Blackwells Capital Activist Presentation Deck
B
FINANCIAL TIMES
Inside Project Tinman': Peloton's plan to
conceal rust in its exercise bikes
MANAGEMENT ATTEMPTED TO COVER-UP
AND DELIVER DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS
Company insiders tell the FT that executives hatched a scheme to cover up corrosi
avoid a costly recall
PELOTON
Internal documents seen by the FT show the procedure was for corrosion to be dealt with using a chemical solution that concealed
it by reacting with the rust to form a black layer' © Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg
BW BLACKWELLS CAPITAL
February 22, 2022
"[E]xecutives hatched a plan, dubbed internally as "Project Tinman", to conceal
the corrosion and sent the machines to customers who had paid between
$1,495 and $2,495 to purchase them...
Eight current and former Peloton employees across four US states ... described
the plan as a nationwide effort to avoid yet another costly recall just months
after the company's most tragic episode - the death of a child due to the
design of its treadmill...
'It was the single driving factor in my beginning stages of hatred for the
company that I had spent the previous year and a half falling in love with,' said
an outbound team lead, who reviews products before they are shipped to
customers...
This directive alarmed some employees because Peloton had previously
disqualified bikes with any rust from becoming a 'refurb' a discounted bike only
available to employees and their friends — let alone sold at full price."
Source: Patrick McGee, "Inside 'Project Tinman': Peloton's plan to conceal rust in its exercise bikes." Financial Times, February 22, 2022.
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