John Foley, co-founder of Peloton Interactive, resigned Monday. And he’s not alone. The board of directors also accepted the resignation of his fellow co-founder, Hisao Kushi, and Kevin Cornils, the company’s chief commercial officer.
Foley had already left his role as CEO in favor of a position as executive chairman, Barron’s reported.
The new shakeup comes amid layoffs, price increases and other moves designed to shore up the company’s finances. Barron’s said shares had fallen 90% over the last year — after a robust burst of sales for fitness equipment including bikes and treadmills when the pandemic first sent people home to work.
Barry McCarthy, a former Spotify executive who came out of retirement to take over as CEO in February, said during a tech show this week that he’s finished cutting costs and is focused instead on growing the company. He also talked about the opportunity that could come from letting people use Peloton’s content on exercise bikes made by other companies, something that to date has not been an option.
He said he sees opportunity to expand sales by offering Peloton through other markets, including Amazon and possibly different retail stores, the article said.
When the company’s fixed, he added, he’s headed back into retirement.
Peloton CEO John Foley celebrates at the Nasdaq MarketSite before the opening bell and his company’s IPO, Sept. 26, 2019, in New York. Foley stepped down on Monday, Sept. 13, 2022.
Mark Lennihan, Associated Press
Front Office Sports notes that the company’s share (PTON) price peaked at $167 in October 2020, when Peloton product was cycling into American homes, but was just $11.05 at close Monday.
The company’s quarterly earnings were bad at the end of August, according to 247wallst.com, which ran the story under the headline “Peloton Gets Crushed.”
TechCrunch noted, of Peloton selling its exercise bikes through an Amazon store, “The move marks a major strategy shift — and, perhaps, concession — for the beleaguered home fitness firm. As it notes in a press release, this is the first time Peloton has sold product outside of its own site, stores and sales channels. Its recent struggles have proven, in part, that there’s a ceiling for the company’s famously cult-like devotion.”
Besides eliminating nearly 800 jobs, the company has reduced its physical storefronts and raised prices.