Explainer-in-brief: Peloton to ride high again
They were the darling of the pandemic, and then they flopped. The American exercise bike company Peloton was a 15-minute story of fame for the ages.
Its fortunes soared as the likes of Rishi Sunak and Miley Cyrus bragged about their secret spinning habit, but after gyms reopened, they floundered.
Even more so after they were forced to recall their treadmills following several customer injuries and the death of a child.
Now, they’re trying an overhaul. The former finance chief of Spotify and Netflix Barry McCarthy has replaced John Foley, the co-founder, as chief executive officer.
The appointment of McCarthy, an experienced streaming boss, is an interesting signal that Peloton might be focussed on the online offering rather than the infrastructure itself.
There has been interest in buying the exercise company from some of the big tech players – including Amazon, Nike and Apple.