Calibre Parent Company GoOutdoors on the Brink of Administration
JD Sports Group has confirmed it is seeking administrators for GoOutdoors, the retailer behind Calibre Bikes.
Calibre have rapidly become one of the go-to brands for budget bikes and recently impressed us with the Bossnut that was a standout performer on our Field Trip despite being the cheapest bike on the test.
GoOutdoors have 67 retail stores across the UK that carry Calibre bikes as well as Raleigh, Diamondback and other camping and outdoor gear. JD Sports Group bought the brand for £112 million in late 2016 but filed a notice of intention on Friday to protect it from legal action while administrators were sought. JD Sports Group said:
"The group can confirm that it has considered a number of strategic options for Go and that Go’s directors have lodged the notice in court. This notice creates an immediate moratorium around the company and its property, which lasts for 10 business days. During this moratorium, Go’s creditors cannot take legal action or continue with any existing legal proceedings against the company without the court’s permission. Administrators have not yet been appointed and the group will make no further comment at this time.”
GoOutdoors was struggling in the second half of 2019 having posted a loss of around £40m in the six months to August. The brand's shops were then mostly shuttered in April although it was allowed to stay partially open as a bike retailer. It eventually fully re-opened at the end of May with safety measures in place to ensure social distancing, which included limiting the numbers of customers.
The Guardian reports that accountancy firm Deloitte is likely to lead a restructuring of the company, which could involve job cuts across its 2,300-strong workforce.
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Looked like they were really going to elevate themselves with the Calibre brand too. The importance of a (just) sub-£1000 full-sus that's actually capable of handling the first few years of someone's progression into MTB (or longer depending on the level/type of riding they are happy to stay at), rather than holding them back really, can not be overstated. The bike had a lot of positive comments but i felt it's importance in the market was really underestimated.
I believe Brant Richards designed it, I'm not sure where he is at with On-One now, he seems to have worked there then not a couple of times since then. I would assume that Mike Sanderson has taken over Brant's role.
Mountain biking can be a pretty expensive hobby really, while you can get a cheap hardtail, many people still need a car to get to some trails worth riding and then will need money for fuel and parking too.
Plus in the case of younger riders, you'd need someone to take you trails. LUBP really helps with that as many more people can ride to it.
I've noticed a big difference in the value of bikes between riders at LUBP and riders at Dalby for example.
Venues like LUBP can really shift things from 'Have mountain bike --> seek places to ride it' to 'See MTB venue --> get mountain bike to ride there'
How much of a difference this makes to numbers of people getting in the sport i couldn't possibly say.
I'm not sure I agree, but I do offer a solution - no minimum wage, but tax the hell out greedy rich effers who don't pay their employees decent wages. If you want to business in our country, your employees need to afford to live here without sucking up tax dollar benefits - or being destitute - or being slaves.
Coronavirus has shown us two very evident things: businesses don't keep enough cash reserves to pay employees without asking for a bailout, and employees don't make enough money to save without asking for unemployment.
Not sure exactly how realistic it all is, as a lot of the stuff we consume is WAY cheaper than it ever has, and we are only paying premiums for premium items. Example: I use a $100 smart phone, something that I don't think existed 10 years ago. People CHOOSE to pay $1500 for a flagship phone. LIkewise, you CAN buy a cheap TV, but people CHOOSE to buy the 80". Also, I don't own a TV at all.
Of course, I am sitting here at work, typing this, waiting for my layoff that I expect to occur after July.
I'm self employed and I was bringing in plenty for a while, then some things happened and I had to stop buying multiple $7000 bikes a year..I had to scale back and adjust my living. Lots of people don't want to accept that they can't post awesome stuff on their Instagram and Facebook. But yes, there are people working hard not making enough...but if they are that hard of a worker I'd assume they'll go find something better and get paid what they deserve....free market.
To me what this "virus" has shown many of us(and we'll see if it sticks around), is that life doesn't have to be so hectic..go go go...18 things on our plate. It's an idea and a construct that people just fall into. Slow the f*ck down! When the lockdown started and the tourists left and the streets were empty, I started flying a kite at an old spanish fort near my house that is usually covered in tourists..I'd meet a few friends, have cocktails and watch boats. Then go sit on my porch and listen to records and have more chats, maybe play board games with my neighbor. To me my life improved greatly, and now I'm already sick of how crowded everything is again. Most of my friends prefer lockdown period, but it's obvious that most of society wants it back how it was...crowded, loud....
Just because people CHOOSE to buy a new TV, doesn't mean the old one is bad. Hers is only a 42", nobody can handle such a small TV anymore...
I still use the original Surface tablet as a computer, works just fine. People just like to throw away their stuff to buy the newer, fancier item and then use "poor quality" as their excuse. I break my cell phone constantly, haven't had one fail yet that wasn't broken by me. The stuff we buy is still good, we just want upgrades to keep up with the Jones's.
I also blame a lot of our 40/hr week, 52 weeks a year, 35 year careers (in the USA at least) as a reason we're all so consumerist. I think we'd spend a lot less money, or need a lot less money, if we could have healthcare without working, and if our employers not only paid us better, but gave us more time off.
In places where the average wage is higher relative to the cost of living, where people have socialized medicine, and where they get considerable mandated time off, the quality of life is generally better as well. People are happier in the countries that offer more state mandated vacation time - and while they might complain about higher taxes, those countries also tend to be less consumerism driven.
The $199.99 model available at the local grocery store? Maybe 2 years. “Cost optimization to grow the category by offering value price points to price conscious consumers”.
Everything is crap these days and just falls apart. It's the logical conclusion of public companies chasing never ending growth.
Old equipment is awesome. I have a 1967 air compressor from an Exxon shop. My drill press is older than I am.
I have a 26yo trolling motor, speeds stopped working. 3 marinas told me to “save the hassle” and replace it, one fixed the $60 magnetic and it purrs again.
But even newer stuff can be repaired if you’re persistent. Parts can sometimes be hard to source but there’s usually a solution out there. The web has actually made repairing things so much easier - parts and knowledge access like never before.
Leasing a rav4 with 9k oil change interval and after about 7k the motor definitely picks up a light vibration. Anyway cars are just an example.
Oh I had a nice example putting on a spare tire where there was no visible jack point so I went inboard off the subframe rail. Jack collapsed and folded in half. Never had that problem in the past. Everything is made as cheap as possible these days.
Of course, I learned a few months ago that the ex wife bought a 1400cc Yamaha VStar motorcycle, and commuted on it for about 40,000 miles without even checking the oil, let alone replacing it. She is a former diesel mechanic and should know better! Last time I looked, it has 70,000 miles with only the final drive ring failing, which is also a wear item (she did 99% of the work, I only assisted here and there).
Direct injection is a disaster for a few different reasons, and then add a turbo to the mix and you have things like the new f150 eco boost motors blowing up before warranty is even up. Or the countless problems with audi/volvo/Subaru burning an insane amount of oil but not qualifying for warranty unless burning more than a litre per 600 miles! It's all a bit frustrating
A few years ago, the management of a local business park decided the best way to ‘modernize’ their (otherwise presentable) brick facade was to paint it all a vague, primer grey. Looks absolutely awful, like a prison. An expensive choice to strip off in a decade, I suspect. Thousands of companies have made similar choices.
Once you notice how prevalent the grey is, you can’t un-see it. New condos with grey walls, countertops, and grey fake wood floors. Grey logos and branding. Grey cars, etc. I understand how it can look good, but it’s become a played out, cynical choice, and I’m ready for it to be over.
Agreed. I thought it was kinda cool and edgy for a while, but now that I see it on lots of cheaper cars, it sort of exposes the trend for what it is.
At least we don't expect cars to look 'timeless' forever, the same way we do with buildings.
.....unless we as consumers consume new bikes regularly.
Which is funny, because Walmart actually had a good idea with Viathon - but they went the other direction - high end builds at a reasonable price - but no innovation at all. Anyone who is willing to buy a $3000 bike from Walmart will be blind if they can't see those as Chinese Carbon rebrands. At least Calibre was having their own bikes built.
Which brings us to the consumer's new ability to identify original products. I can't imagine KHS sells too many bikes anymore - they are catalog bikes. Lots of "brands" are trying to pawn off Chinese carbon full-suspension bikes with limited success. Anyone who is spending $1500-$3000 on a bike is doing their research. It's the guy looking for a bike at Walmart or Target who is the perfect market for a cheapish but still decent MTB.
It's going to be hard for any new brand to sell bikes at $800 or $8000 if it doesn't have a physical presence in common stores (dealers), no innovation or in-house design (can't just be a rebrand/catalog bike) and doesn't generate any type of hype (people were actually wanting to buy Cam Zink's Hyper Bikes, but they were never produced as he rode them.)
Even when I recommend an online bike to a friend, that’s getting into mountain biking, they still prefer a store brand like specialized. People are scared of the unknown.
As long as you are buying something someone else will buy from you, down the road, you are good!
Certainly where I am (Surrey Hills in the UK) the volume of people getting out and about has gone through the roof in the last couple of months - loads more cyclists, walkers and equestrian types out during the weekends. There are also quite a lot of peeps out and about on Bossnuts here as well - and not just beginners, either. They always seem like really well-thought-out bikes for great prices.
@hamncheez - nope, slightly different. Administration in the UK is similar to Chapter 11 in the US: a way to restructure the business to save it. Well, that's the theory, anyway. In the past I've seen some unscrupulous people put their business into admin in order to ditch debt and employees and then buy it back for a token amount. I doubt that's what's happening here - it sounds like they've been in trouble for a while.
Go outdoors in thery couldve done well in the crisis, running gear & bikes are selling like hotcakes & 1000s of people will be looking at camping in the UK rather than foreign holidays this year
heir stores are big & social distancing shouldve been easily achievable
Decathlon have a similar product range & they switched to a click & collect model at Asda straight away
You'd hope the Calibre brand could be salvaged and turned into a direct sales model or similar. I've no idea whether the brand was profitable though.
If Go Outdoors does fall by the wayside I expect Calibre to line up in Evans Cycles.
IIRC he tried to take them over at one point but they refused the offer..
At £875 and £1350 it doesn't seem too bad if we only manage to get out 2 or 3 times a month until the kids are 3 or 4 and start nursery/school.
- Frame sizing.
- What geo numbers suit your body dimensions.
- What type of riding/trails you want to do (xc, trail, park, flow, tech, big features etc).
- How much travel do you need for your preferred riding.
Without being able to demo extensively, some of those you wont know until you get some actual riding done and work out what you like and don't like (both in terms of the type or fiding and the bike itself).
If you spend £999 on a bossnut (for example) and then look to change for something more suitable to your wants/needs after a year or so of progression and fun, then it's not too bitter pill a swallow paying out for another bike (especially if you can sell it and get some money back). Certainly much better than paying £3000+ and realising it doesn't suit you or your needs. I had to learn the hard way - bought my first full sus but it wasn't until i started riding more technical terrain did i realise the bike was too long for my body dimensions (short arms and legs). I had the correct frame size but the specific geo just didn't work for me (although i saw a review from a Mr S. Hill who was perfactly happy with the same bike). Changed bike and it made a world of difference.
Do you mean bankruptcy? Is this likely Canadian term used any where else in world? I haven’t heard it until now. @Pinkbike please edit your terms so we don’t have to question your conditions and use of English language.