John Foley gives way.
The founder and CEO of Peloton, the star of connected exercise bikes, announces in the Wall Street Journal that he is stepping down in favor of Barry McCarthy, former chief financial officer of Spotify and Netflix.
John Foley does not leave the company as he becomes executive chairman.
Peloton's board of directors is also overhauled, with the arrival of two new members.
The start-up, which experienced strong growth in 2020 thanks to the confinements, is in turmoil.
In one year, its stock market valuation has collapsed by 80%.
Blame it on poor inventory management of connected bikes and treadmills.
Peloton was overwhelmed with new customer demand in 2020, and ramped up production capacity.
But he now finds himself with thousands of devices at 2500 dollars each under his arms.
The company did not anticipate the reopening of gyms and fierce competition from other high-end connected fitness players.
And its tariff positioning (to the device is added a compulsory subscription of 40 dollars per month) makes it inaccessible for many households.
Read alsoNothing is going well for Peloton, the star of connected exercise bikes
At the end of January, the Blackwells Capital fund published a vitriolic letter against John Foley, demanding the immediate resignation of the managing director.
“
Peloton has become too big, too complex and too damaged a company to be run by John Foley.
The latter should be aware of this and resign
, “said the shareholder, now granted.
Amazon and Nike in ambush
Peloton also announces a redundancy plan for 2,800 employees, or 20% of its workforce.
The targeted positions work at the company's headquarters;
sports coaches working for Peloton will not be targeted.
These layoffs are part of an $800 million savings plan.
The company will thus put on hold the creation of a factory at 400 million dollars which it planned to install in Ohio.
Read alsoAmazon and Nike are eyeing Peloton's exercise bikes
The difficulties of Peloton whet the appetite of buyers.
According to the American media, Amazon and Nike would study the file.
"We are looking at any opportunity that will create value for Peloton shareholders," John Foley told the Wall Street Journal.
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