In recent years, the changes in people's lifestyles around the world have also caused many products and companies to fluctuate, such as Peleton, a fitness technology company whose main business is home fitness. Recently, it has been reported that Amazon, Nike and Apple are interested in acquiring the company, which has experienced "ups and downs" in a few years.
Image credit: REUTERS
Similar to many companies that operate sports equipment, Peleton's main equipment products are treadmills, indoor bicycles, and some fitness apparel accessories. But Peloton is not limited to the traditional fitness business thinking, it has become a standout through the combination of technology and community, the use of subscription-based interactive online live teaching, has become a standout.
Image credit: CNN
After going public on the NASDAQ in 2019, restrictions on working and traveling from home during the pandemic have made many people scramble to order Peloton's products for home fitness activities, and the products were even in short supply at one point, and Peloton's stock price soared by about 440% in 2020.
Seeing Peloton "eating crabs", Amazon and Echelon, a fitness bike manufacturing company, launched a fitness bike called Prime Bike, and Apple also released a new fitness service product called Apple Fitness+. Under pressure from competitors, Peloton's stock price fell, but the advantage remained.
Prime Bike, image courtesy of INSIDER
To everyone's surprise, after that Peloton, it can be said that the "roof leaks during the overnight rain".
In 2021, Peloton launched a new treadmill "Tread+", but after a number of casualties, Peloton urgently recalled more than 100,000 treadmills.
By December 2021, HBO began airing the sequel to Sex and the City, "And Just Like That," and the beloved character "Mr. Big", who was loved by many viewers, was "offline at the speed of light" in the first episode for using Peloton's exercise bike.
《And Just Like That》，图片来自：The Times
The episode made many viewers think of the time of the previous recall, which raised questions about the quality of Peloton's products, causing the stock price to plummet by more than 10%. Peloton said that he knew in advance that the show was going to use their products, but because the crew could not disclose the detailed plot at will, the brand did not know the specific plot direction.
In order to salvage the negative image created by the public, Peloton quickly filmed and released a commercial film starring Chris Noth, an actor who plays "Mr.Big". The clever PR approach did eliminate some of the negative effects, but then Chris Noth broke out a sexual assault scandal, so Peloton had to take down the ads.
A Peloton ad by Chris Noth, image courtesy of RadarOnline
Looking at the falling stock price, peloton shareholders began to advocate the sale of the company's business. Peloton's stock price soared nearly 21 percent as acquisitions from giants such as Amazon, Nike, and Apple surged nearly 21 percent, though Cowen & Co. Analyst John Blackledge doesn't think the odds of a successful acquisition are high.
On the one hand, while Peloton seems to be going "downhill," the global fitness industry is growing, so CEO John Foley and other Peloton insiders, who collectively have about 80 percent of voting control of the company, may not give up the possibility of future development.
Image courtesy of NewsNation Now
On the other hand, Washington, D.C.'s regulatory review of large technology companies has hindered chipmaker Nvidia's acquisition of Arm, Amazon's acquisition of MGM Studios and other transactions, and if Peloton is acquired, it will certainly not be an exception.
Peloton, which has been ups and downs for several years, now seems to be standing at a fork in the road, where to go in the future, and perhaps there will be a "reversal" in the future.
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