According to Peloton's website, there is a 10-week wait time for its most expensive bike. Consumers don't like waiting 10 weeks for anything.
The long wait times are a signal of the strong demand for Peloton's product, but also underscore the rapid shift towards digital everything, including exercise. Peloton's stationary bikes combined with its interactive technology give the feel of exercising with community from the comfort of one's own home. A perfect solution in a pandemic, which is why its connected-fitness subscriptions grew 137% year-over-year and its digital subscriptions grew 382%.
Peloton has a manufacturing problem, however, with all of its bikes built by third-party manufacturers in Taiwan. That problem may be addressed with Peloton's acquisition of fitness-equipment manufacturer Precor Inc., in a $420 million cash deal announced on Monday. Precor will give Peloton 625,000 square feet of U.S. manufacturing capacity, which could see Peloton manufacturing bikes domestically by the end of 2021. Will it be soon enough?
Below, A.I.dvisor compares Peloton with a traditional gym behemoth, Planet Fitness.