Jennifer is a journalist and editor based in France and serves as the copy chief for the 9to5 family of sites, including 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, and Electrek. She has worked as an editor and reporter for Wired, Fast Company, and Agence France-Presse. Message Jennifer on Twitter (@JMossalgue) or at jennifer@9to5mac.com.
At its annual shareholder meeting yesterday, Peloton announced news about reopening the Peloton studios in New York City and London, which have been closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, as well as offering updates on its recalled Tread+.
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As of today, Peloton is launching new boxing and shadowboxing classes to its platform – a welcome addition the company has been teasing for months.
Update: Details are live.
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This week the ongoing dispute between Lululemon and Peloton has further escalated with Lululemon’s lawsuit against the fitness company for patent infringement over new designs of its leggings and sports bras. Lululemon accuses Peloton of blatantly ripping off its original designs and claiming them as its own.
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The popular wearable Whoop has just announced a new in-app feature for its wristbands – Menstrual Cycle Coaching, which offers suggestions on how you might alter your training, sleep, and recovery throughout different phases of your menstrual cycle.
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It’s long been rumored that Peloton has been working on a strength-training product, with the company even teasing its upcoming launch during its disastrous earnings call last week. Now the sub-$500 Peloton Guide is here, making it one of the most (somewhat) affordable of the company’s offerings.
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Peloton and Spotify have ramped up their partnership this week by announcing a dedicated shelf on the Spotify Workout Hub that features seven rotating playlists from Peloton’s world-class instructors and fitness disciplines.
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Black employees at Peloton are raising questions over unfair pay discrepancies at the company, according to an in-depth new report from Business Insider. After years of hushed secrecy about salaries, Black employees are opening up on a private Slack channel and in regular Zoom meetings, revealing that some Black employees are being undercut by as much as $15,OOO annually compared to their white counterparts.
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Lululemon has announced some enticing add-ons to its cutting-edge home fitness system, Mirror, in the form of connected dumbbells and ankle weights. Plus Lululemon is slashing prices on its sophisticated Mirror packages ahead of the holiday season, with a nudge to “shop early” due to supply constraints.
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No strangers to the at-home workout game, The Beachbody Company is today launching its much-hyped live interactive premium subscription tier BODi (Beachbody on Demand Interactive).
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Yesterday iFIT Health and Fitness, owners of Nordic Track, Proform, and Freemotion, announced a delay in their US initial public offering (IPO), citing “unfavorable market conditions that have investors worried about growing volatility in capital markets,” reports Reuters.
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Peloton announced the second season of their Dance Cardio classes, featuring tracks by the eight-time Grammy winner and global superstar Usher (and Peloton member). As a special treat, Usher even makes a cameo appearance in a routine led by fan favorites Emma Lovewell and Ally Love. Peloton’s 6 million members can catch the classes now via the on-demand Peloton app.
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On the heels of Peloton’s own foray into gamification with Lanebreak, a new California-based company has launched what it says will be a fully immersive video-game-style experience. Its connected bike, Capti Smart Bike, is now on pre-order in the US and set to launch this December.
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Amazon encroaches even further on Fitbit’s territory with a new, revised wearable following its screenless wristband tracker release last year. The new version, the Halo View, features a color AMOLED display, haptic feedback, tracking of sleep, activity, blood oxygen levels, among other features, and is bundled with new programs Halo Fitness and Halo Nutrition as additions to the existing Halo subscription program. What’s more, it’s priced at $79.99, even cheaper than the original Halo band.
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It’s no secret that the gym industry has been dealt a serious blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, while companies like Peloton have reaped the rewards, but one Canadian-based startup has pivoted in a way that might hint at the future of post-pandemic fitness: on-demand micro-gyms. Could this be the next big thing?
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Peloton has announced that UK consumers who have ordered a Bike or Tread are unfortunately in for a long wait. Due to disruptions from Brexit and global shipping problems, the company is struggling to keep up with the huge uptick in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic. It sounds like European consumers, at least in Germany, will be left waiting as well – for how long, it’s not clear.
According to the BBC, CEO and founder John Foley apologized, saying, “We are (and always have been) a company that is deeply committed to your happiness and we’ve fallen short of that in this regard.” He continued:
“In Europe, despite our best efforts to prepare for the impact of Brexit on January 1st, we experienced additional disruption to inventory bound for the UK and Germany.”
He said the company was shipping some of its products by air instead of by sea to get them to customers, but added that because of its environmental concerns “we will not always fly bikes in airplanes over the ocean.”
In a call with investors yesterday, Foley announced that due to the strong UK demand and delivery and manufacturing challenges, the company is delaying the US-wide rollout of the Peloton Tread until May 27.
Boasting 4.4 million users, Peloton also said it has surpassed $1 billion revenue for the first time in the second fiscal quarter of 2021.
