Peloton Hopes For A Renaissance By Positioning Itself As A Workplace Perk

Peloton Interactive Inc. is targeting business clients to bring its offerings into more commercial buildings as it attempts to prop up flagging finances.

Peloton, founded in 2012, is a seller of upscale home-gym equipment that saw sales surge in the early months of the pandemic as gyms temporarily closed and exercising from home gained popularity. But sales slumped after lockdowns ended, leading to five straight quarters of declines that erased more than 90% of its stock value, Bloomberg reported.

Now the company is using Peloton for Business to move its bike and interactive app into hotels, corporate wellness centers, apartment buildings, educational institutions, healthcare facilities and neighborhood gyms, according to Bloomberg. Peloton for Business is described as a “unified portfolio of B2B wellbeing solutions for enterprise clients.” 

Peloton last year minimized its physical footprint, closing all warehouses and a significant number of stores. It also laid off thousands of employees. 

Peloton began focusing more on its app under the leadership of CEO Barry McCarthy, Bloomberg reported. The app can cost consumers about $24 a month, but allows them to access Peloton workouts without owning Peloton equipment. 

The business initiative will allow employers to offer the app as a worker benefit, according to Bloomberg. 

The company is also attempting to sell more bikes to hotels, residential buildings and office gyms, the article states. Peloton in October made a deal with Hilton Worldwide Holdings to put 5,800 bikes throughout Hilton's hotels.

"Our goal is to be a solution-oriented partner that provides customizable options for each client's unique needs, regardless of a company's size,” said Greg Hybl, who was just appointed as senior vice president and general manager of Peloton for Business, according to a news release. “We can now widen our client base to include small and mid-sized organizations in addition to the larger enterprise businesses we currently serve."

In the past year, more than 7.5 million rides have been taken on Peloton bikes in commercial settings, according to the company.