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Glad its a non-story. Local Evans to me is top notch with really helpful staff - couldn't give a crap about free coffee and bribing mechanics with biscuits and being all pally - they are just friendly and helpful.
I hope Evans is staying, they have had my money for an advance order on a Kickr Core, that I should have had by now or very soon. All I have is an email this week saying they don't know when they will get a delivery from Kickr. Hoping it's a Kickr supply problem and not an Evans issue. Doing Zwift on rollers is losing its appeal.
Not quite a non-story unfortunately...
https://news.sky.com/story/wheel-turns-for-evans-cycles-as-struggling-chain-eyes-rescue-11503069
Damn, I was given a £25 voucher weekend
Ouch thats not good. I would imagine change will have to happen with any takeover.
The BBC currently says they are struggling against the online retailer Wiggles 🙂
No contest 🙂
Hmmm, and I've recently bought some knee pads I don't like, which I paid for with a voucher. Don't want the knee pads. But definitely don't want the voucher back!
Not fake news then.
On the back of this thread I went into a new one at the weekend. Probably 15 years since I've last been in one. Hmmm, struggling to rate it. A lot better than a halfords bikehut and a lot better than a typical naff independent but not really up there with the very best indies. Shame if we lose them completely though.
That's an arse.
I quite like Evans. They're a bit of a PC World of the biking fraternity and not everyone's cup of tea. And although they've pissed me off a few times, it's usually been over First World problems (other than the time they truly borked a service many moons ago - a lesson I never gave them the chance to repeat).
In contrast, a chap in their Victoria store spent 10 mins rifling through a load of backroom stock in search of 2007 Stumpy mech hangers. He returned with the last two as he knew they'd been taking off the front and existed somewhere. That really bailed me out and got me on the trails that evening. And it's for moments like that that I hope they remain in business.
From the BBC
It [Evans Cycles] was bought by private equity firm ECI Partners for £80m in 2015, but has had a bumpy ride since then.
😢
Their prices over the past week or two have been crazy and not sustainable.
The SAVE30 code has been working for me on sale and clearance items and even before the code they are undercutting Wiggle/CRC on a great deal of things.
I need to return some brakes but may just sell them on ebay and make a profit.
A stealth Reverb comes in under £150
Their prices over the past week or two have been crazy and not sustainable.
If you need an increased cash flow, which seems they do then that's the only way to go about it. Undercut knowing its at a loss/zero margin.
They have a big wage bill in a few days and have limited bank credit options then they need cash fast, selling stock is the only way.
A lot better than a halfords bikehut and a lot better than a typical naff independent but not really up there with the very best indies. Shame if we lose them completely though
This basically sums them up, especially in my experience.
I'm wondering if this will effect their Ride It events, as I want to book onto the one in Mold next weekend.
"I’m wondering if this will effect their Ride It events"
It won't effect their ride, but possibly affect it 🙂
Sadly the high street is a victim of us wanting the instant gratification of buying something but only want to pay 1% more than the grey import online price.
the Aldi/sports direct just dump a pallet of stuff on the floor and sell it off is the future of the industry... the main business of the high street seems to be barbers and convenience food with a few estate agents sprinkled into the mix...
without a presence in stores and on TV cycling will drop away...
From the Guardian article
The retailer’s management team needs to find £20m to fund a rescue plan, but its backers and bankers were understood to be unwilling to provide the extra cash. Advisers to the group have now asked would-be buyers to table an offer within days.
It's been one after another recently, no idea what will happen, but lets hope not the worst.
If I had an Evans Voucher I 'd be using it sharpish.
I’m wondering if this will effect their Ride It events, as I want to book onto the one in Mold next weekend.
I'm also booked onto the Cannock event next month - one I've been meaning to do for years now and only now got around to doing it. Annoyingly, I have a non-refundable hotel stay booked for it too. It wasn't an expensive one, but I'll be a bit grumpy if it gets canned :-/
I suppose that, considering the number of people who stand to lose their jobs if they fail to find a buyer, my worries are a little inconsequential. Hopefully they will survive, but it's a tough marketplace...
High street shops with landlords putting the rent up and councils putting the rates up.
Internet for buying and price comparison.
Customers who are used to being able to click for anything and get it free the next day.
This is a perfect storm for pretty much all of the high street.
Its not a surprise and I would expect more to go soon.
They've recently opened a large store in Reading. I am not surprised they're in trouble. Two years ago I purchased a Brompton from them, and the service was awful; particularly the aftersales. How difficult can it be to organise a complimentary six week service!?
I also bought a Cannondale Badboy a few months back. Amazing price, nearly half price as it was last years model (identical to this years). I also used some discount codes. I had to beg, plead for a convenient time to collect the bike. It seemed I could only collect when it was convenient to them, during the week, when I am working in London. Again dealing with the service department was painful. There was a queue of dissatisfied customers waiting for the service department.
Do they take training courses in how to be unhelpful and rude to customers?
High street shops with landlords putting the rent up and councils putting the rates up.
Internet for buying and price comparison.
Customers who are used to being able to click for anything and get it free the next day.
This is a perfect storm for pretty much all of the high street.
Its not a surprise and I would expect more to go soon.
These are all true, but Evans seem (to my eyes) massively over-extended in their store network. Also, from reading a few posts in this thread, customer service doesn't always appear to be top-notch, something that should be a given for a successful high-street retailer.
Yes, high street trading is tough, but that's not a blanket excuse for poor business management.
I drive in Edinburgh and almost every other bike is a pinnacle !! Be shame to lose them. But alas the internet cut throat pricing which I’m also guilty of indulging is killing off the high street. And to be fair driving into any town is a nightmare so delivery to your door is a bonus.
Just about to put an order in for some new tyres, might wait till Monday and see what happens to avoid being House of Fraser-ed.
@daern - I've posted on there Ride It FB page and they don't envisage the Mold event being cancelled
@daern – I’ve posted on there Ride It FB page and they don’t envisage the Mold event being cancelled
Thanks - I suppose this will remain the message right up until the day before if something catastrophic happens to them at short notice, but I do hope for all of the staff concerned that they can pull something out of the bag here.
I wish them all the best as there's a huge number of jobs at risk.
That said, I had the worst bike buying experince ever from thir Reading branch.
Ordered a Trek Superfly- phoned to confirm collection (midweek at about 5pm).
I turned up and the bike hadn't even been taken out the box. They built it up damaging the frame, forks, carbon bars and seatpost in the process.. they then stole the fork lockout from another bike (older spec with nasty leaver) as it wasn't in the box, gouging the crown in the process. I waited 2 hours, with no appology and no update. I was just milling around and each time I enquired- 'we're working on it'..
Anyway, bike is ready to collect, covered in marks, grease and protective film. I was fed up and took it without checking as it was the end of a long day. Got it home and found all the marks, alongside lose bolts everywhere and none indexed gears. It was actually dangerous to the point that if an amateur would take it home and start riding there would be a serious crash at somepoint.
I was pretty upset as I rarely buy new bikes. Contacted customer service who where rubbish. Just a 'sorry' and no way of remediating the damage caused even after chassing.
It's put me off Evans for life despite nearly buying 2 other bikes from there.
I forgot to say they also scratched my Cannondale Badboy, no apology or compensation, just accept it or leave it.
I also spent over an hour milling around with no communication, because the bike wasn't ready.
Awful buying experience.
For balance, while I’ve not been in for a couple of years since I moved away from town, I always had pretty good service in Evans Sheffield, with helpful friendly staff going the extra mile being the norm and generally behaving much more like a friendly LBS than a big multiple.
Possibly some stores are bad and that speaks to a lack of control further up as it has a corrosive effect on the brand, but I don’t believe such rubbish service as the above experiences are typically Evans.
Anyway, bike is ready to collect, covered in marks, grease and protective film. I was fed up and took it without checking as it was the end of a long day. Got it home and found all the marks, alongside lose bolts everywhere and none indexed gears. It was actually dangerous to the point that if an amateur would take it home and start riding there would be a serious crash at somepoint.
I was pretty upset as I rarely buy new bikes. Contacted customer service who where rubbish. Just a ‘sorry’ and no way of remediating the damage caused even after chassing.
why didn't you just take it back unused for a full refund ?
I hope Evans survive but as a regular customer (mainly for click and clllect and bike purchases at a good price) there are quite a few things they could do to capture a greater share of total spend:
- implement a loyalty scheme. I spend around 1/3 with Evans and 2/3 online with other retailers. Recognising me as a customer and making it worthwhile to spend the 2/3 I don’t spend with them would drive revenue and potentially improve profits if other customers
- Accept Amex payments directly. Some customers have to pay via PayPal for Amex but this means purchases aren’t covered by normal credit card guarantees - so this may drive some customers away.
- sort servicing out. It’s too expensive for ad hoc repairs and for new bike collections they couldn’t be more unhelpful if they tried - my last but one bike purchase wasn’t built up when I went to collect it at the scheduled time - they were saying they were rushed of their feet but the smell of weed drifting out from the back of the workshop area spoke volumes.
- sort the website out. It’s not very developed and isn’t optimised for mobile - with the result that you can often find things on the evans website via google that you can’t find via the site search
- add DPD / collect plus to make it easier for online purchases (and charge for items sent back to limit costs)
- streamline the product range to reduce the cost of inventory. There are too many similar products - a smaller range of best in class items would make little difference to most customers but would improve working capital.
I was in the Guildford store yesterday and Tom who does the bike fitting was really helpful advising me on size ... I wanted a small Pinnacle Arkose 3 but they're not due in stock until 4th November ... guess they may never arrive now which would be a shame.
Sad to see - Evans was my LBS when they only had the Waterloo and Wandsworth shops - pre expansion. Some good people working there back then, some of whom stayed for many years after the VC purchase and expansion.
It does seem though that they massively overstretched themselves with all the new shops at a time when it's a real challenge to make bricks and mortar work.
@witterings I'm similar to you, waiting on either the large Arkose 2 or 4 to arrive in stock. Certainly reluctant to put any money down until I can actually collect.
Ive been waiting for a couple of months now so I hope that the carpet isn't pulled before they arrive.
From a purely selfish point of view I have a £160 lid on back order which is due in next week. Paid on CC and they have debited it. Should the worst happen I assume I would be protected by Barclaycard/Visa? Just wondering if I should cancel now but if everyone does that it will only hasten their demise which I don't want to happen. As long as I'm protected then happy to wait and see
Edit - quick google gives this on Moneysavingexpert (where else?) - over £100 on a single item so should be OK under Section 75. I'll wait and see
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/company-administration-help/#cc
im not surprised tbh
when you see the job adverts they are dissimilar to that of someone who might work in spar
alpine has the same issue.
The issue is that you either need to be dedicated to your job OR have a love for bicycles to have the knowledge required to be useful in a bike shop for the wage they pay.
It's a shame, as ever. The Birmingham store is OK, stock is very hit and miss and the customer service is generally unenthusiastic and uninformed.. The mechanic did sort through boxes and boxes of bits to find me a very specific bolt once though. There website constantly annoys me by showing great prices on Google Shopping and then having no stock.
In truth though, I use them almost exclusively to price match something I want there and then. And by offered web prices on High Street rents is always going to be tough.
It’s also a terrible time of year. If you look shaky people won’t put orders in for Christmas and you lose out more. Then you have no idea what your import tariffs might be next year. It’s going to take some brave investors
Personally I dont see it as a sustainable business model.
High street retail is brutal, just look at most town centres and other retailers. Evans appears to be turning over more and more money at a loss chasing cash flow. Trying to go head to head with CRC/Wiggle price match is just daft when you have high street overhead, if you dont make a sustainable margin there is no point selling something.
Retailers that survive are offering a service or a niche.
Service/staff in Evans is varied, you get some excellent mechanics/sales guys, and some are just people doing a job who happen to work in a bike shop. Cycle shop wages are generally poor, so talented people often leave. Constant target pressure does not help many situations.
Awful for those working there and suppliers waiting on payment. I hope nobody gets screwed over. I've just ordered a new Gravelking for Saturday delivery so lets see if that turns up.
As an aside, I bet the Pinnacle brand is probably strong enough to stand on its own now. A savvy buyer might look to buy the name and designs and maybe set up a direct model a la Canyon....
I have to agree that the servicing in the Reading branch is terrible. They gave my bike back a day late with one of the brake pads not inserted properly, it actually fell out when I got home. They also didn't address any of the issues that I mentioned to them.. This was for a Silver service , if the service wasn't a free one I'd have kicked up a fuss.
I wonder what will happen with their ride to work scheme..
AK
I've had mixed experiences with Evans. Many many years ago, the london stores were always good, but this was tainted somewhat from the braehead store, lax, CBA attitude and lack of knowledge several times. They tried selling me brake outer as gear outer as 'it's the same', and looked blank when I pointed out the difference between them.
However, more recent experience for returns have been good. customer services were clear and informed, the Glasgow store was still a little bit slow, but they processed the return and organised the replacement without problem.
It'l be a shame to see them go, but I hope they manage to downsize and return to the shop that they used to be.
Just picked up a Trek ebike from the Liverpool branch, really good staff in there and it takes the edge off having to go into town shopping with MrsColP. I’ll be sad if they go.
If it does go tits-up, some of the stores might survive in some kind of pre-pack deal. I think there is more chance of someone seeing a way ahead for at least some stores than was the case for, for example, Maplin.
I wonder what will happen with their ride to work scheme..
Hmmm, technically they still own my Arkose...
I'm certainly hoping they do manage to survive - I visit the Milton Keynes store fairly regularly - staff have always been helpful whenever I've visited (mostly click and collect orders)
Since this news first surfaced I've been rapidly spending the gift cards/vouchers I'd built up via Tesco Clubcard - last one has just been spent today
Bought a bike, a frame and quite a few parts from the Reading Branch. Service has always been excellent. Also the support and advice by JamesO on this forum has been excellent.
We need alternatives to Wiggle. Hope they pull through this.
Hmmm, technically they still own my Arkose…
Your employer owns the bike not Evans, so nothing will change (unless you actually work for Evans ?)
My employer owns the three pairs of Endura Boxers I bought, and the 3 pairs of socks. I am REALLY looking forward to handing them back at the end of the “hire period” 😆 😳
Well they didn't have a 16t screw on SS freewheel on the shelf to sell me today so frankly they can GTF.
Only joking, would be a shame to see another large high street brand go under, especially a bike shop. I quite like them.
They've gotta find £10m by end of next week
The governments shambolic handling of brexit has sent the £ tumbling again as fear of no deal brexit looms cant imagine that this is a good time to be looking for a buyer
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/evans-cycles-seeking-10m-investment-end-next-week-395046
From a purely selfish point of view, I hope my reverb arrives before they sink.
Regarding the Reading branch mentioned earlier, I can only assume they pay the staff really poorly.
A mate has to use Evans for his works cycle to work scheme, I went with him to buy a bike, the staff couldn’t be less interested. I thought perhaps it was because of the cycle to work thing meant no bonus, However I was looking to buy a reasonably high end Mondraker a while later and the reception was similar.
I'm a bit gutted mainly as I've identified the pinnacle arkose alfine as being the bike I'd buy if my current bike went tits up.
My wife bought a (cheap) bike from them in spring.
A bit gutted really as less choice and competition for us bike geeks.
ordered new helmet, jersey and shorts Thursday evening. Arrived this morning. Proper bargain using the codes.
Apparently still trading properly it seems.
Liverpool store today, a few staff in compared to normal all seemed to be very helpful to customers, not so many bikes in stock and fewer brands, but must be a huge lease charge and business rates for location.
and end of this month a huge bill for staff wages and payments to suppliers.
Just placed an online order, Evans had availability and at a decent price. Must admit I hovered on the buy button for a bit on the basis of the uncertainty. In the end I chucked a tub of energy juice on to scrape over the £100 threshold and put it on CC. It's a rubbish situation for the company, especially the staff. However, as a consumer once confidence wavers there's no point taking a chance.
I'm completely ambivalent on Evans in general, I've bought stuff from them occasionally but they've never really had a store local to me. Wishing the staff all the best, I hope stability is in place before the run up to Christmas.
I have used their New Oscott store a few times in the last twelve months. Mainly small purchases of cables, saddles etc. Staff have been friendly, really helpful and generally knowledgeable - although there are a few younger ones who are still growing their knowledge.
Mixed service from their Birmingham store, attitude of staff has varied from couldn’t give a shit to ok.
As a result, would not care too much if the Brum store closes but would be gutted if the New Oscott store shuts down.
Whoa! This thread has got out of hand from the off! 😉
They're not closing/going bust. Its public knowledge their profits have taken a huge hit in recent years. Down to 1.8million according to online documents but that doesnt mean they're going bust. Big highstreet chains have gone into the red my multiple millions before going into liquidation - Evans are still very much in the Green. Whether you love Evans or hate them (I'm not a big fan t be honest) the truth is the industry relies heavily on the huge retailers like them. Brands like Brompton, Specialized and Trek probably get 30-40% of their UK sales through Evans so the industry as a whole would suffer greatly of they ceased trading.
But back to the original point - They've seen a drop in profits yes, but they're not in the red. I think the news story gave an insight and now everyones minds have run wild and Chinese whispers has lead to "did you know Evans is going bust" which is quite laughable really. Its owners aren't happy with the profits so they're looking to sell it. Seems sensible. But I guess its wouldn't be a typical forum without everyone getting stuck into a big drama and blowing everything out of proportion! Hahaaaa !
They claim the 10 million is needed for investment not for immediate cash needs. But they want it by next week (which is now almost this week).
Tinglesrack, ex-Evans by any chance?
Greyspoke, possibly tax bill time as well as wage bill.
From what i've been told, as above, it's more of a 'want' than a 'need', they want £10m to reinvest to make more profit rather than they need it to bail out. If they don't get a good deal, they will continue trading and maybe try again to sell in a few years, it was sold only a few years ago and it happens from time to time. This is what i've been told by my manager as an Evans employee, I am just a part time sales assistant but don't feel like my job is in danger, we hit target week in week out and can't see it going under to be honest, yes there are a lot of costs and overheads out side of our store but I don't see them being in any danger.
Greyspoke you're clearly just speculating, but this kind of internet know it all attitude can genuinely affect a companies sales and in turn peoples jobs. I see some colleeague have jumped in to the thread, we made a profit last quarter and had a good summer and are doing pretty well compared to many high street chains. Chinese whispers is a pretty dangerous game.
This is what i’ve been told by my manager as an Evans employee, I am just a part time sales assistant but don’t feel like my job is in danger, we hit target week in week out and can’t see it going under to be honest, yes there are a lot of costs and overheads out side of our store but I don’t see them being in any danger.
In the event of somebody going under you keep going until it goes pop... If I was your manager I'd probably have said the same thing regardless of what the situation was. Playing devils advocate of course it could be exactly what you said but you wouldn't know.
Its public knowledge their profits have taken a huge hit in recent years. Down to 1.8million according to online documents but that doesnt mean they’re going bust. Big highstreet chains have gone into the red my multiple millions before going into liquidation – Evans are still very much in the Green.
Conviviality Retail went into administration in April, there expected profits were around £55million, just sayin. Point is that being profitable is only a part of it, investor confidence, cash flow etc are just as important
Its owners aren’t happy with the profits so they’re looking to sell it.
- "but its backers and bankers were understood to be unwilling to provide the extra cash."
- "and the retailers’ lenders AIB and HSBC failed to agree on a cash injection."
erm, I think you'll find this is the reason why they are looking to sell, because they can't raise the £10mil+ (some reporting upto £20m) they need to keep the business going (cash flow). All it takes is someone to buy it, and the fact it is a profitable business will work in it's favour, but the doom and gloom mongering, as you put it, is not without foundation, the high street is a very tough environment at the moment.
In the end I chucked a tub of energy juice on to scrape over the £100 threshold and put it on CC. It’s a rubbish situation for the company, especially the staff. However, as a consumer once confidence wavers there’s no point taking a chance.
Just be aware that Section 75 only covers "single items more than £100":
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases/#when
It's worth noting that there's some confusion around this, but this is a good example quoted from the above page:
- Alternatively, if a suit jacket and trousers are individually priced at £60 each, you're not covered, but if you buy the suit as a whole for one price of £120, you are covered.
Worth a read, but the reality is that that a £100 order made up of lots of bits is unlikely to be covered. You may still be able to chargeback, but that's a different thing.
In much the same way as people who die of 'cancer' in the end often succumb to pneumonia or organ failure or the like, businesses in the end mainly fail because of cash flow as the aspect that nails the lid on. Your profit margins or order book is worth jack if you don't have the cash to run it until those orders get paid.
This is a rollercoaster thread!
Well, the Zealot backpack I ordered yesterday has been despatched this morning.
Being up for sale is a very different place from needing to call the Receivers in. Businesses can be up for sale for very long periods with no collapse although staff morale may take a hit.
There is such a thing as a self fulfilling prophecy. Enough people whispering about imminent collapse is just the thing to cause a business that otherwise needn’t have closed to fail due to a lack of customers.
The investors in Evans will be looking at a number of factors. I doubt the comments on this tread will be one of them.
I doubt the comments on this tread will be one of them.
Not directly but a drop off in sales or orders due to rumours and uncertainty will be something they are looking at. How many people are willing to pay a sizeable deposit on a bike from Evans for instance at the moment. That is what will be monitored by investors, the fire sale approach may help cashflow but it will also impact reorder rates and not holding stock has the same impact on confidence.
Being up for sale is a very different place from needing to call the Receivers in. Businesses can be up for sale for very long periods with no collapse although staff morale may take a hit.
That's true, businesses are bought and sold all the time, but this is reporting a bit more desperate than that. They need at least £10m to "meet their financial obligations over the next few months" , They've called in outside financial advisers (PriceWaterhouseCooper), their existing lenders won't give them any more money (AIB, HSBC), they've set a deadline for purchase bids of this Thursday.
My summary (if the reporting is accurate) is more along the lines of, they need to find a buyer, pretty sharpish.
The Havant store was having a delivery at 07:30 this morning when I rode past, so stock is still being sent to shops if that helps calm your fears of spending your money there at the moment!
Well, quite. Whilst the STW hive mind may have been where all Google searches ended up before the ‘upgrade’, it’s unlikely Evans’ investors and Creditors will pay attention to comments on a thread here. But a few hundred of possibly the better heeled amongst Evans’ customer base starting a whispering campaign that the ‘game is up’ based on hearsay and guesswork? That’s the sort of thing that can hurt a viable but cash-poor business, badly.
Leave it out until there’s something more definite, guys?
Popped into evans kingston over the weekend. The staff there were still frantically trying to avoid eye contact with anyone looking to get served so I was relieved to see it was business as usual.
Do hope they do OK though Be a shame to see them go.
Just been in Liverpool store. Lots of bikes on the floor. Lots of clothing and accessories. Maybe half a dozen customers and what looked like a full complement of staff.
Usual friendly welcome. No obvious signs of panic selling. Just looked like normal day.
I'm thinking of buying on arkose on 0% plus deposit and like the sound of their swap guarantee if you really can't get on with it. My worry is I'll either lose the deposit or the chance to exchange. Thing is, before the news/rumours, I wouldn't even have thought of worrying about it. So that's a near guaranteed sale gone or at least postponed, the same really if you need the cash.
Having been involved in mergers, acquisitions and disposals I doubt very much that anyone outside the directors of Evans and their accountants will have a scooby-doo about their financial predicament and negotiations. They will have an interest to maintain trade and generate cash as they probably have some big bills to pay at the end of this quarter. The problem with any equity buy-outs and expansions is the huge debts that will have been placed on their balance sheets which means it needs regularly re-financed, hence the plea for £10m - we've had a devaluation of the £ meaning it costs more to buy stuff as they'll be paying suppliers in US$, plus they've probably taken a hit in their credit worthiness and insurance, again increasing their costs. There's plenty of people out there who'll be happily lend them the £10m, but whether its at a price they want to pay because it'll be loaded with risk.
But a few hundred of possibly the better heeled amongst Evans’ customer base starting a whispering campaign that the ‘game is up’ based on hearsay and guesswork? That’s the sort of thing that can hurt a viable but cash-poor business, badly.
Leave it out until there’s something more definite, guys?
I think the bbc article holds more sway than stw... as soon as that came out the general public will not be thinking this company is a good bet to order a bike for my kids Christmas but ohh maybe I can get some discounted stock.
Even if they get the cash the article will still have been on the bbc and in major newspapers...
@tinglesrack:
”Specialized and Trek probably get 30-40% of their UK sales through Evans“
Source?