Lululemon Looks to Ride Mirror; Uber Makes Play for Postmates; Amazon Bonuses; Spotify Real Time Lyrics

Yahoo notes that shares of Lululemon rose in early trading after announcing it would be acquiring the home fitness startup Mirror for $500 million, putting it in competition with indoor cycling company Peloton. Shares of Peloton fell, though the stock had more than doubled for the year to date through Monday’s close as Wall Street bet on the resilience of the workout-from-home phenomenon in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Lululemon is shooting to close the deal by the end of its 2nd fiscal quarter this year.

Uber has made a takeover offer to buy Postmates, the upstart delivery service, according to three people familiar with the matter, as the on-demand food delivery market consolidates and Uber looks for new ways to make money. New York Times reports that a tie-up could bolster Uber’s delivery business, Uber Eats, and help it compensate for the cratering of its core ride-hailing business, which has collapsed in many cities because of the coronavirus pandemic. Food delivery is not profitable, but demand has soared while restaurants are closed and people are staying at home.

Amazon will pay $500 million in bonuses to frontline workers and delivery partners confronting risks and high demand during the pandemic. According to geekwire.com, The payout comes amid intense pressure on Amazon to mitigate risks its warehouse employees and other frontline workers are facing due to the coronavirus. The payments range from $150 to $3000, and will go to members of Amazon’s logistics network who worked with the company during the month of June. The bonuses come after Amazon ended hazard pay for warehouse and delivery workers confronting the coronavirus crisis in June.

Last November, Spotify confirmed it was testing real-time lyrics synced to music in select markets. Now, the company is announcing the launch of its new lyrics feature in 26 worldwide markets across Southeast Asia, India and Latin America. Techcrunch.com says the launch is being made possible by a new agreement with lyrics provider Musixmatch, which was also the source for the tests seen last year. The streamer had worked with Musixmatch in the past, but cut ties with the provider in 2016 before teaming up with lyrics provider Genius for its “Behind the Lyrics” feature.