Spin Bike Peloton's Global Expansion Plans

*Peloton Founder & CEO John Foley / Photo: Floto + Warner*

Described as the “Netflix for fitness,” high-tech indoor cycling company Peloton has developed a cult following since launching back in 2012. And the US start-up, which delivers instructor-led studio workouts directly to clients’ homes, has just announced plans for global expansion, starting with the UK and Canada.

Peloton was founded by former Barnes & Noble e-commerce executive John Foley, who noticed that his instructor-led workouts were much more rewarding than his own trips to the gym. He was keen to figure out a way to bring exercise classes into homes, and the result was Peloton, which marries sophisticated technology with thoughtfully designed fitness equipment.

Since the first prototype bike was designed and produced in 2013, and following a series of funding rounds, the company today has over 1 million subscribers and 32 showrooms across the United States. Most clients attend its spin classes in the comfort of their own homes, via a subscription-based video-streaming service which provides access to live and on-demand fitness sessions. However, the company also has a cycling studio on 23rd Street in Manhattan, as well as another in Chelsea dedicated to its innovative take on the treadmill, the Peloton Tread.

Commenting on the company’s global expansion plans, which will see the Peloton bike initially available for sale in London and Toronto with additional European markets slated for 2019, managing director Kevin Cornils said, “Over 60% of the $100+ billion dollar global fitness market is outside of the United States, and the UK is the world’s second-largest market. We were increasingly hearing from potential members from the UK and Canada who were asking for the bike, so we listened and decided to launch the full offering, including retail showrooms, to bring them the same best-in-class experience as we’ve been building out in the US.”

The move will undoubtedly herald further growth for the company, which last May raised $325 million Series E Financing, one of the largest digital-health investments of 2017. “We will have a third product in the next year or two – we’re already working on that,” founder and CEO John Foley told Fast Company back in January. “And there will be more platforms to allow you to get your heart rate up.”