Peloton is bringing its apparel collection to a wider audience, partnering with Nordstrom to offer its private label women’s and menswear at the retailer’s Marketplace online concept later this month.
Jen Cotter, chief content officer, who also oversees the apparel offering at the fitness company, revealed that Peloton is testing the idea of offering its line to other retailers where its customers shop. And in many cases, that’s Nordstrom.
“We’re about to launch on Nordstrom Marketplace,” she said. “We don’t care where you buy Peloton apparel, but we know our members shop there, so this is a test. Then we’re going to consider other partners to put Peloton apparel out there to raise recognition. If you’re not a Peloton member, most people don’t know we have Peloton apparel.”
Cotter said last holiday season, Peloton sold its Bike+ in 300 Costco stores and online. But this is the first time its apparel is being sold at another retailer.
“It’s still a little part of our business, but we’ve done a lot of work there,” she said of the apparel assortment.
In the early years, the apparel offering had been spearheaded by Jill Foley, wife of Peloton founder John Foley. He left the company in early 2022 and his wife, who had served as vice president of apparel, exited as well. While collaborations had been a key part of the mix under Jill Foley, they were sidelined as she sought to build a business under the Peloton name alone.
But under Cotter, they have returned, and they continue to be popular offerings for the loyal and rabid Peloton membership.
The Peloton x GoodPark NYC collaboration product.
courtesy of Peloton
“The members just love it,” she said, singling out Spiritual Gangster as an example. “They probably would have gone and bought a sweatshirt anyway, but now it says Peloton on it — even better. There’s only so much share of wallet going to fitness apparel.”
Recently, the company has partnered with GoodPark NYC, “a cool, small, New York City-based brand that just launched last week,” she said, as well as Redvanly, a golf brand founded by brothers Andrew and Eric Redvanly, that creates lifestyle pieces for the collaboration.
The golf brand Redvanly created special pieces for Peloton.
Courtesy of Peloton
Peloton’s primary apparel offering is with Lululemon, which has been a partner for five years, Cotter said. “We have a deep, rich partnership with Lululemon. It’s going quite well.” In addition to the co-branded apparel, the two companies host events such as special workouts and panels to enhance the experience for both. “It’s a nice way for us to come together and test and learn. That’s something we’re really focused on — how can we connect more dots for people as they start, continue and level up their wellness journey.”
Cotter said Peloton has a good, better, best approach to its apparel offering with Lululemon at the top end and its own private label as the more-affordable option. “The quality is great, the fabrics are great but the price points are a little less,” she said of the Peloton private brand. “We want to offer variety to our members.”
Peloton is working to attract more men to its platform and apparel offering.
Courtesy of Peloton
Like the company as a whole, Cotter is also heightening the focus on apparel for men. The majority of Peloton’s members are female, but the company just launched an aggressive marketing campaign targeted to guys by featuring NFL players and brothers T.J. and J.J. Watt in humorous yet competitive commercials of them working out with Peloton.
“Men are critically important to our business,” Cotter said. “But the story of Peloton apparel mirrors the Peloton business and the story of who buys it. It goes back to the nature of what we offer and how badly women want to show the pride of their partnership. But it also comes down to making sure we have the right assortment for men.”
She said that while men may walk around town on the weekends in a Peloton shirt, they’re not going to the office in one. “But they might wear a quarter-zip with a little P on it. So that’s the kind of stuff we’ve been working on the last couple of years.”
The last couple of years have also been a struggle for the Peloton Interactive corporation, which has been fighting to return to profitability. And the business appears to be headed in the right direction. In the fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30, Peloton posted higher than expected sales of $586 million and a net loss of $900,000 compared with a net loss of $159.3 million in the year-ago period.
At the same time, the company announced that current Ford executive Peter Stern, who was also the cofounder of Apple Fitness+, will be taking over as chief executive officer in January, an appointment that was greeted positively by Wall Street.
