KYMIRA Sport is a London-based company founded in 2013 that produces a range of performance and recovery enhancing sportswear targeted at professional and amateur athletes and fitness enthusiasts. It features clothes made with quick-dry fabrics designed to help athletes with issues like blood circulation and pain relief (Meyer 2018). The clothes are produced using a unique technology that harnesses the wearer’s waste energy in their surroundings and converts it to infrared (KYMIRA Sport n.d.). The company also offers an app that connects to clothing and gives users diagnostic health information. KYMIRA products are reported to be a result of five years of academic research and development, and the company was included in the Inc’s list of 50 World-Changing Startups to Watch in 2019.
The company’s current product lines include a selection of tops and leggings for running, cycling, and training for both men and women, winter thermal wear, socks, gloves, and sleeves for both winter and summer sports. During the COVID-19 pandemic, branded masks have been designed using a special technology that protects the wearer from viruses and bacteria. Each of the company’s products is manufactured using unique technologies that boost both performance and recovery. The prices range from £60 to £90, and the products are delivered all over the world.
For the company’s future development, two line extensions and two category extensions are suggested. The first proposed line extension is a range of products aimed to help people with weight loss issues. Special materials need to be developed by the company’s research and development department that would help to increase sweating and blood circulation during training to boost the weight loss process. The line is supposed to be a success because it would expand the company’s target audience to include people whose training goals are connected with improving their body image rather than increasing performance.
The second suggested line extension is swimwear, which is currently not featured among the company’s products. Swimming has always been the sport most welcoming to technological advancements, and over the years, different ways to improve the timing, training, and competition has been suggested. KYMIRA Sport can effectively use its extensive research facilities to contribute to its improvement by, for example, developing new swimwear fabrics based on its unique infrared technology. Professional swimmers are dedicated to the results and performance and can easily be addressed and attracted by a company offering technologically advanced sportswear and equipment.
The proposed category extensions are bras for women that would monitor the athlete’s heart rate, and headbands for runners. The bras should be made with the company’s branded fabric with high support and sweat absorption qualities and be equipped with health monitoring features. The headbands, targeted at runners and cyclists, should primarily aim to protect the wearer from sweat and overheating and provide sweat absorption. These products are not yet featured in the company’s product range and would be a logical development of its women wear and socks and gloves collections.
References
KYMIRA Sport. n.d. “An Overview.” 2020. Web.
Meyer, Anna. 2018. “50 World-Changing Startups to Watch in 2019.” Inc. Web.