Amazon denies working with Echelon on 'Prime Bike,' Echelon CEO calls it 'miscommunication'
'This bike is not an Amazon product or related to Amazon Prime,' an Amazon spokesperson said
Although Amazon denied any affiliation with Echelon's "Prime Bike," Echelon CEO Lou Lentine classified it as a "misunderstanding."
In an interview on Varney & Co. on Wednesday, Lou Lentine, president and CEO of Echelon Fitness, classified it as a "misunderstanding" and "miscommunication."
"Yesterday, we learned the internal Amazon team was not in full alignment on the bike," Lentine said, adding that in January, Amazon had asked Echelon to develop a sub-$500 bike.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 207.89 | +2.15 | +1.05% |
| PTON | PELOTON INTERACTIVE INC. | 10.34 | +0.61 | +6.27% |
AMAZON, STEPHEN CURRY JOIN TONAL HOME FITNESS BRAND'S $110M FUNDING ROUND
Lentine added that Echelon will continue to provide the bike, which is sold out, exclusively to Amazon and they are working on giving the bike a new name. "It's an exclusive bike for them, we're excited about it. We're coming out with a new name for the bike. It was a misunderstanding in their internal teams."
Late Tuesday, Amazon sent a statement to FOX Business disavowing any relationship with the bike.
“This bike is not an Amazon product or related to Amazon Prime," an Amazon spokesperson said via email. "Echelon does not have a formal partnership with Amazon. We are working with Echelon to clarify this in its communications, stop the sale of the product, and change the product branding.”
FOX Business has reached out to Amazon with a request for comment on Lentine's remarks.
The press release that mentioned the product has been deleted and the product listing has been removed from Amazon's website.
It's unclear what happened with the partnership, especially in light of the implications it had for other companies in the connected exercise equipment market, notably Peloton.
Shares of Peloton closed slightly lower Tuesday following the news but were moving higher in premarket trading Wednesday, gaining 1.7% to $96.
Earlier this month, Peloton announced a cheaper treadmill, known as Tread+, as well as a new version of its stationary bike, Bike+.
The original Peloton Bike also received a price cut, now retailing for $1,895. Subscriptions to all Peloton equipment cost an additional $39 per month.
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Peloton CEO John Foley recently told FOX Business the company could have 100 million subscribers sometime in the future.
Earlier this month, Amazon's Alexa Fund, along with NBA superstar Stephen Curry, invested in upstart home fitness brand Tonal's $110 million funding round.
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This story has been updated to include Lentine's interview on Fox Business.
