Following Amazon’s wellness program Amazon Halo, Echelon released the Prime Bike, selling it exclusively to Amazon Prime subscribers. Increasing consumer interest on fitness products also helped, with the Echelon’s Ex-Prime Bike branded as Peloton’s $500 alternative.
However, after hours online, Amazon took Echelon’s $500 “Prime Smart Connect Bike,” telling everyone it isn’t an Amazon or Amazon-related product.
According to Echelon, the so-called “Prime Bike” is “Amazon’s first-ever connected fitness product.” In a press release on Monday, told reporters that the “Prime Bike” was a collaboration with Amazon and that the latter initiated the partnership.
“We were built on the idea of attainable fitness for everyone. The Prime Bike was developed in collaboration with Amazon, aiming to create an amazing, connected bike for less than $500, and it’s proven to be a phenomenal match… Amazon looking to us to partner on their first-ever connected fitness product is recognition of our commitment to deliver quality at a reasonable price-point as reflected in our explosive growth over the last year.”
Echelon Fitness President and CEO Lou Lentine
It led to a 6% fall in the shares of exercise bike maker Peloton.
However, Amazon immediately denied on Wednesday and told Forbes that Echelon has no formal partnership with Amazon. They also told Echelon to stop selling the bikes and change brandings.
Peloton, on Wednesday, hit record-high shares, following Amazon’s denials. Amazon has also taken down the item from its website, making it currently unavailable, and it was later renamed to “EX-P.”
According to Business Insider, the bike’s product description doesn’t reflect “Prime,” though used in its last name.
Its listing on Amazon also contains images only showing “Echelon” and “Connect.”
Additionally, searching for “Echelon bikes” on Amazon will only yield to ads and listings from Echelon’s competitors, including Sunny Health and Fitness and Cyclace. The bike isn’t available on the Echelon website as well.
Following Amazon’s denials, Echelon has already taken down its press release from PR Newswire.
“We are working with Echelon to clarify this in its communications, stop the sale of the product, and change the product branding… This bike is not an Amazon product or related to Amazon Prime.”
Amazon
Echelon spokesperson Marissa Mastellone, on the other hand, said that Echelon built the “Prime Bike” to sell on Amazon exclusively. She also added that they’re working the rebrand to “get it back up for sale as soon as possible.”
Mastellone added that they’re expecting the bike to be once again listed on Amazon while it’s done rebranding.
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