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Source?
Evans staff training, I'd wager.
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.
Well no no there are not plenty of people who will lend them £10m. It wouldn’t have gone public if there were. You exhaust funding options in private before going publicly desperate. Sounds like cash flow to me
Suppliers will now be getting twitchy, lenders will be getting twitchy, it’s a downward spiral
Being brutal. If I was an institutional investor, VC or other fund, would I put it into high street retail with expensive city centre locations, specialist market with a track record of volatility, and increasing encroachment on market share from direct to consumer, both on bikes and P&A? Not a chance.
It might be nice to save an established British business that says it's profitable, but what's the trajectory of the business and it's profitability? How is the supplier and customer goodwill?
There **might** be an interest in scooping up the brand and sub-brands for a new online play or reduced number of stores, but even then, it comes with setup/change investment needs, and history of those kind of "physical to online" switches doesn't inspire confidence.
Sad to say, but I reckon they'll go.
Sad to say, but I reckon they’ll go.
Yup. Reckon that's right
I don't want them to, they have 2 stores close to me and both have been pretty good when i've needed something, and as I pass one of them every evening on the way home and they have a car park, the click and collect is easier than having it delivered and not being in without having to pay for express / timed.
However - the articles don't read that well and while I kind of agree that negative press can be really damaging, by the same token I won't be putting any money into them myself unless i have something to take away in return - even if it is > £100 and protected by CC i don't want that hassle - and I'm not sure people saying 'it's fine, carry on as normal' are offering any refunds either if it suddenly goes HoF.
Well, taking a gamble, I couldn't refuse a new Reverb at £150 minus another 8% discount via perks at work.
We'll see if it turns up in the shop tomorrow...
Well, taking a gamble, I couldn’t refuse a new Reverb at £150 minus another 8% discount via perks at work.
We’ll see if it turns up in the shop tomorrow…
Did that involve purchasing vouchers through work?
Well, I did my bit to try to save them.
Did that involve purchasing vouchers through work?
Yup - instant e-voucher.
0)There **might** be an interest in scooping up the brand and sub-brands for a new online play or reduced number of stores,
I had a similar conclusion from the press reports wording as FunkyDunc and Andyrm (see page 6). Although not willing to end it as bluntly, partly because none of us genuinely know with absolute certainty what the outcome will be, but reading between the lines it doesn't sound good unless a buyer comes forward.
My desire is/was to give a heads up to staff on here who are buying the line by managers or internal communication that everything is ok. it really isn't. I've been lied to in these exact same circumstances and you (employees) are the last to be told the truth as the company spins a positive line down the chain to try and maintain a positive staff vibe. When it all becomes apparent you feel totally cheated, lied to and "how could I have been so naive?", unless, of course, it gets pulled from the brink by a buyer, hey, business as usual!..
A buyer by Thursday and I guess it's business as usual, no buyer and it's administration by the looks of it, from the general vibe in press. Administration isn't the end, a buyer can then buy the business cheap and/or cherry pick stores and just cut unprofitable stores loose out of long term leases. without much financial consequences.
I might be clouded by 10 years of bitterness of being lied to by management as the co spirals downwards, but I don't think so, all the bullshit and press wording is exactly the same.
Hmmmm. The Bell Super lid I ordered was due in yesterday. Had two emails today, one to say it was delayed and another a bit later blaming a delay at the suppliers end and now due 4/10. So from a few days before the deadline and month end to a few days the other side. Maybe just co-incidence but....
A buyer by Thursday and I guess it’s business as usual, no buyer and it’s administration by the looks of it, from the general vibe in press. Administration isn’t the end, a buyer can then buy the business cheap and/or cherry pick stores and just cut unprofitable stores loose out of long term leases. without much financial consequences.
With a business head, what changes does your £10m deliver, if it's same as before will they be back for another £10m later
A lonely pensioner who “lost everything” after giving away £100,000 to a woman he has never met is warning others not to be taken in by an online sex fraud.
Roy Twiggs, 67, says he has lost his life savings after paying out thousands of pounds to a woman he began swapping emails and explicit messages with online.
He handed over the cash to the mystery woman who latterly referred to herself as his wife and told him that she loved him.
He has been told by police that there is little chance of securing a conviction or recovering the cash from the woman who is believed to live abroad.
The former RAF serviceman: “I have lost absolutely everything. Every time I paid money, I was assured I would get it all back.
“The amounts just kept getting bigger and bigger, but I’ve not had a penny back.”
Whereas if you have the cash you can get the lot and control on your terms.
Hmmmm. The Bell Super lid I ordered was due in yesterday. Had two emails today, one to say it was delayed and another a bit later blaming a delay at the suppliers end and now due 4/10. So from a few days before the deadline and month end to a few days the other side. Maybe just co-incidence but….
Same for me for my reverb. I think I’ll cancel it.
Been ordering stuff over the last week or so and all of it has turned up on time
Latest purchase is on track to be delivered today
Will keep on using them
If your that worried then use a credit card linked to your Paypal account, that way you should be protected if they do go under, which i very much doubt would happen
I ordered a Hope front brake in store on Monday night using Clubcard vouchers i’d arranged on Friday,picked it up yesterday. The Sram clamp was out of stock so cancelled that
As I had quite a bit of money left on the vouchers as well as a Evans giftcard I ordered the matching rear, hopefully it arrives before any deadline
i spoke to the same chap both nights and management are telling them the £10m is wanted for new stores!
Hmmmm. The Bell Super lid I ordered was due in yesterday. Had two emails today, one to say it was delayed and another a bit later blaming a delay at the suppliers end and now due 4/10. So from a few days before the deadline and month end to a few days the other side. Maybe just co-incidence but….
Zyro don't currently have stock of any 2019 Bell Supers. They are showing a provisional (not confirmed) due date of 29/10
Hmmmmm......I had assumed mine was a 2018 as well at that price although I think the black/green is unchanged from last year. It does make me think I should request a refund as other places have stock for a bit more money but I don't want to hasten their demise as I should have the section 75 cover. Hassle though isn't it?
If they fold I wonder what will happen with bikes that aren't due in until the beginning of November ... If the arrival time was accurate I'm guessing the frames must be built by now if they're shipped from China.
Maybe they're built but haven't got components on them so may never arrive or the frames just get sold off, I've been waiting to grab an Arkose 3 but the small's haven't been in stock since I've been looking at them.
Be a shame to lose them whatever so fingers crossed ... especially for the staff.
Same for me for my reverb. I think I’ll cancel it.
Just got the email that mine is in the store waiting to be picked up...
I'd better not leave it too long 😛
well Ive got an order for £100 of stuff in my basket, ill hit the check out button on Friday, if they are still in business, which I sincerely hope they are.
I used pay after delivery Paypal. That way there is two weeks to get your bits before it becomes an issue.
If its gonna arrive in store a fortnight should be plenty.
My Zealot apparently arrived today according to the Royal Mail notification.
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jimdubleyou
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<div class="bbp-reply-content">Same for me for my reverb. I think I’ll cancel it.
Just got the email that mine is in the store waiting to be picked up…
I’d better not leave it too long
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There's a button you press that makes it shorter.
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This was a interesting read on the demise of Maplin, I was suprised how profitable they were but were undone by debts loaded by management buyouts.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/26/a_story_of_m_a_failed_retailer/
I had several items on my 'ride to work' voucher that kept getting pushed back in terms of delivery...I suspect things are getting tighter at head office and suppliers are possibly 'delaying' sending them stock until the future is certain.
Decided today to change them all for 'In Stock' items on the premise that when (if) things get sorted out and they come back in stock I'll just get them exchanged.
Didn't want to end up loosing out on my new winter Northwave boots because they potentially go into administration. Worst case scenario I'll be cycling around on bright yellow winter boots as opposed to black ones...at least I'll not go missing in a snow drift. 😉
Really hope someone bails them out....having been there myself with a historic employer, it's crap for the staff. Hope it all ends well.
I genuinely hope Halfords buys them. If there is one thing worse than being listed and answerable to shareholders its being run ragged by the scum that is the PE business.
I genuinely hope Halfords buys them. If there is one thing worse than being listed and answerable to shareholders its being run ragged by the scum that is the PE business.
Totally agree with this - def better off under a big brand - probably by far the best option allround
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This was a interesting read on the demise of Maplin, I was suprised how profitable they were but were undone by debts loaded by management buyouts.
Yup. The really demented thing is that the vulture capitalist companies bought a functional company, then instantly loaded that company with the debt that they used to buy the ****ing company, and charge massive interest rates (15%, in this case). They don't risk their own capital, they borrow and then redistribute the borrowing. And this happened to Maplin three times. Eventually, by some hilarious quirk of late stage capitalism, it becomes more profitable to destroy a business that makes money so that you can reduce your exposure and go off and ruin another company, than it does to cut your "repayments" to a sane level and have it continue to operate.
Rutland bought Maplin for £85m with Maplin's own money then extracted £42 million- 80% tax free- in interest from that deal, by lending money to themselves, then closed them down. It's indefensible. I mean, it's hard to even explain what happened, because it's so fundamentally ridiculous you get halfway through your rant and you start to think you must have imagined it.
I don't know what the cure is. Nooses, possibly, and lampposts.
Halfords are Cycle Republic, aren't they?
They've just opened a new store, pretty much, next door to the Metrocentre (Gateshead) branch of Evans. That branch must be on borrowed time, surely?
Halfords also own Tredz, Wheelies etc
yep Halfords are also tredz & cycle republic. at least the staff will now be better trained like the Halfords own ones.....oh, wait.
Yup. The really demented thing is that the vulture capitalist companies bought a functional company, then instantly loaded that company with the debt that they used to buy the ****ing company, and charge massive interest rates (15%, in this case). They don’t risk their own capital, they borrow and then redistribute the borrowing. And this happened to Maplin three times. Eventually, by some hilarious quirk of late stage capitalism, it becomes more profitable to destroy a business that makes money so that you can reduce your exposure and go off and ruin another company, than it does to cut your “repayments” to a sane level and have it continue to operate.
Rutland bought Maplin for £85m with Maplin’s own money then extracted £42 million- 80% tax free- in interest from that deal, by lending money to themselves, then closed them down. It’s indefensible. I mean, it’s hard to even explain what happened, because it’s so fundamentally ridiculous you get halfway through your rant and you start to think you must have imagined it.
I don’t know what the cure is. Nooses, possibly, and lampposts.
Yep. I believe that the PE firm that bought Evans paid £80m, so you'd think that if they sell them at £10m it's a fire sale and they've lost £70m....errrrm, no......
Capitalism is most definitely broken
The cynic in me would say that Halfords looked at the Evans financials, [EDIT: and poached their head of retail] and then parked Cycle Republics on the doorstep of every Evans store they could and waited....
The cynic in me would say that Halfords looked at the Evans published financials, then parked Cycle Republics on the doorstep of every Evans store they could and waited…
They've certainly done that in Glasgow City centre
..and Bristol.
This was a interesting read on the demise of Maplin, I was suprised how profitable they were but were undone by debts loaded by management buyouts.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/26/a_story_of_m_a_failed_retailer//a >
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I struggle to see how that sort of thing is legal, especially when there are pension pots involved too.
Nottingham EvansCycles is about 150m from the Halfords cycle republic, not sure it makes sense for them to merge but which store would be the one to shut down??
... and EC3. Evans then pulled a switcheroo and moved to a much larger underground store an entire block away. It's never busy. The large, underground Evans store 10 minutes walk away in Spitalfields is much busier.
Now that IS interesting- didn't realise that Halfords owned so many other bike brands- I knew about Cycle Hut, but not Tredz- who seem to be a pretty competitive online operation (that I feel less guilty buying from than CRC or Wiggle).
Interestingly I think reading between the lines that what Evans is trying to do is sell off the retail estate in order to keep the business running. In essence they're moving out of retail to become online / brand owners a-la Chiggle.
I think they want to raise £20m to prevent the business from being crushed by its debts, of which £10m is thrown into the pot by the creditors (mostly the VC/Bank) to write down some debt in order to make the ongoing business viable, the other £10m gives them operational cash flow and probably pays off some other debts too, and the retail estate gets sold off for that. In doing that they'd slash non direct costs massively, improve the cash flow and make the business a lot leaner. Then you set about improving on your online business and growing your own brand products like Pinnacle.
Total speculation of course.
… and EC3. Evans then pulled a switcheroo and moved to a much larger underground store an entire block away. It’s never busy.
I quite like that there's hardly ever anybody in there and 2/3 staff + you can pop in at lunch time and get a kebab from the Skewered across the road 😛
Capitalism is most definitely broken
It'd be fine if human nature wasn't fundamentally unpleasant and greedy
I'd merrily pay a bit more to keep away from companies owned by PE/VC companies - how would I tell ?
(I don't have time to go to a bricks'n'mortar LBS so I'm online "only")
((does anybody know what Hargroves' business model is ? - they're my LOBS. What about Merlin ??))
It’d be fine if human nature wasn’t fundamentally unpleasant and greedy
it isn't, take away the capitalist motivation and people are co-operative and emphatic.
is Tredz the In Stock* webshop?
*Not here, we reckon our supplier has some, we'll check once you've ordered, and let you know if there's an issue. Maybe
people are co-operative and emphatic
NO, WE'RE NOT!!!!!
Just bought Garneau HCS 90 shoes from Evans for £45 down from £124 in Canary Wharf.
**my old Time shoes have been going for 21 years and are wrecked, thousands of miles on them!
What we should probably talk about is setting up an investment vehicle for 'keen cyclists' to purchase these brands and bring them together under 1 roof, reduce manufacture and supply chain costs by going web only from international distribution. Really bring a cyclists view of product forward across multiple domains.
I think there is a deal to be done.....!
Any news?
Just cancelled my order for a reverb (ordered last Saturday before reading this thread), had an email today to say delay to 28/10/2018 (was supposed to be 7-10 days)
Halfords have them for £180 plus BC discount
The Bell Super DH I had on order first went from 24/9 to 5/10 and today moved to 12/11. Cancelled and got one from CRC for £8 more
Just for balance, I've had stock alert emails telling me one or two of the items (one of them a bike) I wanted are now back in stock, so clearly it's not totally doom and gloom!
tires ordered yesterday are with royal mail today for delivery tomorrow, so its looking good.
Looks likes it’s now a two horse race between Halfords and Sports Direct
3 way ?
https://news.sky.com/story/high-street-sports-titans-ride-into-battle-for-evans-cycles-11515527
Well I got a bike last week from them with 1k off! Bargain.
...
Sports Direct International - FFS he is a complete ****.
Like Mike Ashley or loath him, the one thing he is not is a fool.
Like Mike Ashley or loath him, the one thing he is not is a fool.
And loved by all who encounter him.
No, wait...
And loved by all who work or have worked for him.....
No, wait....
And loved by all who’s Football team he owns ...
No, wait..
If it's Halfords, that surely means a lot of closures, Evans already seem to have too many stores in close proximity, add in all the Halfords/cycle republics ....
I imagine they close quite a few branches & just rebrand the rest as cycle republics.
Alternative is Bikes Direct , will you get an oversize soup mug with online orders tho ?
Evans has been on the slippery slope towards Sports Direct for a while. The own-brand FW Evans consumable parts it sells in store is garbage at convenience prices. At least with Bikes Direct you'd have garbage at garbage prices.
If Evans Sports Direct sold commuter clothing somewhere between the Endura stuff Evans stock and the Muddy Fox crap the Sports Direct sell I'd shop there.
I'd speculate on them merging Cycle Republic into Evans - the latter has more brand recognition in my humble opinion.
The history of non-specialist sports (or other) shops doing bikes in-store is not encouraging, at least not so far as the enthusiast market is concerned. Go Outdoors are making a better fist of it than most have as far as I can tell. They/. JD Sports may think that the Evans brand will help them make the push up-market?
Honestly, anyone but SD. As I fear that anything that Evans do to ‘give back’ (run events etc) would stop. Pinnacle would be reduced to BSOs for the sub £100 market, I reckon they’d stop doing any bike over the c2w £1000 threshold too, if they kept doing that... and all the brands they currently own would start doing a cycle range, cheap yes, but dogshit quality. Ashley’s business model is to pare everything down to the absolute minimum (inc employee rights etc) to maximise profit. He’s very good at that, but not the sort of person I’d want to give a penny to. Yes the business would be saved, but everyone but Ashley loses out.
the ‘cycling is too expensive’ mob would be happy though
If Evans gets sold to Sports Direct then they've lost a customer here.
I find everything about Sports Direct to be awful and sincve they've bought out House of Fraser I won't be using them anymore either!
If they do get hold of them it'll be the death of Evans.
If Evans gets sold to Sports Direct then they’ve lost a customer here.
I'd imagine if they became sports direct for bikes for every customer they lost here they'd pick up a 10x as many. In a world where people can and will spend an hour shopping around to save 10p on a £100 item, high end retail is and will continue to struggle because the customers who will actually choose to pay a price beyond the Ashley price is tiny.
This has suddenly become a lot more relevant to me after seeing that Norco Fluid on the front page. We can only get Norco from Evans in the UK can't we?
The own-brand FW Evans consumable parts it sells in store is garbage at convenience prices.
Not all of it. I have a brilliant pump and multi-tool with that name on it. Ok so they're badged, but still.
I’d imagine if they became sports direct for bikes for every customer they lost here they’d pick up a 10x as many. In a world where people can and will spend an hour shopping around to save 10p on a £100 item, high end retail is and will continue to struggle because the customers who will actually choose to pay a price beyond the Ashley price is tiny.
Question then becomes who will sell bikes to them, most bike companies will not want stuff being sent out to the sort of shit show that is a SD shop. It's not the brand they are and it's something that requires selling a lot of the time not just buying.
most bike companies will not want stuff being sent out to the sort of shit show that is a SD shop
I'd wager there are more Apollos or brown boxers in this world than Treks. I don't think they'd struggle for supply that suits their pricing model and target market.
SD wont buy Evans so I don't think you all need worry.
Sorry, I'd say that are already supplying evans.
Given how House of Fraiser is going I'd have to agree with you Ben, he doesn't have the cash floating around unless he can offload another big asset.....
Even if he sells NUFC its still not the sort of deal they'd do. I think its just fishing about to see if there's a cheap deal to be done but the competition is serious and can get it done so I'd be 99% sure SD are already oot.
Well I like to live life on the edge so I ordered some pedals from them today to replace the ones I bent the axle on 🙂
My reverb i ordered 2 days ago, that showed a 1 month wait time, has been shipped already and i'm tracking it to me. Bonus.
i was expecting to have lost my cash based on the pessimistic forecasts of Evans impending demise.
i was expecting to have lost my cash based on the pessimistic forecasts of Evans impending demise.
They're nowhere close to demise and to be honest the constant negative press they're getting and the rumours is the thing fuewlling any decline, not the fact that thyey're asking for money.
Problem is that they've been static for a few years now. Opened a few new shops but the increased sales / profit have been swallowed up buy the increased costs and overheads so net, they're sitting completely still. The owners / investors aren't happy with "static" they want to see growth even though it's fairly well known that you can't have growth without at some point having a massive crash too.
Don;'t get me wrong, they've made some questionable business calls over the last few years - the employment of several high-ranking (read: expensive) retail consultants from outside the industry wasn't a great call because running 20 branches of B&Q is not the same as running 20 branches of a bike store.
But they've been going for decades and they're not about to fall by the wayside now. They just want / need the cash for investment to actually get the business back to generating profit rather than standing still. Got to spend money to make money!
Personally I'd go down the Rapha model - turn the shops into "clubhouses", stick a cafe in there, make them meeting points for rides and use that footfall to generate the sales. Inner city ones need to go down the route of being "commuter hubs" that can offer bike parking, repairs, showers, lockers and basic cafe food/coffee.
I should charge for that advice. £10 million should do it.
Honestly, anyone but SD. As I fear that anything that Evans do to ‘give back’ (run events etc) would stop. Pinnacle would be reduced to BSOs for the sub £100 market, I reckon they’d stop doing any bike over the c2w £1000 threshold too, if they kept doing that… and all the brands they currently own would start doing a cycle range, cheap yes, but dogshit quality. Ashley’s business model is to pare everything down to the absolute minimum (inc employee rights etc) to maximise profit. He’s very good at that, but not the sort of person I’d want to give a penny to. Yes the business would be saved, but everyone but Ashley loses out.
With that level of pessimism do you expect House Of Fraser to be reduced to selling school uniform quality blazers under the Lonsdale brand?
Can't see that happening, Pinnacle has no brand recognition outside of people who shop at Evans and people who read bike forums.
Apollo are like Black and Decker, rubbish, but your dad/brother/friend had one and it lasted for years so it can't be bad. The fact it was only used once a year to put up a shelf or ride to the shops and only lasted a month of actual usage is forgotten.
More likely to see Pinnale rebadged as Muddy Fox which has some nostalgia value for anyone mountaibiking in the 80's/90's like Saracen.
Personally I’d go down the Rapha model – turn the shops into “clubhouses”, stick a cafe in there, make them meeting points for rides and use that footfall to generate the sales. Inner city ones need to go down the route of being “commuter hubs” that can offer bike parking, repairs, showers, lockers and basic cafe food/coffee.
Not a great example...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/09/06/rapha-racing-slashes-jobs-hunt-profitability-walmart-heirs/
I do agree that doing more with the shops (especially the urban ones) is key, but only if they generate sales. Bike parking and coffee and cake won't pay the rent...
turn the shops into “clubhouses”, stick a cafe in there, make them meeting points for rides and use that footfall to generate the sales. Inner city ones need to go down the route of being “commuter hubs” that can offer bike parking, repairs, showers, lockers and basic cafe food/coffee.
That is a huge investment, do people actually want this? When was the last time you thought about heading to a location evans is for a cuppa or bit of cake? Does bike shopping make you hungry?
As for a commuter bike hub are they in the right place, how much storage and how many showers to cope with enough footfall between 7:30 and 8:45? That then becomes dead space for most of your operating hours in expensive retail locations. What is the average commuter going to pay for this service? How much are they going to spend in store on the way to work or the way home apart from a new tube which they would probably come to you for if it was close enough.
Everyone seems to know how to make money in the bike industry but the plans mostly seem full of holes.