The boss of a Peloton rival threw his hat in the ring to lead the struggling exercise bike maker after the company’s current chief stepped down Thursday.
Lou Lentine, who founded and heads privately held Echelon, claimed he could do a better job of rescuing Peloton than exiting CEO Barry McCarthy, a former Netflix and Spotify executive hired in 2022.
“Peloton needs someone who knows the industry,” Lentine told The Post. “I’m running the same company but smaller and we are doing the same things every day but better with fewer employees and less debt.”
However, Lentine is not holding his breath that Peloton’s board will take his offer seriously. The rivals settled a years-long legal battle over patents in 2022. At the time, McCarthy turned down Lentine’s proposal to merge the two companies.
“There was a discussion in New York and he politely declined additional discussion,” Lentine told The Post.
Even if the Peloton board came calling this time, Lentine said he would not walk away from Echelon. Instead, the Chattanooga, Tenn. company’s largest investor said he would make Echelon products available under the Peloton banner.
Peloton did not immediately respond for comment about Lentine’s desire to lead the company or past discussions about a possible merger.
Peloton, which controls roughly 75% of the connected fitness industry, has been slow to recover from its pandemic heights — when locked-down fitness buffs were put on waiting lists for the company’s pricey stationary bikes.
McCarthy’s departure was announced along with the company saying it will slash 400 jobs as its once-soaring stock price continued to crater. Shares have plunged 46% this year, closing at $3.14 on Thursday — continuing a downhill trajectory after peaking at $167 in December 2020.
“They are hurting the industry so badly with their constant negative news,” Lentine griped.
McCarthy was tapped to replace Peloton founder John Foley, who made a number of high-profile blunders, including an ill-fated expansion plan during the pandemic.
The brash executive also alienated customers, investors and employees alike when the company’s bikes were recalled for safety reasons – and a toddler was killed – and Foley claimed that accidents were the result of customers not following manufacturers’ guidelines.
Peloton also has a history of attacking competitors, including SoulCycle, iFIT and Lululemon, with Foley allegedly calling the strategy a “winner-take-all” approach, according to court filings.
Echelon had accused Peloton of violating antitrust laws with its pattern of squashing competitors.
Details of their 2022 settlement were not made public.
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