Dive Brief:
- After less than a year on the job, Peloton Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Berland is resigning, effective Dec. 31, according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.
- The executive is leaving the fitness company to become chief marketing officer at Verizon effective Jan. 9, per another press release.
- With her departure from Peloton, Berland will not receive any severance payments or benefits.
Dive Insight:
Peloton’s CMO is exiting after taking on the position in January of this year.
Berland joined the fitness brand after serving as chief marketing officer at X — formerly known as Twitter — and brought 20 years of overarching experience.
“I’m a big believer in the power of Peloton and its future,” Berland said in an emailed statement shared with Retail Dive. “I’m so grateful to Barry and the team for the experience and what we accomplished together; we revitalized the brand, expanded our reach and relevance, and we engaged prospective customers across new segments and demographics. While this move is bittersweet, I’m excited for what’s next, and I take heart knowing Peloton’s talented and passionate marketing team will continue the important work of bringing the magic of Peloton out front and center.”
The move comes after major changes to Peloton’s overall strategy.
In September, Peloton teamed up with athletics brand Lululemon through a five-year strategic global partnership. Peloton acts as Lululemon’s exclusive digital fitness content provider while Lululemon now serves as the main co-branded athletic apparel partner for Peloton. Peloton had previously launched its own apparel line in 2021, but the company in 2022 settled lawsuits with Lululemon in which Lululemon accused Peloton of copying its apparel designs, resulting in certain designs being phased out.
Peloton also relaunched its brand in May to position itself as more than an indoor bike company. The brand released three new Peloton app content membership tier options, including a free option.
During a call with analysts in November, Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy said that Peloton had seen more than 1 million consumers download the free version of its app, but the company was “less successful at engaging and retaining free users and converting them to paying memberships than we expected.”
In its latest quarter, Peloton’s Q1 total revenue declined 3% year over year to $595.5 million and its net loss improved 61% to $159.3 million. CFO Liz Coddington said on the call that Peloton expected about $10 million in revenue from its new subscription deal with Lululemon for Q2.
