Bloomberg confirmed earlier today that Peloton will be adding a rowing machine as its third equipment offering in 2020. Rumors about a Peloton rowing machine have been swirling for a while but were bolstered by the announcement that Peloton had acquired Tonic Fitness Technology. Tonic received a patent for a new pully system related to rowing machines in July of 2019.
More surprising may be the announcement that Peloton will be releasing a new, more affordably priced generation 2 Peloton treadmill as well. The original Peloton tread was released in 2018 and has a price tag of close to $4,500 once you include delivery fees. A treadmill more in line with the price of the bike may help the tread become as popular & profitable for Peloton as the bike has become. Initial feedback on this news has been mixed within the Peloton community, with existing users either concerned they may have overpaid, or wondering what sacrifices in quality may be made to drive the price point lower.
In addition to hardware, Peloton fans have some software updates to look forward to as well. Developers are working on apps for the Apple Watch and Amazon FireTV, expanding on the Andriod and iOS apps already available. While no timeline has been released, the report states they have been under research & development for a while now. At this time there are no reports of a Peloton AppleTV/TVOS app under active development. When the Peloton Rower is released, all of the Peloton Digital versions should then include rowing as a new class type in the apps (much like treadmill works were added with the release of the Peloton Tread). It remains to be seen how much Peloton allows existing rowers to integrate with their app – some rowers, like the Concept 2 PM5, will broadcast your workout stats via Bluetooth and Ant+ allowing for recording in other apps.
By lowering the price-point for the tread, introducing a Peloton rower, and exploring additional software options, Peloton hopes to continue growth patterns and increase profitability. So far, it seems to be working. Peloton stock prices jumped as much as 9% today after the announcement.
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