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Not good
Dam this shitty software. I had a link that has disappeared.
What Muddy Fox for bike packing?
That’s crap IMO, use them lots
That's crap. I really like my one in Sheffield. Feel sorry for the staff.
I’d expect suppliers to be wanting stock back ASAP if it’s not been paid for.
I'd imagine some suppliers had already put them on pro-forma a while ago.
🤐
It'll be interesting to see if Norco who are imported into the UK by Evans sever ties with them now.
Indeed. I cant see Norco or BMC (Or Spesh, Dale or Trek for that matter) wanting to see their brands in a concession in the corner of a grotty warehouse shop next to McDonald's in a business park.
Looks like Zipp are already in Sports Direct
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/zipp-wheels-now-sold-sports-direct-398456
CaptainFlashheart - I remember you predicting something like this happening 10-12 years ago. What's it like being ahead of your time?
I can't see evans surviving as a repitable cycle store.
I for one will not buy anything from a store who treat there staff as they are reported to do.
RIP Evans cycles
Richardk, never mind Zipp, what about this bargain... https://www.sportsdirect.com/no-name-name-nuts-for-axel-hub-937250?colcode=93725090
Martin, at some point, my omniscience will be acknowledged!
Doesn't Ashley own other, higher end high st stores?
Oh s**t.. Toon fan here, and now this cretin in pervades another of my hobbies... An utterly odious character.
Big sympathies for the staff involved, and for those staying after the cull..
Doesn’t Ashley own other, higher end high st stores?
He recently bought the House of Fraser chain.
Ashley also owns Tri UK.
Hopefully Evans have been bought as a going concern so vouchers, returns etc. will be honoured unlike the House of Fraser debacle.
Hopefully Evans have been bought as a going concern so vouchers, returns etc. will be honoured unlike the House of Fraser debacle.
BBC article says Evans went into administration before being bought by Sports Direct.
Well that's me no longer shopping at Evans. They'll play off the brands perceived value for a while until everyone realises they've driven down quality too far. Wouldn't surprise me if a lot of the big brands they stock pull out of supplying them, the lessons of what happened to Saracen with the Halfords deal back in the late 90s will be massively in their mind. Feel for the staff who have helped make he shop good with their Pinnacle bikes etc.
On the plus side the independents should be able to hoover up the higher end customers while the bargain people go to Halfords. Or they should if they have any sense.
Nope Breatheeasy - pre-pack administration, so same as House of Fraser debacle for gift cards etc.
Most commentaries refer to the chain of 60 stores, it's history back to the 1920s and the high street trading conditions along with other well known brands etc.
Were they that widespread to be a "household" name all those years or was it just a rush of stores opened since the VC gang got their teeth into it?
I walked into an Evans in Croydon in 1999 or 2000 and it didn't seem to be part of a larger operation.
Not surprised to see a lot of stores will close. Since about 2000 they've gone from 3(?) to 60 stores around the UK. A fair few of those seem to have intentionally been opened near to other established shops and with often flaky or indifferent service I'm not sure how profitable a lot of those spaces can have been.
When they only had 3 stores they were good....
Forget Pinnacle, they'll be Lonsdale bikes now 😉
Arse. Oh well, poor staff.
I wonder what frightened Halfords off?
The only positive from this is that every time I see Ashley on TV, he looks a few steps nearer to a massive heart-attack.
BBC article says Evans went into administration before being bought by Sports Direct.
Have they done that just to avoid honouring gift vouchers etc, or does it let them close stores more easily?
Well that sucks. I can't stand Ashley and his retail model myself.
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<div class="bbp-reply-content">The only positive from this is that every time I see Ashley on TV, he looks a few steps nearer to a massive heart-attack.
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You stay classy...
FFS
If you do a bit of digging you'll find Ashley owns a fair few "reputable" brands.
For example, he now owns Lovell Rugby/Soccer/Hockey.
He's slapped Lovell on the Ospreys shirts the last ciiple of seasons and his VX3 rugby brand now outfit Worcester in the Premiership and the Dragons in the Pro14.
If you want to laugh inside just picture him in lycra on a road bike labouring up a hill.
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BBC article says Evans went into administration before being bought by Sports Direct.
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Have they done that just to avoid honouring gift vouchers etc, or does it let them close stores more easily?
A pre-pack allows the purchaser to essentially buy the assets of the business without being encumbered by its liabilities (like store cards and unfulfilled orders, as well as other creditors) - This isn't a Mike Ashley fabricated ploy, but would have been the mechanism used by any potential purchaser I'm afraid.......
To be fair, Sports Direct have been selling high end cycling stuff via their website, not in the stores, for years (especially clothing & shoes - I've picked up a few bargains there from Gore/Oakley/Giro) so I'm not sure you will see Lonsdale rebrands, and the Evans name appearing in SD stores. Ashley isn't a billionaire for nothing - as much as some of his business practices stink, he does know how to make money and I'm sure they know how to maintain a brand, and margins......as others have said, he already owns several high end brands
I think you'l see the retail footprint shrink and their online presence expand massively - which to be fair is what they should have done 5 years or more ago and they wouldn't have been in this situation.....
The new TriUK store is near where I live and I have to say they have some seriously nice bikes in stock (and a heck of a lot of them as well). I had a chat with the manager and they’ll be keeping their own identity. I wonder if some Evans locations will become TriUK?
If any sense, the ones that close are the large retail space high rent places. They look nice but it's a big shop with not much that probably sells sufficiently except the cheap end bikes.
I can't see it surviving though even with half the stores. Though downscale and focus on the maintenance side maybe.
Still, oversized Evans mugs?
I wonder what frightened Halfords off?
They had no idea what to do with the decent bikes. Or they saw all the forks were on the right way round and realised they couldn't live up to that quality.
Probably the worst "rescue package" Evans staff could have hoped for.
Hope those who stay in jobs don't all end up on zero hours contracts to line that odious ****'s pockets even further.
I can’t see it surviving though even with half the stores. Though downscale and focus on the maintenance side maybe.
Do you think the plan is for them to survive?
Strip, gut, extract and try and cash in on the name for as long as he can. Once the purchase price is recouped then dump what you need.
A pre-pack allows the purchaser to essentially buy the assets of the business without being encumbered by its liabilities (like store cards and unfulfilled orders, as well as other creditors) – This isn’t a Mike Ashley fabricated ploy, but would have been the mechanism used by any potential purchaser I’m afraid…….
Cool thanks - so does that mean anyone who has placed an order for xmas is screwed?
What about warranty repairs, gift cards, bikes in for repair,stuff on order, product returns,cyclescheme, etc
Do you think the plan is for them to survive?
Strip, gut, extract and try and cash in on the name for as long as he can. Once the purchase price is recouped then dump what you need.
Yeah basically any value is in the brand. Most people would rather buy a bike from 'Evans' than 'Sports Direct'. So they integrate the brand into the Sports Direct infrastructure and management system.
Hmmm, presumably that means my warranty for my arkose has gone as well (pinnacle = evans right?)....
Also they've been spamming my inbox with lots of offers - anyone who's bought a bike in the last few weeks but not had it delivered / picked it up yet is presumably f***ed for several grand.
I tell you what I really glad I didn't buy a gravel bike from them on pre-order. I was close to doing this last month before I went overseas to work for 6 weeks. Instead I ordered on CRC and had it delivered to my parents.
So they integrate the brand into the Sports Direct infrastructure and management system.
The management system?
Pile high, sell cheap.
They are going to need to keep the good staff, keep the good will of the customers and undercut some of the biggest web based bike shops.
The management system?
Pile high, sell cheap.
They are going to need to keep the good staff, keep the good will of the customers and undercut some of the biggest web based bike shops.
Yeah I'm under no illusion about what the odious Sports Direct do. They are basically a massive market stall and as classy as such, and their management is ruthless as **** a bit like Amazon.
It really is a sorry tale.
In 1999 Wiggle (trading at Butlers cycles) was a small Portsmouth LBS - a bit ratty to be honest but a nice bloke ran it. I remember getting a bit of a bollocking from him for upturning a big cardboard box he had in the middle of the store in place of a proper stand of past season triathlon and cycling kit as a clubmate said there was some good stuff hidden at the bottom. At the same time Evans was a proper little chain of 'posh' bike shops and had a catalogue distributed nationally. If you asked a cyclist to name a big bike retail specialist they'd probably have named Evans.
If I'd had to put my newly purchased first house on which of the two would go on to dominate the UK market and which would make a string of poor choices, go into administration and be bought up by a slash and burn race to the bottom merchant there is no doubt which way I'd have bet.
Ewww. Bought by sports direct.
Well, there's me not spending any money in evans any more 🙁
Just read this news and panicked cos I have 130 quid in vouchers to spend. Just used them online and they seem to have worked. Will report back if I hear otherwise.
Bugger, for the staff especially. Tough times, not knowing what's going to happen, and now knowing your boss is a ruthless complete to55er before finding out which stores will stay and which will go.
I will not give Ashley a single penny of my money, and haven't since 2004. Its personal with me, particularly the way his business dealt with friends and colleagues of mine in the stores when Karrimor went bump, compared with the very human way Karrimor had previously taken over the business I worked for. Exactly the same scenario in both cases, company bought out at point of going into administration, completely different attitude, and it stank. I seriously hope the Evans staff don't have to deal with "management" staff coming in and treating them like shite, whilst offloading stock out of the back door. I believe at least 2 of our managers had the balls to call the police on them!
Ewww. Bought by sports direct.
Well, there’s me not spending any money in evans any more
Same here
particularly the way his business dealt with friends and colleagues of mine in the stores when Karrimor went bump, compared with the very human way Karrimor had previously taken over the business I worked for.
Yep. Absolutely.
compared with the very human way Karrimor had previously taken over the business I worked for.
YHA?
Me too.
I had a brief encounter with one of his companies recently. Never again!
He'll most likely screw it all up with the suppliers and customers as he has with House of Fraser. They're a biggish customer of mine and it's gone from us making daily deliveries and collections for every brand they stocked at their huge amount of concessions to brands pulling out completely as soon as he decided to not honour gift vouchers and wriggle out of paying for stock that had already been delivered and in some cases sold! Now we're lucky to go there tree times a week and the amount of brands that have pulled out of there is rather shocking. The staff already hate his guts as he's trying to cut back on their conditions and perks with immediate effect. Footfall is down by a large percentage too, nor a good thing as we approach the Christmas rush.
Administration. Have they done that just to avoid honouring gift vouchers etc, or does it let them close stores more easily?
Close unwanted stores more easily I believe. They can cut free stores they don't want without long term lease agreement "get out" costs and maybe staff redundancy costs, staff are covered by gov basic redundancy payouts
Forget Pinnacle, they’ll be Lonsdale bikes now
From the reviews you'd wonder if this is the same Lonsdale 🙂
Does anyone have any idea what this means for bikes on order? Bought and paid for a bike for my daughter due for delivery on Friday? Will she see it or should I be contacting the credit card company?
Really should have paid more attention to the comments on this thread over the last couple of weeks. The wisdom of STW - it pays to listen!
For bikes on order it's up to you and them whether the new company will want to honour your order or not. Ask.
Although the Evans website still claims to be trading as FW Evans Ltd, which is very naughty and could get PWC into trouble.
Difficult to say what the fallout will be for outstanding individual orders. Pre pack administration "that avoids administrators" is unknown territory for me re the detail. Depends on deals done with suppliers. Unpaid stock will perhaps go into Retention Of Title lock down until negotiated and released, could take months. Probably will depend on whether you ordered from a close down store or saved store whether you get bike/money back or sweet FA from administrators. If you paid on credit card you're probably ok re the money (not something I know about, but seems to be the general mantra on here).
It was always going to be a pre-packaged administration I think. 'Rescue Plan' and Sale are not two words that go together otherwise. Unfortunately the company was a basket case with debts massively outstripping its assets (as per 2017 accounts) so as I understand it was trading as technically insolvent for a long while now. You can only do that so long before you start to run into issues where your decisions can be construed as fraudulent if you start signing agreements (for credit etc.) where you know you're technically insolvent and have no realistic means to get out of that or service those debts.
Im surprised MA bought it, I thought it would have a shot with a JD or even a private buyer. It doesn't seem a good fit for his style of business, but whatever happens now, I think as a bike seller myself, there are quite a lot of companies up and down the country that woke up a little happier this morning. For the independent LBS market there's pretty much no better outcome as Evans will now challenge Go Outdoors, Halfords & Decathlon's low end product, something they (Evans) have traditionally ignored and a space its very difficult for the indys to compete in.
The downside for some of course is that popping in and out of administration means you can ditch your unsecured debts. Thats likely to mean some suppliers (although most would have ownership of stock, but thats a wrangle in itself), but mainly customers, staff and other individuals that interact with the company. The debts that sank the business would be secured, but a proportion would have to have been written off to make the sale happen.
Ewww. Bought by sports direct.
Well, there’s me not spending any money in evans any more
Which, in reality, is bollocks.
In the grand scheme of things, virtually no one gives a **** about business ethics, witness the ubiquitous question asked regularly on here - where is 'the best' place to buy blah blah blah.
Which is actually the cheapest, as we all know. If the fat controller sells cheap tyres for gravel bikes, the fashionistas will Hoover them up.
The experience of House of Fraser customers who have lost their goods and their money should hopefully have prompted most of us to delay/cancel orders and get rid of vouchers.
A real shame for Evans staff and their suppliers.
Which is actually the cheapest, as we all know. If the fat controller sells cheap tyres for gravel bikes, the fashionistas will Hoover them up.
Well he needs to persuade somebody to sell him some first. Be interesting to see who wants to deal with him.
Yeah, despite being a multi billionaire, I bet hes not thought of that eh?....
If it wasn't for you pesky cyclists! 🤣
Well do you think the big brands will put stuff in shops if it turns to shit? I'd think they are playing nice until they get their cash out.
I bet he has thought of it, it's god. F all to do with cyclists etc. It's just about a brand he can use. For people like spec/trek they have a brand to maintain.
As a Rangers fan, I'm sure you'll know I have pretty good knowledge of how he operates, but business is business, if he makes it successful, and he usually does, then the brand's will work with him, bet yer last bottle of newcy brown on it.
Massive amounts of naivety on this thread! I don't have a view on Ashley much beyond the lack of corporate governance his company has, but he is demonstrably effective in what he does.
Why aren't the whingers on here decrying the venture capitalists who have driven Evans onto the rocks with excessive debt? Or the government and banks who have allowed it? And then stating they'll never bank with Barclays / whomever or shop with a plc who've used PWC as auditor?
Well he needs to persuade somebody to sell him some first. Be interesting to see who wants to deal with him.
Yep but Sports Direct have Puma King and Adidas Predator boots so it's not like the big brands are refusing to deal with him. However, I'm speaking from near ignorance on these things and maybe it's a grey import scheme.
At least we know what Evans next range of bikes will look like....
On a more serious, even more depressing note, is Mike Ashley pretty soon going to own just about every high street chain? I heard the BBC business correspondent gushing about him being a 'phenomenal businessman' blah, blah, blah.....
and as I listened to him going on I got that feeling of Deja vu. They were just repeating word-for-word what they were saying about the 'retail genius' Phillip Green, ten years ago
Yep but Sports Direct have Puma King and Adidas Predator boots so it’s not like the big brands are refusing to deal with him.
Yep but selling a pair of boots is a different league to a 3-5k bike, as I said above he is going to need the good staff to stay, especially the mechanics unless your going to be a click collect shed.
All I want to know is - can I still use my Tesco Clubcard points?
😆
They were just repeating word-for-word what they were saying about the ‘retail genius’ Phillip Green, ten years ago
Spot on binners
I feel sorry for the staff in my local store who are pretty good. It's close to work and tends to be my favoured spot for popping and getting bits and pieces when I don't want to faff around ordering online (or using click and collect). I bought a bike from them about 10 days ago and they did me a decent deal combining trade in/price match/BC discount and some free fitting of accessories and a couple of freebies (tubeless valves etc). I do have other options (Cycle Republic a similar distance away from work or Cycle Surgery a bit more of a walk away, and another couple of shops nearer home) and suspect I'll use those more in future particularly if the business model starts to change or the good staff leave.
Well he needs to persuade somebody to sell him some first. Be interesting to see who wants to deal with him.
Because canondale, bmc, pinnacle, cube, Scott have so many other options to penetrate the mass retail market
Yep but Sports Direct have Puma King and Adidas Predator boots so it’s not like the big brands are refusing to deal with him.
Its the reason he bought Newcastle. The big boys wouldn't deal with him directly (Sports Indirect?) so he hatched the idea that if he bought a premiership club - ANY premiership club - they'd have to take him seriously and supply him
Newcaste were just the Club that was unlucky enough to be in the frame at the time
By the sound of it, it was either this deal or Evans going properly under, Maplin-style. Had Halfords bought them, the outcome would be the same due to their existing high street footprint in Cycle Republic. I've thought for some time that there is no way that they can continue as they are, based on their huge overheads and the tiny margins in bike shop retail, so for me a "50% save" is probably as good as it was ever going to get.
I feel sorry for all of the staff, for whom this will be a very worrying time and hopefully at the end of it, a more sustainable business will emerge. Who knows, it might even be better than it is now, with SD selling some better quality kit through their existing stores.
Really hope their Ride-It events continue though, but I'm not placing any bets on this...
Thanks for the helpful info extra background all. Do feel for the staff and suppliers of Evans. It’s shocking that auditors are allowed to behave as they do - presuming Evans has effectively been insolvent for some time. The lack of trust generated by resorting to gray dealings by the owners or through the use of prepack administration is surely going to drive consumers away from the high street.
"going to need the good staff to stay, especially the mechanics"
If they are planning to close half the shops then that reduces the number of good people they'll need to recruit.
While it's good that some jobs/stores have been secured in the short term, it remains to be seen whether any of these retail 'rescues' are actually aimed at keeping the brand and stores running rather than ditching some liabilities, using them as a vehicle to get even more finance, which is then gutted alongside any assets before the inevitable collapse a few years down the line.
MA's willingness to trash HoF's reputation by stiffing customers and suppliers is not a good sign.
By the sound of it, it was either this deal or Evans going properly under, Maplin-style. Had Halfords bought them, the outcome would be the same due to their existing high street footprint in Cycle Republic. I’ve thought for some time that there is no way that they can continue as they are, based on their huge overheads and the tiny margins in bike shop retail, so for me a “50% save” is probably as good as it was ever going to get.
Yep - I'm no Ashley fan, but everyone saying it's immoral how a prepack administration works are wide of the mark. If a firm goes into administration proper, the accountants balance assets against debts, pay the preferential creditors first (so the taxman mainly) and then what's left is shared out. In a prepack the buyer, the debtors and the administrators do a deal over which bits are kept and which are shelved, and if any of the bike firms or distributors were owed a lot of money they may have had some sort of say/opinion in the final deal too - so might be better for them for New Evans to continue to trade on a reduced basis and they get something back, than if they'd just gone tits up and you then have to battle over getting your pennies in the pound or retention of title and so on. And of course, RoT is f'all use if you send a bike to Evans expecting payment 30 days later, if in the meantime that's been sold to a customer and the cash is just in the black hole pot of assets....... you can't go to the end customer and ask for it back!
I'm also slightly annoyed - a few pages back there were folks on here, who may or may not have been staffers, saying that warning people that all is not good at Evans was what was creating the issues for them. I said at the time i didn't think they were offering personal guarantees, and they may also have been sold the lies by management but
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!
and
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.
I hope those that are owed goods / have vouchers get what they ordered, but based on HoF I wouldn't hold my breath. Hopefully the bigger ticket items will be on CC's and therefore you'll be covered in the end but still hassle and the pita factor of being without your money and your bikes while they're sorting it out. But that's not Ashley's fault or PWC's - sure it'd be nice if he honoured all the debts but that's what sent them to the wall in the first place, and all PWC do is look for a deal that is best overall.
all PWC do is look for a deal that is best overall.
Lols. Of course they don't!
Under the Insolvency Act, 1986, an administrator has specific duties and responsibilities to creditors, and in the first instance will take control of the company with a view to business rescue.
They have a duty to act in the best interests of creditors as a whole, and will attempt to realise the highest returns for all groups if rescue is not possible. If this also fails, they must attempt to achieve a better result for creditors than if the company had been liquidated.
An administrator adopts diverse roles and responsibilities during a formal insolvency procedure, as an officer of the court and an impartial agent/manager of the company, and has a duty to act with integrity and good faith.
"it’s immoral how a prepack administration works are wide of the mark."
It's immoral how this one's been done. Evans were trading whilst insolvent, knowingly selling vouchers and taking orders that they knew they wouldn't be able to fulfil. And are still falsely trading as Evans, right now.