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There is no dearth of affordable dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, squat racks available in the Indian market.
Amazon, Decathlon, USI, Bullrock, Leeway, Sanguine, Jerai, SF health tech, PE fitness are just a few names you’d probably run into. There are plenty of regional brands that cater within a city or state too. Most, but not all, of them source their stuff from China or Taiwan. They make benches, squat racks etc domestically.
But every time I walk into a more ‘premium’ facility, the equipment is usually Body Solid, Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, Eleiko, Watsons etc. Else it’s lesser known brands made in a factory in China or Taiwan.
But there is a clear demarcation. Every single time a gym needs to position itself as a premium training facility or health club, they need to stick an international brand in there.
Smaller gyms, niche strength facilities stick with local brands. Mostly it’s affordable and just as good.
Anecdotally, when a local brand does try doing something with better build quality or premium finishes, it costs more to make it than an imported product would. So there is no price advantage to buying local.
And at the same price, between a well-finished locally fabricated Indian brand and an international brand, most Indians choose the latter.
For strength training machines I understand that it would be hard to top a quadricep extension, hamstring curl, hack squat etc from Kaiser, Atlantis, Prime Fitness or ATX. Local brands just don’t have the manufacturing chops to build something like that.
Even for equipment we can produce just as well, Indians are unwilling to pay a premium for locally made stainless steel bars, nickel coated equipment with smoother bearings and better finishes.
This reluctance means most companies are stuck producing relatively affordable gear. This vicious cycle means we are unlikely to see a premium fitness brand rise up the food chain and compete globally.
It might come down to niche companies like Tagda Raho making things like Indian clubs or naal stones that can be sold as Indian strength equipment.