Peloton teases new rower at Homecoming event

Screenshot: Peloton

The fans are the focus of the annual Homecoming event. The fitness tech company teases new products, as well as drops new features and content. It is also a chance for fans to attend live classes taught by their favorite instructors. The big tease this year is that a connected rower is coming.

The reveal of Peloton is more of a tease and official confirmation than anything else. We don't know the specifications or when it will launch, but it will be coming soon. The rower was rumored to be launched in 2020 when it was first reported. No rower was to be seen in 2020.

I spoke with co-founder and chief product officer Tom Cortese about the decision before the announcement.

We're entering the rowing category, which is long-awaited and feels like the worst-kept secret on Earth, so we might as well just talk about it.

Image: Peloton

treadmills and bikes make sense for an at- home gym. Runners and cyclists are popular in the fitness tech world. rowing has been more of a niche. Most people don't grow up rowing because of the space it takes up in your home. Learning to ride a bike is a fond childhood memory, and you instinctively know how to run. You wouldn't know the form of rowing that accompanies it unless someone taught you. Rowers have been available at the gym for decades, but the sport it is based on is exclusionary.

Thanks to boutique and connected fitness classes, indoor rowing has become more popular in the last few years. There are plenty of other Hydrow-esque services out there right now. rowing was included in Apple's Fitness Plus. Another trendy boutique fitness studio is OrangeTheory.

86 percent of the muscles in your body can be engaged in a relatively short period on the rower.

The idea is that the tech, instructors, and hardware design of Peloton can be used to de-mystify rowing. It is part of an initiative to expand its strength training options. The strength training content is going to increase. The company announced a new four-week program hosted by Tunde Oyeneyin focusing on arms and shoulders that will be exclusive to the Peloton Guide. The Guide, a camera-based system that lets you check your form on a TV as you follow along with your instructors, and the rower, a combination of cardio and strength, will be its first two products.

This is in line with the overall approach of the company. Since the hardware itself is often what analysts hold under the microscope, sticking to a game plan is unlikely to soothe investors who are fixating on the stock price.

The company posted larger-than- expected losses for the third quarter. Being good at hardware is not nearly enough, as new CEO Barry McCarthy told analysts during the call. The CFO explained that the company's overstocked inventory was costing it. New hardware is being launched by Peloton.

The company has always been and will always be a subscription business, according to Cortese. The goal is to make sure users stay in the community.

Image: Peloton

The company has been very successful at that. The percentage of users who cancel their memberships stays under one percent. In the most recent quarter, even with an increase in subscription cancellation, the rate of Churn improved to 0.75 percent. The question is whether that will change.

The business incentive is to keep you as a subscriber forever.

The strategy behind the new features was explained. The company has seen a growing number of users taking yoga classes, and so it is adding a second yoga class to appeal to hard users. The new eight-week program called Peak Your Power Zones is being offered at Homecoming.

Image: Peloton

It is easier for current users to interact with each other. The new invite friends feature allows members to schedule workouts directly from the bike. Any uninstructed activity can be recorded within the Peloton app. The company is adding an accessibility feature to help blind and low-vision users. The feature talks to these users. Multiple studies have found that this community is vastly underserved by current exercise equipment and fitness facilities. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, treadmills should have speech output and tactile surfaces. This is at least a step in the right direction, as Peloton could do more in the future. It makes Peloton a more attractive option for those communities, and throws down the gauntlet for the copycats to do the same.

The reopening of the Peloton Studios will make the company's fans most excited. Before the Pandemic, the Studios was a place where many Peloton fans visiting New York City would pop in and get some face time with their favorite instructors. The original location of the studio was on 23rd St, but it has been moved to a shiny new location near Hudson Yards. The new studio has never been open to the public. There is no information on timing.

All of these announcements are meant to reach new users, keep them engaged in the platform, and give them fewer and fewer reasons to leave. I think they're pretty effective if you're a Peloton fan. Loyalty has never been a problem for Peloton. The company that makes an industry-leading product has a problem with its stock price.

When asked about the negative press and the endless speculation about the future of Peloton, Cortese was unperturbed.

It is a blip. It is a moment in time. I'm ready to do this for another 10 years if we stay focused on doing what we do well and drive genuine value into a space where there is a real need.

Yes, if Peloton stays around for a long time. There is a way forward for the company if its restructuring plan is successful, though it is not likely that it will. In the earnings call, the leadership team talked about their restructuring goals into the future. As long as the fans stick through the ups and downs, Peloton can keep rowing.