Wiggle and CRC to Close International Web Shops as Sales Process 'Gathers Pace'
WiggleCRC has issued a statement announcing that its international e-commerce platforms will shut down "in the coming weeks". The news follows the termination of a 150 million euro equity commitment from an affiliate of parent company, Signa Sports United (SSU), an event that led to Wiggle entering administration on October 25th.
Brexit and rising international air freight costs are cited as some of the economic factors that have led administrators to pull back from international markets - markets that make up only 15% of the business' revenue. A timeline is yet to be specified for the closure of the international Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles web shops, but we are told that outstanding sales, returns and warranty obligations will be fulfilled.
In more hopeful news, the statement does allude to a possible impending sale of the business. We have reached out for more information on this, but the WiggleCRC administrators have, understandably, declined to divulge specifics. The complete statement from WiggleCRC can be found below.
 | The Joint Administrators of WiggleCRC are directing a shift in the group’s business model which will see it focus its efforts solely on the UK market. The announcement comes as a process to sell the business gathers pace amidst ongoing talks with multiple parties. Alastair Massey and Tony Wright of specialist business advisory firm FRP were appointed to Mapil Midco 1 Limited and Wiggle Limited on 24 October 2023. Insolvency practitioners from FRP have also been appointed as Joint Administrators to Chain Reaction Cycles Limited, Chain Reaction Cycles Retail Limited and Hotlines Europe Limited. To ensure that WiggleCRC is in the best possible position to build on its core strengths and market leading position, the decision has been taken to pivot the business model to solely focus on the UK domestic market which currently accounts for 85% of the group’s revenues. The international Wiggle and Chain Reaction web shops will therefore be closed over the coming weeks. This part of the business has been impacted by a range of economic factors including rising international air freight costs and Brexit. The business is committed to honoring all outstanding sales, returns and warranty obligations for international customers through the usual processes. Tony Wright, Partner at FRP and Joint Administrator of WiggleCRC, said: “The UK market is core to WiggleCRC’s proposition where it remains the market leader and is a powerful driver for the business’ profitability and current trading performance. This has been incredibly attractive to interested parties and we are progressing swiftly with the sale process.” |
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*Hopefully
They denied it was their fault and that I must have sent it in with the spacers missing and wouldn’t budge.
Needless to say it put me off buying a bike from them ever again, and I’d spent a solid $10,000+ on multiple bikes and parts from them over the years. And here I am posting publicly about it for others to see. All over a part that probably costs them $20.
The long-standing and on-going tradition in which "passion based" industries such as anything outdoorsy, anything to do with horses, etc. are able to exploit people's passion not just for good (making/selling/promoting rad stuff to improve people's lives) but also for not-so-good (getting people to commit immense effort and compromise on compensation, work-life balance, and really every aspect of the employee or contractor experience to be able to work at the thing that lights them up).
The maddening ability for big investors and private equity to find ever more elaborate ways to f*ck up good things while simultaneously still making really good money by doing so. This has been going on for a very long time in the economy as a whole; think leveraged buy outs that leave empty husks for formerly proud companies, devastated factory towns, subprime and other rapacious finance businesses causing serious economic disruption not just for individuals but for economies as a whole, and yet with all that miraculously ever-more-lucrative returns on investment for the corporate raiders. The outdoor and bike booms of the last few years, along with an industry full of smallish companies (some of them run by founders ready to retire) has painted a very large and irresistible target on that sector's back. Not just bikes - think of all the outdoor brands that went through buyouts and mergers in the last few years. Lots of those are total trainwrecks (and had serious ripple effects in the communities they grew from and that had nurtured those companies in the first place).
And lastly, specific to the US, labor law that lacks the kinds of protection you'd have in other places. In Germany, for example, employees are taken care of before non-secured creditors, and even secured creditors (mortgage holders, suppliers with liens on inventory) might take a haircut because a bankruptcy court would first evaluate the social plan of how to protect employees. The whole concept of at-will employment is pretty uniquely American - and I'd argue has a serious cost both in human and economic terms.
Sorry you and your friends got caught up in that perfect (shit)storm. I hope you all find rewarding and economically sustainable ways to apply your talents, skills and experience!
Huge shame.
Surprised PB haven't mentioned it, especially given they were told about it, and they are a relatively local home grown Canadian company.
I when to a competitor to check, and they were charging about 20% of that to ship a similar frame from the UK to US.
With a bike frame, shipping still isn't cheap - but should not out-pace the frame price.
I bet to ship it uk would be £30-50, then the plane to the us and then the shipping in the us, doesn’t seem to unreasonable
They don't do a good enough job of informing the international customer that this is why their shipping prices have appeared to have sky-rocketed over the last few months.
However...I always choose the cheapest shipping method. I find more often than not, my local customs office doesn't charge any of those fees. So I make out like a bandit. With CRC's revised shipping to include it all up front, I am guaranteed to have to pay it...making the "deal" not as hot as it used to be. I was probably taxed on 1 out of every 10 shipments from CRC in the past. Now I pay duties, tax and express shipping cost on 10 out of 10 (but I haven't placed a single order since the horrible website redesign and shipping price increases)
As regards Brexit...... Northern Ireland where CRC originated STILL has the same pre-Brexit arrangements within the EU.
We, Helmetor have suffered because of Brexit because most of the world don't seem to be aware of this even though we can ship international with out any of the extra costs killing mainland UK brands.
If CRC had kept their operation in N Ireland, things would be different.
Brexit, Covid and some poor web / other choices killed CRC as they will kill other business in the near future too.
I’m not optimistic Nukeproof in its current guise will survive to be honest.
UK Is Likely in Recession Right Now, Bloomberg Analysis Shows
Modeling shows 52% chance of a mild recession in second half
Risks growing of sharper decline than previously projected.
and
www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/29/central-banks-risk-tipping-uk-and-other-developed-countries-into-recession
No point and then what? Should I overpay or not buy such parts?
Oo good to know! I'll have to have a look at their website. Thanks a lot!
Also discovered the eBay account they use to sell off returns, display items etc. There's some great deals there: TriSportsResort
Maybe the hackers are in your system?