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☆ I'm a New Yorker who visited Erewhon, a high-end grocery store in Los Angeles, for the first time. It would be perfect in the Hamptons.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Gabbi Shaw | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. According to Erewhon's website, the store's founders Michio and Aveline Kushi opened the first location in Los Angeles in 1968 after they moved from Boston. They were inspired by the macrobiotic diet, which, as Business Insider has described, "emphasizes whole grains, soy, and vegetables." AdvertisementUntil 2014, there was just one Erewhon location near The Grove, an outdoor mall. That year, a second location opened in Calabasas.

Persons: —, you've, Hailey Bieber, Jake Gyllenhaal, Miley Cyrus, Michio, Aveline Kushi, it's Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Angeles, Los Angeles, Boston, The Grove, Calabasas, East Coast, Venice

☆ The frozen housing market may be starting to thaw
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The US housing market is showing renewed signs of life as 2024 begins. AdvertisementThe US housing market has been largely frozen for the last two years, but it's starting to show signs of a thaw as sales activity and mortgage applications pick up, and mortgage rates ease. AdvertisementPending home sales increased 8% in December. Mortgage applications have also picked up. "The housing market is off to a good start this year, as consumers benefit from falling mortgage rates and stable home prices," said Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the NAR.

Persons: —, Odeta Kushi, Freddie Mac, Lawrence Yun Organizations: Service, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Federal Reserve

☆ Move over, millennials: Gen Zers are coming for boomers' houses
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

After all their economic misfortune, they'll still face a turbulent housing market and potentially tens of thousands of dollars' worth of necessary updates to boomers' aging houses. In his 2022 paper, "Who will buy the baby boomers' homes when they leave them? ", Engelhardt argued that mass aging would send ripples through the housing market but fail to push down prices significantly. After that point, demand for home purchases will once again outpace supply as millennials buy more homes and younger generations, like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, file in behind them. The timing of boomers' exit will mostly benefit younger generations, like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who should find themselves on steadier footing than their predecessors.

Persons: Xers, they've, Zers, they'll, Odeta Kushi, Kushi, Gary Engelhardt, Engelhardt, Issi Romem, Meredith Whitney, Boomers, Gen Zers —, Gen, who've, millennials, boomers, Jessica Lautz, Nicole Bachaud, They've, Redfin, Alpha, they're, Lautz, savvier, Zoomers, James Rodriguez Organizations: millennials, Syracuse University, Boomers, Federal Reserve, Alpha, National Association of Realtors Locations: granny, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas

The pace of new construction quickened in October as both building permits and housing starts rose despite elevated mortgage rates, the government reported on Friday. New housing starts were 1.372 million compared to 1.346 million a month earlier. “A good inflation report and steadily declining mortgage rates provide some relief to the market. Also on a positive note, mortgage rates fell this week following the CPI and the resultant drop in bond yields from their recent highs. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to an average of 7.44% in the week ending Nov. 16, a drop from 7.5% a week earlier, Freddie Mac said on Thursday.

Persons: Wells, ”, Lisa Sturtevant, homebuyers, Freddie Mac, Odeta Kushi Organizations: Census Bureau, Department of Housing, Urban, National Association of Home Builders, MLS, homebuilders, ”, CPI, “ Builders, First Locations: Midwest, West

☆ New home sales rose to a 17-month high in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —New home sales rose in July from the month before, beating estimates and reaching a 17-month high, as buyers continue to look to new construction as an option in the face of a historically low supply of existing homes. While new home sales have been trending higher over the past year, sales of existing homes have been down for the past few months. Sales in the Midwest surged 47.4% from a month ago and sales in the West were up 21.5% from June. Meanwhile, sales in the Northeast declined by 2.9% from last month and dropped by 6.3% in the South. “When existing homes are hard to find, new homes at the right price are a good substitute.”

Persons: Kelly Mangold, ”, George Ratiu, Odeta Kushi Organizations: DC CNN, US Department of Housing, Urban Development, Census, Real Estate Consulting, ”, Midwest, National Association of Realtors, “ Builders, Builders, First Locations: Washington, –

☆ Construction of new homes fell 8% in the US last month
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Builders are benefiting from the lack of existing homes for sale as owners hunker down, but higher mortgage rates pose a threat, said Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American Financial Corporation. Holding household income constant, the increase in mortgage rates reduced home-buying power by approximately $10,000, Kushi said. “There remains pent-up demand in the housing market, but higher rates put a strain on affordability,” said Kushi. Builders remain ‘cautiously optimistic’Builder confidence remains high despite concerns about rising rates. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges market conditions and looks at current sales, buyer traffic and the outlook for sales of new construction homes over the next six months.

Persons: ”, Robert Frick, “, it’s, Odeta Kushi, Freddie Mac, Kushi, Alicia Huey, Robert Dietz, Dietz Organizations: DC CNN, Housing, Census, Navy Federal Credit Union, First American Financial Corporation, National Association of Home Builders, NAHB, Federal Reserve, Builders Locations: Washington, Wells Fargo

☆ Peloton hires former Twitter executive Dalana Brand to be chief people officer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Peloton said Wednesday it hired former Twitter executive Dalana Brand to be its new chief people officer, as the fitness company continues its transformation and attempts to return to profitability. Dalana's addition is the culmination of that strategy, rounding out and completing the leadership team," McCarthy said. She follows behind Leslie Berland, the former chief marketing officer of Twitter, who took the same job at Peloton in mid-January. "I'm thrilled to join the team at Peloton as the company continues striving to make fitness accessible for all." While at Twitter, she led the company's global workforce and helped speed up its processes to make the workplace more inclusive.

☆ Pending home sales increased last month for the first time since May
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —Pending home sales increased in December for the first time since May, a sign that lower mortgage rates are bringing some buyers back into the housing market. The pending sales index, based on signed contracts to buy a home rather than the final sales that are accounted for in existing home sales, improved by 2.5% from November to December, according to data released Friday from the National Association of Realtors. Pending sales dropped in the Northeast, where the index was down 6.5% in December from November; and in the Midwest, where the index was down 0.3%. Pending sales were up 6.1% in the South in December from November and rose 6.4% in the West. “Mortgage applications have been trending higher alongside lower rates, pending home sales are up, and builder confidence increased in January,” Kushi said.

☆ Finally ready to buy in 2023? These were the 10 least bubbly cities in the last two years and could be the safest bet for buyers this year as prices have remained stable.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Homebuyers appear to be gaining leverage in many real estate markets across the country. Approximately 28 million people say they are planning to buy a home in 2023. These 10 markets could be the safest places for regular buyers to find the home of their dreams. At least 28 million Americans say they plan on buying a home in 2023, according to NerdWallet's latest home buying survey. "In 2023, I think we'll start to see that real estate is local again."

☆ First-time homebuyers are pretty much screwed in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | Andy Kiersz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Starter homes are typically more affordable houses that are purchased by new home buyers. Their absence has made it difficult for many first-time buyers to afford homeownership. The stark indicator only illustrates that starter homes are vanishing from the US real-estate market. Starter homes are typically smaller, more affordable houses that are purchased by first-time buyers or those on a tight budget. With higher home prices, mortgage rates and property taxes, as well as a possible recession looming in 2023 — that could trigger mass job losses — the odds are stacked against many would-be first-time buyers.

☆ New home building retreated in November
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —Home building pulled back in November, as buyers faced spiking mortgage rates topping 7% that make homes increasingly unaffordable. Housing starts bounced back a bit in August while mortgage rates briefly retreated. But since that time, mortgage rates have been on the rise, hitting a 20-year high in October. One number that beat estimates was housing starts, he said, but those were weighted to apartments, not single-family homes. “Potential homebuyers should see some relief next year in the form of lower mortgage rates and possibly lower home prices,” said Frick.

☆ Peloton co-founder John Foley launches business selling custom rugs directly to consumers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Sarah Belle Lin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Peloton co-founders are starting Ernesta, a direct-to-consumer business selling custom rugs. The business is launching in spring 2023 and entering a global market anticipated to reach $130 billion by 2030. The company will be entering a global carpets and rugs market anticipated to reach $130 billion by 2030. Foley is Ernesta's CEO, with fellow Peloton founders Hisao Kushi serving as chief legal officer and Yony Feng as chief technology officer. He relinquished his executive chairman title in September, following months of controversy and reduced global demand at the beleaguered company.

☆ Peloton shares tumble after company offers weak holiday quarter outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Peloton posted a wider-than-expected loss for its fiscal first quarter, as a steep decline in connected fitness products revenue outweighed an increase in subscription revenue. Loss per share: $1.20 vs. 64 cents, expected$1.20 vs. 64 cents, expected Revenue: $616.5 million vs. $650.1 million, expected. Peloton's revenue outlook for the holiday quarter, between $700 million and $725 million, would mark a quarter-to-quarter increase, but it's well below analysts' estimates of $874 million. Peloton reported 6.7 million total members, up from 6.3 million last year, but down from 6.9 million the prior quarter. The company reported $199 million in first quarter recall reserves, restructuring and impairment expenses as it continues embarking on its turnaround.

☆ Peloton's top human resources executive is leaving the company
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Peloton 's Chief People Officer Shari Eaton is leaving the company for another opportunity, she announced in a LinkedIn post Tuesday. Former CEO John Foley left his board chair position alongside fellow co-founder and Chief Legal Officer Hisao Kushi in mid-September. Previously at Amazon, Eaton was at Peloton for more than three years, joining as a vice president in the human resources division just months before the company's pandemic boom. She rose to become senior vice president of people, safety and security officer, and then global head of people. McCarthy elevated Eaton to chief people officer when he became CEO, which was a time of mass layoffs and personnel changes for the company.

☆ Peloton Seeks First CMO as Marketing Head Exits
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Peloton Interactive Inc. is on the hunt for its first chief marketing officer after Dara Treseder, the company’s global head of marketing, communications and memberships, announced that she was going to leave the fitness technology firm—joining a string of leaders to do so. She is set to join Autodesk, a design and manufacturing software business, as its chief marketing officer on Oct.14. Peloton is now seeking to hire its first ever chief marketing officer, a spokesman for the company said, following Ms. Treseder’s resignation, which was first reported by the New York Times. Peloton doesn’t plan to refill the commercial chief position, a move that, coupled with the CMO headhunt, signifies Mr. McCarthy’s vision to rewrite Peloton’s C-suite roles. Peloton global head of marketing Dara Treseder joined us in Cannes to discuss navigating the complicated conditions of 2022.

☆ Peloton Seeks CMO as Marketing Head Exits
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

She is set to join Autodesk, a design and manufacturing software business, as its chief marketing officer on Oct.14. Peloton briefly hired a chief marketing officer in 2016, but months later decided to place its marketing function under the purview of the chief commercial officer, the spokesman said. Peloton global head of marketing Dara Treseder joined us in Cannes to discuss navigating the complicated conditions of 2022. Write to Katie Deighton at katie.deighton@wsj.comCorrections & AmplificationsPeloton has hired a chief marketing officer in the past. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Peloton is looking to hire its first ever chief marketing officer.

☆ How Peloton went from a pandemic-era success story worth $50 billion to laying off more than 4,000 workers and losing 3 top execs in a month
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Peloton's stock has been trading well below the IPO price of $29 per share, at one point dropping as low as $8.22. Prior to founding Peloton, Foley was president at Barnes & Noble, overseeing its e-commerce business. "I would say that it took about five years for the really smart money to start getting involved," Foley told Insider in 2018. The ad, featuring a woman whose husband gifts her a Peloton bike for Christmas, was viewed as being sexist and playing into outdated standards of beauty. Public outrage over the ad sent Peloton's stock plunging 9%, wiping out $942 million in market value in a single day.

☆ How Peloton went from a pandemic-era success story worth $50 billion to laying off more than 4,000 workers and losing 4 top execs in a month
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

☆ Snap Hires New Compliance Chief From Peloton
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The head of compliance and risk at Peloton Interactive Inc. has left the company and joined Snapchat parent Snap Inc.Bertrand Lanciault III, who goes by Lance Lanciault, joined Snap in August as the new chief compliance officer, overseeing its compliance and integrity efforts, according to a spokesman for the technology company. He joined Peloton in February 2021 after spending more than six years at Walmart Inc.’s e-commerce team, serving as the chief ethics and compliance officer there, according to his LinkedIn profile. Michael Del Negro, who joined Peloton in January as its vice president of product safety compliance, has been named the company’s acting head of compliance, risk and ethics and has served in this role since August, a Peloton spokeswoman said Thursday. Peloton said earlier this month that its co-founder John Foley, its chief legal officer Hisao Kushi, and Chief Commercial Officer Kevin Cornils, were leaving. Tammy Albarrán, who most recently was Uber Technologies Inc.’s chief deputy general counsel, will become Peloton’s new chief legal officer and corporate secretary, Peloton said in a statement earlier this month.

☆ Peloton adds $3,195 rowing machine to fitness machine lineup
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Peloton is adding a line of rowing machines to its lineup as the company works through a restructuring to expand its customer base and return to a profit. The fitness machine maker said on Tuesday it's launching Peloton Row, which starts at $3,195 and is now available for pre-order on its website. The rowing machine, which also requires a $44-a-month membership to Peloton's exercise classes and programs, joins the lineup of Peloton Bike, Peloton Bike+, Peloton Guide and Peloton Tread. Peloton Row, which had reportedly been in the works for some time, comes as the company has been working through a restructuring in recent months. Peloton had said it aims to reach break-even cash flow on a quarterly basis in the second half of fiscal 2023.

☆ Time for someone else to ride the Peloton bike?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Peloton also announced job cuts at the time of McCarthy’s hiring and revealed more layoffs in August. Peloton is one of several pandemic era winners that are now finding it difficult to keep the boom times going. With that in mind, Nike (NKE) or Adidas (ADDDF) could work out as potential Peloton buyers. Amazon (AMZN) is also compelling as a potential Peloton owner. Nike and Amazon were both mentioned in various media reports as potential acquirers for Peloton in February, just before McCarthy was hired.

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