Peloton Rival Echelon Fitness Eyes Strategies To Hit $1B Valuation

Echelon Fitness, backed by Goldman Sachs, will be looking into a host of strategic alternatives that might value it at more than $1 billion, a report from Bloomberg says.

Goldman led a financing round last year for the company for $65 million, which sent the company’s revenue spiking more than 500 percent, besting the $100 million mark.

And this year the revenue is expected to hit $200 million, according to unnamed sources speaking with Bloomberg.

The company is a rival of fellow fitness company Peloton. Bloomberg notes that many such at-home fitness companies are looking at how to capitalize on the increase in investor interest, even as the pandemic ends.

Peloton, the article notes, has seen its shares jumping 83 percent since the same time last year.

Echelon has tapped an adviser after receiving interest from possible investors. Now it’s looking at options. One of those might be raising $100 million in fresh funding, a sale or a public listing through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Echelon’s CEO, Lou Lentine, said recently that musician Pitbull had invested in the company. His deal will reportedly give him a dedicated “Ride with Pitbull” channel that will come with designing a specific kind of bike.

Echelon’s products are carried by companies like Walmart, Target and Costco, Bloomberg notes.

In 2020, with the pandemic preventing people from going to the gym to access their fitness goals, numerous home gym startups began to see increased interest.

Among the companies making gains were Tempo, Lululemon and Mirror, which all saw gluts of funding they didn’t expect to see in that short period of time.

Kirsten Potenza, CEO and founder of fitness firm Pound Rockout Workout, said the key involved thinking about the digital aspect of it all. This comes as traditional brick-and-mortar gyms had to implement new strategies like appointment-only restrictions or limiting how many people could use some equipment.