have dived for some other connected-fitness brands like Peloton as the economy reopened, allowing people to return to gyms and group sports. But Ergatta said that despite these changes to the market, it's seen demand continue to grow.

And soaring inflation is having no noticeable effect on Ergatta's sales, Aulet said.

WaterRower CEO Peter King said in a press release that Ergatta's rower "quickly" became one of its best-selling products in the US. "We are confident it will experience a similar growth trajectory throughout Europe," he added.