Adidas x Peloton Spring New Partnership in Time for Spring

Adidas and Peloton announced a new international partnership on Wednesday. And they’re not wasting any time: they’re launching a new joint fitness and apparel collection next week.

When Does a Lifestyle Become a Lifestyle?

Why so fast? While apparel doesn’t rake in anywhere near as much money as Peloton’s flagship line of stationary exercise bikes, CEO John Foley wants his company to be a lifestyle brand.

Peloton already has branded clothing lines with Nike and Lululemon, and many of its instructors are quickly becoming celebrities, pushing its profile beyond exercise machines into fashion and culture.

What sets the Adidas line apart? It’s the first Peloton line designed by those budding celebrities: Ally Love, Robin Arzón and Cody Rigsby helped design the clothes. (Do those names mean anything to you? Is this what getting old feels like?)

Last year, Peloton poached a senior Amazon executive to run apparel, and the business line has grown, although it makes little difference on the bottom line at this point.

• Peloton sold 600,000 units of branded apparel last quarter.
• Foley said apparel sales are “growing faster than the rest of the business. I think we’re going to surprise people in apparel… we’re building the best quality apparel in the world.”
• The company’s lines are focused on inclusivity and affordability – the new Adidas x Peloton SS21 collection consists of tank tops, pants shorts and hoodies priced between $30 to $85.

Can’t Keep Up With the Bike Boom: While the new clothing line will hit stores in a flash, Peloton has struggled to keep up with the backlog of orders for its bikes and treadmills that have boomed during the pandemic. It recently put $100 million towards improving equipment delivery time.

the takeaway

In two years time, Peloton could be a bigger threat to Lululemon than Lululemon is to Nike.