Revenue Round Up: Some Success Amidst Falling Sales

May 25, 2023
by Ed Spratt  
Following the boom across the cycling industry over the past few years the industry is slowing down with demand falling along with revenues although not every piece of news is negative. Let's get into all the key details from brand's recent revenue reports.


We will update this article as more financial reports are released.




Giant

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Giant has revealed that its total first-quarter operating revenue has dropped from last year's total of NT$22.3 billion to NT$20.1 billion, a 9.6% decrease. Total profits from this quarter were also down, with a total of NT$883 million instead of the NT$1.91 billion achieved in the same period last year. Giant has responded to the data in its latest report by claiming the revenue decline is "due to the impact from European and North American markets to reducing inventories plus higher comparison base with last year."

The company has also stated that sales across Europe and the US were potentially affected by high inventory of entry and mid-level products. Electric bikes made up 32% of the brand's total sales in the past quarter with the company saying that these products will drive sales for the mid-level and higher products.

bigquotesThe e-bike segment is still growing, which will further increase average selling price and profit.

Giant remains optimistic in mid- to long-term growth for the cycling industry.
Giant



Merida

Merida Ninety-Six 2021

Merida has seen an increase in its operating revenue in Q1 with an increase from NT$8.2 billion to NT$8.4 billion, a rise of 2.8%. Although these were signs of positivity in its revenue figures the total profit for the quarter was down from NT$1.2 billion to NT$627.5 million.



Leatt

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After breaking records last year Leatt has reported a significant decline in revenue for its first quarter with a 46.1% decline compared to last year. Revenue figures for Q1 now sit at $13.1 million instead of the $24.2 million recorded in the same period last year. Net income has also seen a sizeable drop from $4.2 million to $1.02 million. Leatt did note direct-to-consumer sales from its own website have increased.

bigquotesAlthough we continue to see consumer demand for Leatt products, the first quarter of 2023 was particularly challenging in terms of growth in comparison with the 2022 period.

The first quarter of 2022 was by far the strongest quarter in our company's history in terms of revenue, which increased 88% over the prior comparable period. However, we are optimistic that the arrival of the spring riding season after the extended cold weather period will increase consumer participation in outdoor activities. ... Our team remains enthusiastic about the future of our brand and company as we work toward a return to delivering double-digit growth.
Sean Macdonald, Leatt CEO



GoPro

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GoPro has seen a 19.4% decrease in revenue despite Nicholas Woodman, founder and CEO stating that the company exceeded expectations. In its first quarter report, GoPro found revenue fell from $217 million last year to $175 million in the period ending March 31. The brand has seen some success as subscribers have increased by 36% year-over-year with GoPro.Com revenue (this includes subscription and service revenue) rose by 7% to total $95 million.

As part of its revenue report, the brand has also revealed that it will no longer be offering a discount for anyone becoming a GoPro subscriber. Anybody who is currently subscribed will still be able to purchase cameras in the future for a discounted price.

bigquotesCapitalizing on our momentum, effective today, we're implementing an updated go-to-market strategy that restores our product pricing to pre-pandemic levels, which we believe will accelerate growth in units, subscribers, revenue and earnings.

Pandemic-related challenges forced us to raise prices, but now those pressures have eased and we're stoked to make the insane performance of today's GoPro more accessible for everyone.
Nicholas Woodman, GoPro CEO



Orbea

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For its 2022 financial report, Orbea has revealed that it secured sales of 400 million euros with profit after tax increasing by 20% when compared to 2021. The brand has also allocated more than 20% of its profits to different social action and solidarity funds that it has established.

bigquotesAfter the restructuring of the board at the end of the last year and the announcement of its results, Orbea is facing future challenges with confidence and commitment. The company is looking forward to the start of a new era that will allow it to consolidate the positions achieved, continue generating wealth and sharing it with society. Orbea



Fox

Fox Float X and DHX 2022

Fox Factory's bicycle brands (Fox Factory suspension, Marzocchi, Easton and RaceFace) saw sales drop by 30% in its opening financial quarter marking a second consecutive quarter decline when compared to the previous year. The previous quarter at the end of 2022 saw just a 1.9% drop in sales. Across the whole company revenue in Q1 was up by 5.8%.

bigquotesThanks to our diversified product offerings and differentiated market position, we are pleased with our strong start to fiscal 2023 in a bumpy economic and demand environment. Our strong results were achieved despite shifting demand and changing product mix. Mike Dennison, Fox Factory CEO



Vista Outdoor

Vista Outdoor

Vista Outdoor has seen a big net sales increase of 23% to $496 million in its yearly reports, although the company states this was mostly down to the acquisition of Fox Racing last July.

bigquotesAs of late the cycling industry has experienced pressures exacerbated by lower consumer spending flat retail sales growth, higher import costs and elevated inventory levels at distributors and retailers, which has resulted in increased promotional activity.

This environment has lowered near-term outlook, but also provided us an opportunity to reposition our platform for expanded growth … At the same time the biking industry is showing signs of relief in certain areas, for example, the inventory supply situation has been improving over the course of the last 90 days. Retailers are still sitting on elevated levels relative to historical norms but conditions are improving as the excess inventory continues to sell through.
Jeff McGuane, President of Vista Outdoor’s action sports brands



Garmin

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Across the whole company, Garmin has reported it saw revenue decrease by 2% compared to the same period last year. There is some positivity as its Fitness segment (this includes bicycle GPS units, power meter pedals and trainers) saw an increase from $221 million last year to $245 million in the past quarter. Four of Garmin's five segments saw growth in the double digits with only the outdoor segment reporting a decline, this was a drop of 27%.



Thule

Thule Velospace

The Thule Group has announced in its Q1 report that net sales for the quarter have declined by 26.6%% year-over-year.

The Q1 reports details net sales at SEK 2,226 million a drop from the SEK 3,034 million last year. Year-over-year net income was lowered by 47.9% at SEK 275 million, this is down from SEK 527 million.

bigquotesInventory levels typically increase significantly in the first quarter ahead of the high season.

In 2022, inventory increased SEK 469 million in the first quarter. The significantly lower production level impacted the utilization rates of the Group's production units. At the end of the quarter, some 900 fewer people were active in manufacturing compared with the same time prior year. Our tried and tested model to ensure flexibility and adaptation to different production volumes is functioning well.
Magnus Welander, Thule CEO & President



Mips

MIPS headquarters

As demand for helmets continues to fall Mips has observed a net sale decrease of 35% compared to last year. Q1 net sales were marked at SEK 88 million ($8.5 million) a significant change from the SEK 137 million achieved at the same time last year.

Net income for the brand also saw a big drop as it totaled SEK 14 million for Q1 instead of the SEK 48 million reported in the same period last year.

bigquotesBike resellers in the key U.S. and European markets have continued to have higher inventory levels in April than they would like, and the season started relatively late due to the cooler weather.

Despite the drop in sales shown in the first quarter, we see many bright spots going forward.

Both we and the industry as a whole continue to be long-term positive about the bike market. We expect a gradual recovery of the bike market already in the second quarter and assess that MIPS as a company will return to growth in the second half of the year.
Max Strandwitz, Mips President & CEO




Shimano

autonomous forklift picking up finished parts

While saying it is optimistic about the future of the bike market Shimano has found the current conditions to be unfavorable as it reports a 16.8% fall in its bike division net income alongside a 31.8% drop in operating income. Net sales in the bike division still totaled 98,298 million yen.

bigquotesAlthough the strong interest in bicycles cooled as progress was made toward recovery to pre-COVID-19 day-to-day routines, interest in bicycles continued as a long-term trend. On the other hand, concerns about economic recession, including rapidly rising inflation, led to a slowdown in sales of completed bicycles, and market inventories generally remained high, despite ongoing supply and demand adjustments. Shimano

bigquotesOverseas, in the European market, interest in bicycles continued to be high, and retail sales of completed bicycles, especially e-bikes, was solid. Market inventories generally remained at high levels, although some high-end models were in short supply.

In the North American market, sales remained weak and market inventories were at a consistently high level.

In the Asian and South and Central American markets, although interest in bicycles was firm, sales remained somewhat sluggish due to cooling consumer confidence on account of currency depreciation and rising inflation. However, in the Chinese market, sales remained strong, especially for road bikes, owing to the growing momentum of outdoor sports cycling.

In the Japanese market, the soaring price of completed bicycles due to yen depreciation and other factors slowed the pace of sales and market inventories remained somewhat high.

Under these market conditions, the Shimano Group provided products to the market, including the new product SHIMANO 105 that is a high-end model for road bikes, and sport e-bike components, SHIMANO STEPS series.
Shimano




Author Info:
edspratt avatar

Member since Mar 16, 2017
3,006 articles

170 Comments
  • 245 3
 Have they tried lowering prices?
  • 37 9
 They may already be. A lot of stuff has been on sale.
  • 14 3
 @MT36: not here in Europe.
  • 15 2
 @eugenux: adding: none of the items I would personally run are even on sale.
  • 19 3
 Tonnes of good deals out there at the moment.

I've seen:
Specialized Status £2600
Specialized Stumpjumper Evo Elite Alloy £4399 (Kashima suspension)
Nukeproof Giga Deore (carbon frame) was £1999 for a period last month (gone back up now)
Nukeproof Mega Deore £2039
Specialized Enduro Comp £3499

^most of those deals can also be combined with financing or cycle to work
  • 1 33
flag ethanrevitch FL (May 25, 2023 at 9:46) (Below Threshold)
 @tom666: personally that’s not a good enough deal to move me off Evil. But if I were looking for that I’d probably pull the trigger.
  • 25 0
 It's important to remember, container prices were 3-6x normal for the inventory that is now plentiful in the marketplace. Many suppliers incurred unplanned storage costs along the way while ports were stuffed. This reduces the margin significantly, so the "bottom" cost is higher for what we're seeing on sale now. Companies will be forced to not be profitable in order to generate revenue to operate.
  • 12 1
 @ethanrevitch: At $3750 for just a frame, Evil isn't a great value. Unless, of course, you are just trying to say that you wouldn't recover enough cost in the used market for your Evil and still find value in one of the brands that is offering sales.

As much as I've enjoyed many of Evil's frames in the past, I won't buy another one unless it's heavily discounted.
  • 1 0
 Picked up a pair of 2023 Fox 36 Factory 29 forks off CRC in March for £531
  • 1 9
flag ethanrevitch FL (May 25, 2023 at 12:24) (Below Threshold)
 @steveczech: I’m not saying Evils are a great value I just wouldn’t switch to S Works unless I could get it for dirt cheap (cost/ep).
  • 1 0
 @MT36: naah there was an initial sale but then a ton of stuff went back to pre raise prices.
  • 3 6
 @ethanrevitch: why would you buy S-works under any circumstances? Same frame as the Pro but just pay more to put a target on your back?
  • 2 0
 Price drops have begun. A lot of stuff is on "sale" now, but some of those prices might stay reduced. Used bikes are (finally) reasonably priced as well.
  • 6 1
 @Hayek: Better shock on S-Works for less cost/hassle of selling stock shock & upgrading at aftermarket price. The weight you save on lighter S-Works linkages is basically just a freebee they throw in for good measure: only the main triangles are identical. If you're paranoid about having spent an extra couple hundred bucks on a $6-$12k bike, just peel off the stickers.
  • 1 6
flag nicoenduro (May 26, 2023 at 3:54) (Below Threshold)
 @ethanrevitch: going sworks from evil would be just plain dumbness
  • 6 1
 Have you not noticed?! Specialized and Cannondale, two brands we sell in our shop, have lowered prices of MTBs and E-MTBs to pre-pandemic levels or lower. That's official retail pricing. Now's the time to buy a new bike!
  • 2 0
 @adrian-montgomery: Sea cans went from $6000cdn to $18000cdn. How many bikes fit in a sea can? 500? 1000? So it makes up for maybe $20 increase…
  • 2 0
 @BrianColes: 220 frames according to the owner of Revel
  • 8 4
 Giant's overall profit margin was 4.39%. They are not 'gouging'. It shows all their costs are up as well. They aren't making 50% margins like many seems to think. Everything costs more for everyone
  • 6 0
 @tomo12377: you bought two Fox forks? Or one? Lol I might be reading this wrongly
  • 1 0
 @lehott: one uno itchy alpha
  • 1 0
 @bman33:

Sort of, according to their published financials, they achieved higher margins in 2020 and 2021 despite "shortages."

See page 59 of the 2021 annual report. www.giantgroup-cycling.com/en/ir-financial
  • 1 1
 @HB208: but the margin either year is not the "gigantic" margin people constantly think it is. Yes, everything is more $$. However, profit margins are not multiple double digits like many accuse of
  • 1 0
 Maybe we are finally over the Covid financial bailout price gouging?
  • 2 0
 Hahah out of desperation on a last minute panic. Dunno about anyone else I got well over 50 Memorial Day sales with 50% off and so on, I recommend keeping the sale price the new MSRP lol
  • 1 0
 @bman33: 3-4% profit margins is what most large businesses operate on outside of specialized services firms and SOME tech companies.
  • 1 0
 @HB208: agreed. However, from the complaining about high prices on bikes, and they are high, many accuse the bike industry of raking in 50% or more profit margin. They aren't
  • 1 3
 @powturn: maybe I’m mistaken, but I’m nearly certain both the Pro and S-Works come with the same Float X Factory and 36 Grip2. The carbon yoke for the shock isn’t hollow, so I can’t imagine it even weighs 5 grams less than on the Pro. So I’m still at a loss, unless the suspension really isn’t on par, but I’m almost certain it is.
  • 5 1
 @Hayek: You're mistaken. My S-Works Enduro frame came w/ the X2. The difference between S-Works & regular carbon trailbike frames is 100-125g primarily due to carbon linkages. I've had both version of the Enduro on scales to confirm. You'll need to talk to Specialized engineers how they achieve this. The majority of my S-Works pivot bolts stick to a rare earth magnet, so they're not doing much to shave weight w/ non-ferrous hardware.
  • 1 0
 @powturn: I apparently should have clarified, but I thought I was clearly referencing Stumpy Evo with the Float X and 36. And having just checked, I was correct that both Pro and S-Works come with the same Float X Factory and 36 Factory Grip2. I guess I’ll just accept defeat and leave with my tail between my legs and my $2900, and you walk away triumphant with your 125 grams and rare earth metal hardware.
  • 2 0
 @Hayek: I don't buy complete bikes, particularly if they have explosium Roval wheels on them. This frees me of dumb component choices & stupid $3000 price jumps between models. Free your mind and take a look at S-Works Stumpy Evo vs regular Stumpy Evo *frames.* Same as with 130mm Stumpy and Enduro, the S-Works frame comes w/ upgraded shock, and linkage (PS: no such thing as rare earth bolts: merely magnets strong enough to tell stainless from standard steel & Ti.) On Enduro, shock options are completely different models (Float X vs X2). On Stumpy framesets in both 130mm & 150mm versions, shocks are same model but different trim, S-Works comes with Factory shock, & standard frame w/ Performance. Difference btwn. stock frame & S-Works w/ upgraded shock is $200 at current discount. I paid $400 more to get the exact Factory shock I wanted on my Enduro, saved time & weight doing it, & my full-custom S-Works, XX1-level build came in less than sticker price of the Pro model you're convinced is such a phenomenal value. Pat yourself on the back, proclaim victory to anyone who will listen, and buy whatever you want, but you're not in the driver's seat on value if you let Specialized or anyone else pick every part on your bike.
  • 1 0
 Looking at merida datas.. it looks like they did +3%revenue and -50% profit
  • 49 3
 "The e-bike segment is still growing, which will further increase average selling price and profit."

Cha-Ching suckas!

$$$$$$$$$$$
  • 52 5
 I've been look at Triumph motorcycles and somehow I can pay less for a new motorcycle than a new ebike.
  • 29 2
 @HB208: exactly why I bought a 300cc dual sport last summer instead of a emtb.
  • 23 3
 @HB208: I could buy myself a dirtbike and a decent MTB for the price of many of these E-bikes. Hell, some of them I could buy a Sur-ron, an MTB, and a dirtbike and still be out less money.
It's completely out of hand, and at this point it's more about prestige-pricing than it is actual cost of materials.
  • 10 1
 @nickfranko: been thinking abouy ADVs lately... and, with the price of an electric s-works, I could buy a yamaha, suzuki or even a honda(transalp for sure, AT, maybe not), spend one month riding half of the continent and still have some change left.
Honestly, I do want a good(decent?!) ebike but, I'd rather spend that amount on a motorcycle than on something that my current normal bike can do 95%; basically, instead of having two of the same, I'd rather have two very different things.
  • 16 3
 @nickfranko: The pricing on ebikes is absurd. I guess when your target demographic is 60+ retired dudes looking to get rad, you can charge more?
  • 11 0
 @HB208: I saw the new Pivot Mach 4 is £11,000 non ebike. I can buy a brand new KTM 890 and a specialized Status for the same price
  • 9 3
 @HB208: Motorcycles are priced like cars. There's essentially no dealer margin built into the price. I think average margin for a new car is somewhere around 2-3%. Motorcycles are a bit higher at maybe 10%. The profit on motorcycles and cars mostly comes from financing, service, and parts.

Ebikes are priced like regular bikes. Profit margins somewhere around 30-40%.

Solution: put an internal combustion engine into the ebike so that there's a viable, service based sales model.
  • 3 0
 @toast2266: Ok, then potentially the profit margins need to change? Specialized is selling DTC to consumers now so I do not see the argument of keeping 30-40% margins.
  • 3 0
 @HB208: Agreed. And I think that's why most DTC brands are a bit cheaper. But at the end of the day, there just isn't as much money to be made on financing, service, and parts in the bike industry compared to the auto and motorcycle industries. So bike margins are never going to drop as low as those other industries because there's no other way to recoup that money.
  • 1 1
 @HB208: because they can, as the ppl keep buying s.hitloads of them.
  • 8 1
 @HB208: yes. Because 60 year old retired guys have more money than time. If someone told you that you had X more years to ride, with the maximum value of "X" being 10, you might also feel differently about spending the money.
  • 2 1
 @codypup: I 100% agree with you. My friend sold a CEO of a local tech firm a $15k e-bike. I was a contractor for the tech company and would see the CEO walk around... he was like 80 pounds overweight and not healthy looking. I am assuming he touched it once or twice and then put it in his garage.
  • 4 0
 @HB208: yeah man, Triumph Tiger Sport Adventure 660 goes for $11,295!! Bicycle industry is out of their minds!
  • 1 0
 @toast2266: The margins are actually quite a bit lower. More like 20-30%.
  • 6 3
 @HB208: Quit being so negative and live life that brings you happiness. If you don't want an e-bike, then don't get one, but leave those that do enjoy life to the fullest. I'm 60+ and retired, and even though I have multiple bikes ie fat bike, road, mountain, my e-bike is by far the most fun. I now can keep up with the 25 year old guys in our group (getting rad I suppose), and then some.
  • 3 0
 @toast2266: also there is only 1 size of motorbike to make. Economies of scale really kick in..
  • 3 0
 @HB208: definitely. Also see: every single ski resort's business model. Chasing the boomer bucks!
  • 2 0
 @MT36: People get mad but its the truth. They have the disposable income.
  • 35 2
 Fox is just playing the long game and should see skyrocketing profits when the warranties expire on all those X2's and they start charging $150 per rebuild.
  • 22 1
 so....GoPro thinks eliminating discounts will increase subscriptions, and sales in units?
  • 16 1
 I don’t know how they manage to keep stumbling along as an independent company. Their cameras are just not reliable enough to justify the price they want for them.
  • 6 0
 @sjma: They have a well known brand name and no serious competition, as simple as that. DJI maybe, but we'll see.
  • 12 0
 The new DJI is probably going to really hit GoPro even harder imo. That camera is cheaper and better in nearly everyway since you know it doesn't kill itself in the heat and battery runs way longer. I happily sold my GoPros and bought 2 DJIs.
  • 4 0
 GoPro is a company ready for disruption. Its needs new leadership IMHO.
  • 3 0
 @Muggsly: Got a DJI for winter(don't want to acknowledge how bad I am on a bike) and that camera has been awesome. That battery has not once gone dead on me.
  • 1 0
 Exactly. I had to read that three times to believe it. What a stupid declaration.

Even stupider the CEO decided "as of now" , instead of "hey, last chance".
  • 1 0
 @sjma: You could say the same about Garmin, really. No matter what model, from the lowest to the highest, sooner or later one will experience the same issues, like missing recording rides, rebooting mid-ride, freezing, etc. And yet they're more and more expensive with every new model. But, like @Archimonde said about GoPro, Garmin is arguably still the most known brand in the GPS game and viable choices are still too few (and all of them seem to have their own issues).
  • 2 0
 @arek: I haven't experienced the issues that you're describing. My 530 had a weird mix of high and low tech learning curve but I have it dialed in exactly how I want now. My experience with GoPro was universally bad though, I could never get it to just work when I put the thing on. Hilariously bad battery life, a file management software system that was prone to corrupting files, splitting videos into 10 minute chunks, and had no rhyme or reason I could figure out for file naming. The cases never were watertight and the sound quality was unlistenable. There's also the sad fact that I live somewhere that has like 4 minute descents, max, without having to travel far so why would i bother trying to show anyone that.
  • 1 0
 @sjma: Well, consider yourself lucky. The issues I described (and others) are common, well documented and easily searchable. I'm on my 3rd garmin (830) and although it works mostly great and is only about 3 years old, I've had some weird occurrences with since last year, I'd say once every 10 rides or so.
  • 1 0
 @Muggsly: @Muggsly: yeah, but I still prefer NA company like GoPro over Chinese DJI
  • 21 0
 We need prices to fall.
  • 1 1
 That will not happen unfortunately.
  • 3 3
 @goroncy: this - a bike isn’t a commodity it’s a product and inflation has happened now, we won’t get deflation.

Give it a few years and wages will catch up and everything will be back to how it was, until then I expect lots of ‘sales’ on bikes and parts they struggle to shift.
  • 1 2
 An hardtail equiped with Shimano Tourney is not that expensive.
  • 1 0
 They have in some cases. Not back to where they were pre-pandemic but close. Wasn’t there a PB article recently talking about this?
  • 10 0
 If we actually want prices to come down the bike industry will have to change it's model.

We will need a lot higher unit volumes of exactly the same bikes that can be made year after year for at least 4 years (like motorbikes or cars) before any meaningful changes happen. That allows design costs, tooling and marketing to be spread over way more bikes to the point it becomes a really small fraction of each bike.

For example typical range looks like: Tallboy Alloy, C, CC, Hightower Alloy, C, CC, Bronson Alloy, C, CC, Nomad Alloy, C, CC, Megatower Alloy, C, CC - and then multiply that through by a tonne of different specs from NX to XX1 and Deore to XTR... multiplied by a 5 sizes... multiplied by multiple colours. You barely make more than a few hundred of any single SKU. Then after a couple years replace the entire bike, throw away the $200,000 molds and start again with a new design.

Specialized has kind of done this with the status. They've gone for a aluminium frame, a single robust workhorse spec (Fox 36 Rhythm, DPX2, NX Eagle, Codes, own-brand finishing kit) and then just banged a tonne of them out exactly the same. No gimmicky features. Very little marketing. Minimal colourways. Kept it the same for like 3 years already.

They're selling for £2600 which is a great price. What does a £10,000 160 travel bike get you that you don't get on a status? Save a few pounds and maybe the suspension, gears and brakes are a bit better. This is how we will get prices down. I'm keen for dozens of companies making dozens of bikes and dozens of specs because we get to see awesome and different bikes and a lot of competition to create the best frame and suspension designs - but this also keeps the prices super high.
  • 1 0
 Agreed. If Orbea has decided to 'share our wealth with society,' then there is clearly ample room to reduce the price of a bicycle.
  • 16 0
 GoPro has seen a 19.4% decrease in revenue despite Nicholas Woodman, founder and CEO.

CEO's response; capitalizing on our momentum, effective today, we're implementing an updated go-to-market strategy that restores our product pricing to pre-pandemic levels.

What momentum? Down? And increasing prices will fix that?

Time for a new CEO . . . .
  • 4 0
 I'll stick to my NoPro™
  • 20 8
 As much as I love riding bikes when I see numbers in the billions and hundreds of millions and then the word loss I feel better.
  • 20 22
 You feel better knowing that passionate employees are facing layoffs?
  • 12 3
 @Tacodip420: In an ideal world they would take the losses out of the top end bonuses (which it isn't I know). And you really think it isn't a job for most of the employees overseas. Passionate is a bit much.
  • 25 2
 @Tacodip420: Man, guilt trip consumers for not willing to pay inflated prices. Nice. Companies need a wakeup call to realize that pandemic shortages allowed temporary price increases.
  • 23 0
 @Tacodip420: If anyone in any of the leadership positions at these companies went to ACTUAL school for business or economics, you would 100% know that you would NOT make future projection plans off outlier years and anomaly results (which even Buffett has recently said that some leadership at some of his companies had done so this isn't isolated). Anyone who had record sales and revenues for 2 years and then ran out and built more facilities/capacity, hired more people, increased orders and supply quantities, or projected volumes to continue... is a moron. That should have been seen as a windfall, or missed opportunity if unable to pivot, and nothing further. Transpo has fallen, energy has fallen, demand has fallen. This place has a sizeable segment of users that loves to high-horse guilt trip consumers about supporting brands and LBS and the like, as if 50% off winter sales hadn't been the norm for 2 decades before COVID. Every single year without fail on gear and frames and everything under the sun. Shedding tears for returns to normalcy is assinine.
  • 10 7
 @Whataboutism: These companies are not just overseas, they have engineers, marketers, customer service, sales, warehouse, warranty etc workers that are getting cut in Europe and USA. Yes, they are passionate, not many in the bike world are in it just for another job, they took less pay to be in the industry. @HB208 I never mentioned anything about bike prices, that is not at all what the statement was about. Revenue losses are not tied 1:1 with bike prices. @Sweatypants who hurt you, chill out you're sweating through your pants. My statement was not a guilt trip for you to support anyone, I just don't get why people get stoked to see others fall.
  • 13 1
 @Tacodip420: Capitalism and greed hurt me (not really, but its annoying that somebody thinks I should care about a corporation's profit margin). Its not our job or obligation to keep somebody's lights on. If you get laid off by an irresponsible company, I feel bad for the individual, but that's not on the consumer's shoulders.
  • 2 2
 I take it you live in a commune off the local land then?
  • 6 1
 @justanotherusername: I sleep on top of a pile of money, with many beautiful ladies. And if people didn't want to utilize my company's service any more and I got laid off, I wouldn't blame the people for it or try to guilt them into gofundingme some money so I don't get fired. Do I hate that companies chase quarterly profits and have no employee loyalty? yes. Do I hate that golden parachutes get paid out even when everything else burns down around them? yes. Do I hate that nobody has a pension in the US any more and no safety net? yes. Is it my problem to worry about that for everyone? no.
  • 3 0
 @Sweatypants: I was asking the person that originally expressed happiness in bike companies doing less well.

I agree with much of what you say, but outside of the top few brands or group owned (and then it’s the group owner not the bike brand) I’m not sure bike companies fall into that kind of bracket - a few hundred mill turnover a year for some of the biggest and ten mill or less for other ‘larger’ companies don’t add up to parachute pay outs.

Here in the UK water company bosses get 2mill a year wages to pump shit into our rivers, you have individuals worth thousands of millions of pounds personally, the bike industry isn’t in the league of exploiters, especially as in the performance market it’s entirely a luxury, non essential product for middle classes to waft about on like adult children.
  • 1 0
 @Sweatypants: those morons (SRAM/Rockshox in my mind) gained a lot of perceived market share (bikes in shops for sale) while Shimano refused to adapt.
  • 2 2
 @HB208: There were very real price increases on materials need to make bikes. Plus labor prices increased at the same time. It wasn’t just a greedy decision to increase prices.
  • 1 0
 @somebody-else: Potentially. and/or still probably temporary. Bike brands shifting from one to the other just to get stuff to customers and get bikes out the door was valid. Realistically though... MOST bike brands, big or boutique, offer builds with both. Customers demand both, and now that panic is over about getting ANYTHING, most people will revert to wanting what they like, or which they feel is better (performance, reliability, cost, etc...). Furthermore, that worked when demand was explosive. If demand is falling thru the floor, companies aren't moving units, then they won't be demanding more drivetrain/brake/suspension kits at heightened volume anymore either... so then yes, if you built a new factory based on that demand and now that demand has retracted and/or normalized against the competition again... you are in fact, a moron.
  • 2 0
 @gnarlysipes: I highly doubt that there were enough prices increases to justify brands charging $6.5k for a GX build.
  • 1 0
 @HB208: Don’t underestimate the complexity in the supply chain. But I agree that a chunk of it was simply supply and demand. Not enough supply for the demand increases prices. It’s one of the few constants in human history.
  • 7 0
 Maybe if Shimano production kept up with demand their bike revenue wouldn't be down. I've had a hell of a time getting parts. I've been waiting for months on some XT cranks and a chainring. If I knew it would have been this long I would have just gone aftermarket.
  • 3 1
 microshift has also taken a lot of marketshare of oem bikes away from shimano recently from what i'm seeing as a shop owner
  • 2 1
 Shimano are are surely going to be under increasing pressure from SRAM at OEM as frames are designed to work with their new hanger design.

It’s an aggressive move from SRAM and if a large number of manufacturers adopt it shimano will be in the shit.
  • 13 0
 @justanotherusername: UDH still works with Shimano.

What Shimano lacks is MTB Di2. Sram is basically two generations ahead now.
  • 1 4
 @JSTootell: Is that with an aftermarket hanger though?

Maybe OEM’s would make with UDH and fit a hanger to work with Shimano but I can’t help but feel if they design the frame to go UDH they will be going SRAM too.
  • 4 0
 @justanotherusername: What do you mean "fit a hanger to work with Shimano". The point of UDH is to not have a unique hanger for every frame. Whether the rear mech hanging off the udh is shimano, sram, microshift, box, trp etc doesn't matter. The point is to put that m10 thread in the right place with one common hanger. Hence U standing for Universal.

The bonus for Sram is it means they can do direct mount. Previously that would have been essentially impossible (it would have to be done on a frame by frame basis).
  • 6 0
 @eh-steve: I’m being a bit slow tonight, ignore me!
  • 2 0
 @eh-steve , careful, I said this the other week and someone told me off because I made the comment on an R&D article. It is a huge problem over here in Aus and I believe the hold-up for manufacturers getting out their bikes to customers. Orbea being one of the brands with issues.
  • 1 0
 Saint Groupset has not been updated since 2014. A whole set of fanboys/gals would need to upgrade immediately. They do anyway.
  • 1 0
 @eh-steve where are you ordering from that you're waiting months? I just picked up a new set from my LBS and some online retailers that ship worldwide have them in stock (Fanatik, Jenson).
  • 2 0
 @jessemeyers: I'm in Canada (Vancouver Island). Shimano doesn't allow shipping cross border. E.g. Jenson, who I've ordered from before, cannot ship Shimano to Canada or else they risk losing the ability to sell Shimano. If Shimano allowed cross country selling I could have had what I needed in days.

Being in the US you've likely not experienced "sorry, we can't ship the item in your cart to your country." Since it's rare you'd have to order those restricted items out of country.
  • 2 0
 @eh-steve: ah, thanks for explaining.
  • 2 0
 @eh-steve: looks like Fanatik might ship as I just tried to checkout on their website with a Vancouver address and it let me select shipping (albeit it was $40) and I only stopped at the final payment step.
  • 2 0
 @jessemeyers: I honesty doubt they do. Chain Reaction goes as far as not showing items once you set the country. I've had some companies contact me after the order to say they can't ship the item to me.

In Vancouver Point Roberts is an option. Ship there, take advantage of free US shipping, pick it up and cross the border. Or just drive to Bellingham. Being on the island getting off is pricey. The Seattle Clipper has (had?) some cross border options but they are $$$.

The LBS I shop at is probably one of the biggest by revenue on the island (a very bike centric island), so it's crazy to me they have to wait so long as a Shimano authorized shop. Heck, they do full fox service (including nitrogen charging etc), so I don't have to send my fox stuff all the way to Burnaby (a whole ferry ride and hour drive away to Fox Canada). Total off topic, but that's what talked me into buying a bike with a Fox shock since usually they have to be sent of to be serviced.
  • 3 0
 Near impossible to get individual Shimano parts - can't even get XT 4 pot (D02S, N04 or N03) pads in Australia. If Shimano actually produced replacement parts and sold them they might make some profit....
  • 8 1
 How about we talk about the blanket changes that Vista is making that is directly effecting the Santa Cruz County community and the lives of an entire building worth of Bell/Giro/Blackburn employees...
  • 3 0
 Such as?
  • 11 0
 @hughbm: Vista laid off a number of employees on 3/31 and announced the closing of the Scotts Valley office, forcing employees to choose to relocate down to Fox Racing's facility in Irvine or accept a severance package. A few Giro employees have accepted the relocation (a handful at most), I believe 2 Blackburn employees, and literally only 1 Bell employee has accepted. As far as the ancillary/shared service roles such as supply chain/finance/sales - almost all of these teams have declined to relocate as of now. I'd estimate that 95% of the current employee base has declined the offer.
  • 13 0
 I guess management forgot that behind every great company and every great product is great, talented people. They gutted Bell/Giro/Blackburn. They are attempting to turn a company that makes good products into a company that makes good money instead. I wonder if they know why the brands were so successful in the first place, and it's not because of the money. Since they put Fox Head in charge I wonder if this is Fox's way of crushing their competition in the name of increased marketshare. Cut off it's nose to spite it's face. It's a head scratcher and it would seem a lot of friends and families, many of them having huge influence in the cycling industry, have had their lives turned upsidedown for shareholders profit.
  • 1 0
 @bicyclelifestyle: I don't think it is Fox as much as it is Vista. Vista is essentially your standard PE company that happens to be public instead of private. They're trying to spin the company into two to create """"shareholder value"""" aka increase the stock price so that the massive amounts of shares that Vista leadership own make them even wealthier. It appears to me based on the lack of plan that Fox leadership has that the directive to absorb Bell/Giro/Blackburn was thrust upon them relatively unexpectedly.
  • 1 0
 How about we talk about REI getting the ball rolling against Vista brands for over a year due to Vista having stake in a firearms manufacturer.
One of the biggest sports retailers in the U.S, stopped ordering from Bell, Blackburn, Giro and Camelbak
They started taking orders again shortly before the government shut things down for Covid.

Consolidation seems a sensible move. Rent isn't getting cheaper. Nor the cost of materials, labor & benefits.
  • 2 1
 @SacAssassin: that was stupid and if I’m not mistaken, that chain had to shut down a lot of locations.

Boycotting brands because the investment company that bought them also owns things you don’t agree with is stupid. You’d have to exclusively support non public brands.
  • 7 0
 "Our tried and tested model to ensure flexibility and adaptation to different production volumes is functioning well." Three cheers for layoffs!
  • 4 0
 These statistics would be much more helpful to compare to 2019 sales numbers. Comparing Q1 of 2023 to 2022 and/or 2021 doesn’t make a ton of sense, when we all know 2021 and 2022 were highly inflated sales numbers. You can’t have the 2 greatest years of sales ever in the industry then cry about sales slumps when we all expected the sales numbers to regress to ‘normal’. I own and run a business and if we had a banner year, I’d save some cash for a rainy day, take care of my employees and prepare for a regression to the mean.
  • 1 0
 I was thinking the same thing. Surely the industry knew that this year would be closer to 2018/19 than 21/22.
  • 5 0
 Talking of revenue - it looks like the new Kona website is now a Shopify e-commerce site with no soul! What, dear Kona, are you doing to this once great brand?
  • 3 0
 Wow I saw what you wrote and went to check it out. Dead On, WTF no content at all, just a super basic add to cart site.
  • 2 0
 My observation from a consumer standpoint is that between 2020 and late 2022, most bicycle manufacturers and retailers offered no sales on products while increasing prices during the purchasing frenzy. Most didn't seem to bother and care to take care of their loyal cycling base. There are a few however, that did show appreciation. It was simply buy at MSRP or simply don't get what you need or want. Take a look at the cost of brake pads for example...jeesh. Since demand has subsided, we saw those "sales" begin last fall and continue thru today and onward probably thru the foreseeable future. Most success stories or increased profits will likely come from innovation at least until the next global pandemic. They could just lower prices as the market resets itself. It's really no shock and for those companies who cry woe is me, perhaps better planning and utilizing better systems to increase efficiency should have been the top priority. If any are unable to get beyond slower times, it's likely because of poor planning, forecasting and poor operations. Unfortunately, poor quality and potential disaster can be a result of trying to shed cost. We've all been thru a lot over the past 3 years and as cyclists, most of us are strong enough to withstand pressures from various stimulus of demise.
  • 3 2
 The idea that companies exist in this culture making Billions and tens/hundreds of millions of dollars shoSuccasunna. how gullible everyone who participates in it is. $15k bicycles, $90 tshirts and a $200 pair of shorts are normalized. Yawll are suckas.
  • 1 0
 Which company is making billions of USD? I'd also be curious what you think the average retail unit price is for the bike brands you're referring to.
  • 1 0
 Right now with the current market conditions and with the pandemic and supply chain fading in the rear view mirror, this right now is the best time in all of MTB history to get into the sport or upgrade your rig. Tis a buyers market! Will this become the norm, maybe, but we will see.
  • 1 0
 Topic is coming up more and more. Sales everywhere. Prices still outrageous. spare parts still not in stock. Industry is broken. fix your logistics, distribution and sales models and get with the times or slowly fade away into oblivion. I love bikes but the industry makes me sick. How can you make 5% margin yet sell the most ridiculously overpriced product known to man? sheezZZ !
  • 3 1
 Leatt You need better Graphic Designers for your helmets and Jerseys. Great Tech but the looks of your products do not compete. Especially this season's gear.
  • 1 0
 Gee, kiddos, wake up! This is shameful advertisement, or something maybe appropriate for a industry board meeting! Talk about a forefront for the industry disguising itself as a magazine!
  • 2 0
 i couldnt give less of a f*ck about the profits of these multinational corporations
  • 1 0
 Am I correct that Orbea announced a 20% increase in prices last year? Statement above says they're giving 20% of profits to social initiatives? Interesting.
  • 2 0
 this is the bike equivalent of movie box office reports... cut off yer BRAINstem, this shit is not important!
  • 3 1
 Profits aren't sustainable as the technology reaches the asymptote of performance.
  • 3 0
 "98,298 million yen"

Why? Who says that? Doesn't 'billion' work on yen?
  • 11 0
 Because this one goes to 11
  • 1 6
flag MithrandirTheIstari (May 25, 2023 at 20:16) (Below Threshold)
 No it doesn't. Billion for those using metric system is for a million of millions, so having thousands of millions is perfectly normal in most of the world. Using 'billion' to state thousands of millions is pretty much for imperial users only
  • 3 0
 @MithrandirTheIstari: Metric money? Okay - news to me.

Nobody says, "I'm a thousand millionaire". They say, "I'm a billionaire"
  • 1 0
 @BenLow2019: Indeed, nobody says that. Very few say "I'm a billionaire", relatively few say "I'm a millionaire".

Enjoy the read: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion
  • 2 0
 It's not that we don't want your stuff... don't take it personally. We just bought so much last year for some reason.
  • 2 0
 The used bike market has been flooded with cast-offs post Covid, this must be depressing prices for new and used.
  • 1 0
 Ive seen some insane deals on used bikes lately. If you are in the market for an upgrade, it's the best time in a long time. Not to mention no sales tax on used bikes.
  • 2 0
 "challenging in terms of growth" - that's a nice way to put your sales have dropped by nearly 50% (Leatt)
  • 1 0
 "Orbea profit after tax increasing by 20% when compared to 2021". This is solely due to Orbea moving to headset bearing routing
  • 2 2
 Does Giant really sell $20+ billion dollars of bikes and bikes products every year, or does that include other stuff? Sheesh
  • 9 0
 1 USD = 30 NT or taiwan dollars
  • 6 0
 Yes. They are literally GIANT bicycles... They make bikes for other really large brands.
  • 1 0
 That's in NT, bear in mind
  • 3 0
 Their factories are the largest manyufacturers of other brand frames and products. So that includes all that.
  • 1 0
 I wouldn’t doubt it. Looking at lost of companies mass incomes most are from lower end bikes. And Giant being a company that produces tons of lower end bikes, that seems reasonable.
  • 2 0
 According to their accounts about $3billion USD per year. That's a lot of bikes.
  • 1 0
 @Fix-the-Spade: I bet 50% of that is from lower end bikes sales ~2k
  • 7 0
 Keep some perspective here... Giant had a 28 million USD profit in first quarter of 2023 and ExxonMobil had a 11 BILLION USD profit in the first quarter.
  • 1 0
 @ethanrevitch: More like 90-95% are under 1k.
  • 1 0
 @JudyYellow: yeah, their bikes are freakin huge. You only have to sell a few bikes that giant in order to make $20b.
  • 1 0
 @plustiresaintdead: haha I thought that at first but they’re claiming to have 32% coming from E Bikes.
  • 1 0
 @ethanrevitch: Yeah thats fair, I was thinking in units not revenue.
  • 1 0
 @ethanrevitch: Imagine the profit margin between a $1000 bike and a $15000 bike. Even IF they have the same margin percentage (they don't), the amount of money made off an eBike will be massively larger.

Also, I am assuming they are including all forms of electric bicycles, not just top end eBikes.
  • 1 0
 @JSTootell: yep. That’s my point exactly. Lower end bikes make the $$$
  • 1 0
 I’m sure poor quality and terrible customer service has nothing to do with Leatt’s revenue plummeting.
  • 2 0
 Yeah I really feel sorry for a company still making £883 million profit
  • 1 0
 Miss doing alright, since all they sell is patent loans, 8.5million with basically no production costs is pretty good !
  • 2 0
 How is Yeti and Santa Cruz doing with its 10k bikes with aluminum wheels?
  • 1 0
 Nick woodman is a jerk in person. Especially to his babysitters
  • 1 0
 Isn’t this more like a Bicycle Retailer article? I just ride bikes.
  • 1 0
 Bikes need to be 20% cheaper or it’s
  • 6 7
 Fox should report their military contract earnings, also. They're probably raking it in over proxy wars.
  • 8 0
 Genuine question: What does FOX make for the military?
  • 5 1
 Putin, is that you?
  • 2 0
 @onemanarmy: Do they make shocks for military use?

C'mon guys, can someone point me in the right direction for some online research.
  • 2 0
 Why should they include that? Is this an article about defense industry?
  • 1 0
 @wguarino: Thanks, That's actually pretty cool
  • 1 2
 @pooceq: if they make more money from military contracts, then why are they in an article about mountain bike companies?
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