Evans Cycles seeks buyer after failing to mount rescue bid

[Psamathe]

Evans Cycles seeks buyer after failing to mount rescue bid
Problems come amid a shake out across the high street due to tough trading conditions

The bike shop chain Evans Cycles is urgently seeking a buyer as the retailer battles to survive amid tough high street trading conditions, including the rise of online competition and the cost of running stores.

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

[whoof]

Perhaps if you already own Ribble you can trade it in.

[robgul]

This has been coming for a while with credit insurers cancelling cover for suppliers to Evans and major trade distributors requiring up-front payments before delivery . . .

And the massive discounts Evans has been offering together with the "trade in anything and get another £x00 more off the discounted price" is indicative of desperation in trying to convert stock into cash.

The money has to be on the Halfords empire (Halfords, Wheelies, Cycle Republic, Tredz) buying it .... although there may be a monopolies issue?

Rob

[David9694]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45595144

There has been a “poor service at Evans” thread on here, but I still at times like this feel guilty about shopping with places with no retail presence. On line aren’t a lot of help to novices or to the rest us in a breakdown.

I’ve been in to Halfords only today in search of roof rack bits and the only person around was the Bikehut guy, who knew no more than me about Thule foot packs, but at least he had a can-do approach.

Good range of bike tools I thought.

[661-Pete]

So does this mean, Evans are insolvent then?

I'm not utterly enthralled by the chain, but I'd be sorry to see them disappear. Quite often when I'm in Brighton, I drop into their branch there to buy the odd item - or just look around (all that bike porn to ogle! ). More locally, we have just a Halfords plus a small independent (whose stock is rather limited).

One of my gripes with Evans is that they seem to be so short-staffed. A symptom of troubles to come? This was particularly noticeable in their big Gatwick branch: it would take ages to catch the eye of one of their assistants - and if you did succeed and then sent him or her backstage to seek out an item from stores, they'd disappear for an eternity! But I haven't been to the Gatwick branch for some years now - maybe things have changed? Or perhaps not, seeing the trouble they're presently in...?

The last thing we want is for another cycling retailer to go under. It was bad enough with the excellent mail-order Parker International disappearing a few years ago.

[Psamathe]

For me one of the things that has put me off the chain is that they seem to have moved from recognised quality brands to more and more "own brand" - and I have a strong mistrust of "own brands". I was seeking various bits early summer and went into one of their shops and ended up buying nothing, getting what I wanted online (mainly because I had no idea of the quality of their "own brand".

I often ask myself why chains move to "own brand" and my normal answer (to myself) is to get higher profits

Ian

[1982john]

Ah so this is why they've had some massive discounts in the last couple of weeks.

There's a couple of evans stores where I live and they are in really expensive locations so no doubt business rates are killing them - which of course online gets on the cheap.

[Bonefishblues]

I think Pinnacle bikes have a very good reputation.

[1982john]

What I find interesting about this is it shows how little British success at the tours filters down to any sort of great take up in cycling by the general masses - we were very much sold this line on the 2012 Olympics.

[kwackers]

That'll be a bit sad, Evans in Liverpool was a 10 minute walk from my office, handy for 'emergency' spares.

On the other hand I could go to the Giant store without actually venturing outside - but their prices are shocking at least Evans was reasonable.

[PH]

What I find interesting about this is it shows how little British success at the tours filters down to any sort of great take up in cycling by the general masses - we were very much sold this line on the 2012 Olympics.

Does it? I thought it demonstrated the obvious that whatever the sector, the High St isn't where the money is being spent.
As an unscientific observation form a small midlands city - there's far more cyclists on a day to day basis than there were a decade ago, whether that's in the works bike shed, out on a Sunday run or passing my window on the bike path.

[Bonefishblues]

What I find interesting about this is it shows how little British success at the tours filters down to any sort of great take up in cycling by the general masses - we were very much sold this line on the 2012 Olympics.

I thought the statistics said otherwise. Isn't this more about the continuing malaise on the high st?

ETA
Great minds and all that!

[horizon]

What I find interesting about this is it shows how little British success at the tours filters down to any sort of great take up in cycling by the general masses - we were very much sold this line on the 2012 Olympics.

Their sales were up. But profit margins were down and business rates up. So, yes, more people are on bikes but they are buying them elsewhere.

[Spinners]

Gosh! Apart from Halfords I thought they were top of the food chain.

By chance I was in their Cardiff store today and quite liked the look of the Jamis Aurora Elite.

[mjr]

What I find interesting about this is it shows how little British success at the tours filters down to any sort of great take up in cycling by the general masses - we were very much sold this line on the 2012 Olympics.

I thought the statistics said otherwise. Isn't this more about the continuing malaise on the high st?

No, the statistics say "the number of cycling trips remained at a similar level to previous years […]
the proportion of adults cycling at least once a week in England has stayed the same"

It seems sport success isn't producing measurable uptake.