Peloton Interactive
Peloton Interactive, Inc. is an American exercise equipment and media company based in New York City. The company's products are stationary bicycles, treadmills, and indoor rowers equipped with Internet-connected touch screens that stream live and on-demand fitness classes through a subscription service. The equipment includes built-in sensors that track metrics such as power output, providing users with real-time feedback on their performance and leaderboard rankings to compete with other users.
This article is about the exercise equipment company. For the vehicle automation company, see Peloton Technology. For other uses, see Peloton (disambiguation).Company type
- Nasdaq: PTON (Class A)
- Russell 1000 component
January 3, 2012
- Graham Stanton
- Hisao Kushi
- John Foley
- Tom Cortese
- Yony Feng
New York City,
135 showrooms and 2 studios
- Barry McCarthy (CEO)
- Karen Boone (Chairperson)
Fitness classes and subscriptions
US$2.80 billion (2023)
−US$1.2 billion (2023)
−US$1.3 billion (2023)
US$2.77 billion (2023)
−US$295 million (2023)
3,584 (2023)[a]
History[edit]
Founding to IPO[edit]
In 2011, John Foley, an executive at Barnes & Noble in New York City, pitched his colleague, Tom Cortese, on the idea that technology could make it possible for people with little time to get the full experience of working out in a high-end studio cycling class in their homes.[4] Peloton Interactive was founded in January 2012.[5] "Peloton" is a cycling term, meaning a large group of riders bunched together.[6]
The company raised $400,000 in seed money in February 2012 and another $3.5 million in December 2012.[7] Peloton sold its first bike on Kickstarter in 2013 with an early bird price tag of $1,500.[8] Their first Internet-connected stationary bicycle with a tablet was released in 2014.[9][10] The company also opened showrooms in shopping centers around the US, for people to test out the machines, and "sales quickly soared" for the classes, encouraged by the online community of riders.[10]
Peloton’s original treadmill, Tread+, was unveiled in January 2018 by the company at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.[11] In May 2018, Peloton announced plans to expand into Canada and the United Kingdom that fall.[12] It also announced construction of a flagship studio at Manhattan West in New York City.[13]
In March 2019, Peloton was sued by the National Music Publishers Association for using copyrighted music in their videos without proper synchronization licenses, seeking $150 million in damages.[14] The action resulted in changes to music used in its sessions, as well as removal of certain programs that used the songs named in the suit.[15] In September 2019, the suit was amended and increased to $300 million.[16] Peloton settled the lawsuit in February 2020; financial terms were not disclosed.[17]
On September 26, 2019, Peloton became a public company via an initial public offering, raising $1.16 billion and valuing the company at $8.1 billion.[18][19] After reaching a market valuation of $50 billion in January 2021, the company's valuation was back to around $8 billion by April 2022.[20]
The Gift That Gives Back ad[edit]
In November 2019, the company released a new holiday commercial, "The Gift That Gives Back", where a wife, played by Monica Ruiz, receives a Peloton bike for Christmas from her husband, and, after using it, observes that she "didn't realize how much this would change me". The commercial received criticism from viewers who claimed that its plot implied that the woman's husband was dissatisfied with her physical appearance.[21]
Peloton defended the ad, arguing that it was intended to celebrate a "fitness and wellness journey" that was inspired by how its users were often "meaningfully and positively impacted after purchasing or being gifted a Peloton Bike or Tread, often in ways that surprise them".[22][21] Ruiz, the actress that played the wife, was hired for an ad titled "The Gift That Doesn't Give Back" for Aviation American Gin, released in December 2019, which lightly mocked the Peloton ad.[23][24]
COVID-19 pandemic through 2021[edit]
Sales increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic as home gyms became more popular during the COVID-19 lockdowns.[25] However, the rapid increase in demand caused shipping delays, with customers receiving their products months late, leading some to cancel orders.[26] In December 2020, the company made a $100 million investment in shipping solutions in an attempt to accelerate manufacturing and decrease shipping times.[27]
Class formats and features[edit]
Classes and instructors[edit]
While Peloton's flagship offerings are cycling and running classes using their exercise machines, they also offer classes in strength training, yoga, cardio aerobic exercise, meditation, stretching, Pilates, tread bootcamp, bike bootcamp, and walking.[93][94][95][96] Classes are recorded daily and streamed live from instructors' homes or Peloton's cycling studios in Hudson Yards, Manhattan and London and are then uploaded to the Peloton library for on-demand access 24/7.[97][98] Peloton produces up to 19 new classes a day.[99]
Peloton also has special themed class formats like its Artist Series, which features playlists from featured musicians, including Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, and Bon Jovi.[100] Series of classes also include charitable and celebrity collaborations, including the Our Future Selves series, featuring Ashton Kutcher, Peloton coach Becs Gentry, and Kutcher's non-profit organization, Thorn.[101]
Some of the company's fitness instructors, including Robin Arzon, Emma Lovewell, and Jess King, have become celebrities and social media influencers.[102][103] Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby participated on Dancing with the Stars season 30.[104] Ally Love became the host of Netflix's Dance 100 and became a host of the The Today Show in 2023.[105][106]
Interactive and gamification features[edit]
Users can compete with one another on the live leaderboard that ranks class participants based on the Output (total wattage of energy expended).[107] Peloton also tracks the Strive Score (based on the percentage of the maximum heart rate) using a Bluetooth heart rate monitor connected to the bike, treadmill, or phone.[108][109] Unlike the Output metric, the Strive Score is non-competitive.[109]
Users can tap someone's username on the leaderboard to give them a high five (a virtual show of encouragement).[110]
The company first began testing a gaming-inspired workout class called Peloton Lanebreak in July 2021 and released it on Bike and Bike+ on February 17, 2022.[111] The game is an obstacle course where players control a wheel-like avatar by pedaling along a six-lane track while using the resistance knob to change lanes and avoid obstacles.[112] Players choose from a variety of levels with different genres of music and types of workouts at varying lengths and varying degrees of resistance. It is available as part of the All-Access membership on the Bike and Bike+.[113]