Peloton latest to blame Apple for financial woes

Posted:
in General Discussion
Fitness firm Peloton sees COVID sales boom end, blames Apple's iOS 14 App Tracking Transparency privacy feature for hurting sales.

Peloton Bike
Peloton Bike


Despite moves to increase sales, such as lowering the price of its smart bike, Peloton has announced a drop in its annual revenue forecast of almost $1 billion.

According to Bloomberg, the fitness company now says that it now expects sales of $4.4 billion to $4.8 billion in its financial year up to June 2022. Previously, it had predicted $5.4 billion.

During its mandated earnings call, CEO and co-founder John Foley addressed the issue of changed predictions, saying that the "swift" change was "not lost on us." Foley said that future performance was proving harder to predict than anticipated.

Reportedly, part of the issue was that demand for fitness products has dropped post pandemic, since buyers have been returning to their offices and gyms. Peloton also says that supply constraints, plus rising freight costs, were factors.

However, Peloton also blamed Apple's ad-related privacy changes. The company says that the moves made it more difficult to target buyers.

"We anticipated fiscal 2022 would be a very challenging year to forecast," Peloton management said in a letter to shareholders, seen by Bloomberg. "We will be taking concrete steps to reexamine our expense base and adjust our operating costs."

Peloton has also said that it will be introducing new products. There's no indication yet whether they will add full Apple GymKit integration.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    Now I guess Apple is a monopoly in the Fitness business, at least for iOS, just as it is a monopoly in the Gaming business for iOS. So the courts may need to force Apple to include external links to other Fitness companies in its own Fitness app.
    Beatsretrogustothe1maximushcrefugeewatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 16
    Or maybe people can actually go back to gyms and want to get outta the damn house. You need a reason for the drop is estimate income and apple is a great target right now. 
    Dogpersonmagman1979williamlondonlolliverhcrefugeedewmeEsquireCatswatto_cobraglennh
  • Reply 3 of 16
    NYC362NYC362 Posts: 100member
    Oh please.

    So Apple is responsible for:
    1) COVID vaccines which made it possible for gyms to reopen and people to actually workout where they used to.

    2) For Peloton charging and insane amount for an indoor exercise bike and then another insane MONTHLY charge to actually use the damn thing to it's potential.

    From way before the pandemic, when I first saw a Peloton store and looked at their bike and the charges, I only thought about how expensive their system is.  Nothing more.   Peloton's problems have nothing to do with the new privacy features of the Apple ecosystem. 
    llamamagman1979williamlondondavidlewis54lolliverhcrefugeebaconstangdewmeEsquireCatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 16
    larryalarrya Posts: 608member
    I didn't hear the call, but I doubt there's anyone left on Earth who doesn't already know what a Peloton bike is.  Seems unlikely someone was left out because they couldn't track that person from a gym equipment site. 
    elijahglolliverhcrefugeeEsquireCatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 16
    hexclockhexclock Posts: 1,307member
    NYC362 said:
    Oh please.

    So Apple is responsible for:
    1) COVID vaccines which made it possible for gyms to reopen and people to actually workout where they used to.

    2) For Peloton charging and insane amount for an indoor exercise bike and then another insane MONTHLY charge to actually use the damn thing to it's potential.

    From way before the pandemic, when I first saw a Peloton store and looked at their bike and the charges, I only thought about how expensive their system is.  Nothing more.   Peloton's problems have nothing to do with the new privacy features of the Apple ecosystem. 
    Exactly. And now that things are getting so damn expensive, it’s a things like this that get cut first. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 16
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,838member
    What did them 100x more damage was the revelation that their treadmills could kill children and pets, and their subsequent denial of this.
    the1maximusDogpersonmagman1979hcrefugeebaconstangDnykjpRfC6fnBsdewmeapplguyEsquireCatsglennh
  • Reply 7 of 16
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    Great news! People buy less crap they don’t need and that ends up on the garage sale circuit, collecting dust in attics and basements, and ultimately being dumped on landfills.

    A product that someone NEEDS doesn’t need targeted ads, because users will SEEK it, and if price/performance are good, and web site and reviews can be found with a google search, that’s all that’s needed.

    Everything beyond that is hurting the environment for greed.
    Dogpersonhcrefugeeelijahgwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 16
    Also probably everyone that wanted (and could afford) to get a Peloton, managed to get one already. There is no need to refresh a bike every year....now they have to count on their subscription service, which is not the same as selling a new bike.
    lolliverhcrefugeewatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 16
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,046member
    Buying a Peloton is an IQ test. Buy one and you fail.
    Overpaying for a exercise bike (ding) and subscribing to an overpriced service where someone yells at you from a remote studio (not a real coach) (ding, ding).

    All because you do not want to go outside and ride a real bicycle. And with a real bike you can put them on a stand and ride them indoors if you must. All for less than a Peloton.

    Or you can go down to a real gym and tackle a spin class. Cannot imagine why anyone would prefer that over riding a real bike outside.
    edited November 2021 Dogpersonibillnetroxmagman1979tokyojimuwilliamlondonhcrefugeebaconstangelijahgbeowulfschmidt
  • Reply 10 of 16
    Perhaps Peloton should acknowledge that their bike is really overpriced for what it is: a normal exercise bike with a tablet attached that cost $2400 (before they dropped the price to $1800). If you look at the total cost of ownership, buying a Peloton seems like a bad idea. I looked at one, but the total cost of ownership caused me to nope out really fast. (Bike Cost of $2400 plus monthly subscription cost at $40 means that the cost of owning one for the first year comes out to $2880 for the first year and $480 per year after that) I don't know if the bike works without the subscription, but their ads seem to imply that you must have the subscription in order to use the bike to its full potential. They saturated the market and sold the bike to everyone who wanted one and could afford it (people north of upper middle class). The rest of us just buy something much less expensive or just buying a gym membership.  

    Complaining because they cannot target people to buy it seems like a lot of hand waving to excuse the fact that they saturated the market and are running out of customers. What Peloton should do is make bikes that integrate with things like Apple Watch while dropping the cost down to $800 and removing the tablet / subscription stuff. Even at that cost, it's still cheaper to buy a gym membership. 
    Dogpersonauxiomagman1979hcrefugeewatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 16
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,719member
    davgreg said:
    All because you do not want to go outside and ride a real bicycle. 
    I suppose you could also take that bicycle to a real theater to watch live plays or live music instead of recorded TV and recorded music.
    glennh
  • Reply 12 of 16
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,760member
    davgreg said:
    All because you do not want to go outside and ride a real bicycle.
    Some of us live in parts of the world where you have 4-6 months of the year that limit outdoor activities to those which involve ice and snow.  But agreed that a Peloton is still a complete rip off compared to a stationary bike, a fitness tracker, and a TV (or tablet/phone).

    sconosciutowatto_cobraglennh
  • Reply 13 of 16
    Maybe they shouldn't make ads that fat shame skinny moms?
    baconstangwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 16
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,494member
    Peloton is the biggest rip off and I cannot believe people actually pay so much for it.  
    williamlondonlolliverhcrefugeesconosciutoelijahgwatto_cobrabaconstang
  • Reply 15 of 16
    Also probably everyone that wanted (and could afford) to get a Peloton, managed to get one already. There is no need to refresh a bike every year....now they have to count on their subscription service, which is not the same as selling a new bike.
    To say nothing of the all of the ads on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc. for an overpriced clothes rack:


    MustSeeUHDTVwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 16
    Like so many other 'fitness bikes' they'll wind up in the garage.

    If these bikes are so smart, why can't I ride it to liquor store?
    dewmeEsquireCatswatto_cobra
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