Moore Large

DeVlaeminck

Not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere but Moore Large - UK company who own a number of bike brands - have gone into administration.

gethinceri

BikeBiz:
"Moore Large’s portfolio consists of recognisable brands including Tern e-bikes, Tru Tension maintenance and cleaning products, BMX brand WeThePeople, and its house-owned bike brand Forme."

First.Aspect

Only one of those I heard of is Forme.

The article goes on to say that amin are being retained for the moment but company cars have already been returned.

Company cars?

DeVlaeminck

Apparently a load of staff got laid off yesterday morning - I know a few of them (not well). Was a management buy out a couple of years ago.

DeVlaeminck

They have quite a few brands we've all heard of listed in their website -kmc for example - but presumably only act as a distributor for many of them.

When reading about this also saw that Paligap had gone under relatively recently - can't remember where I know them from but I think one of the better known distributors in the UK - at least parts of the bike industry must be going through difficult times.

MidlandsGrimpeur2

If anyone is in the market for a new bike.

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/35000-bikes-to-go-to-auction-after-distributor-enters-administration

photonic69

That's a real shame. A few people I know have Tern bikes as their main transport for ferrying kids around and shopping. I guess thus will bugger their warranty.

slowmart

photonic69 said:

That's a real shame. A few people I know have Tern bikes as their main transport for ferrying kids around and shopping. I guess thus will censored their warranty.

Anyone using their credit card to purchase an item over £100 and under £30k has the card provider as an alternative guarantor for any warranty.

verylonglegs

Is it just me or does the figure of 35,000 bikes seem very large for them to have?

daniel_b

oxoman said:

I'm guessing someone will pick up some of the brands to be uk distributor's.

oh ffs, I can just see mike ashley getting his people involved as I type

me-109

I saw earlier today that Lake are setting up their own UK operation as a result of this, so they're not reliant on another distributor.

DeVlaeminck

verylonglegs said:

Is it just me or does the figure of 35,000 bikes seem very large for them to have?

I thought that - I suppose a lot of them may be cheap kids bikes but even so. It'll be interesting to see what they list on this auction.

A mate reckons that the management buy out had a business plan that relied on 40% growth - maybe just me but given cycling has just been through a boom that does sound somewhat unrealistic.

slowmart

DeVlaeminck said:

verylonglegs said:

Is it just me or does the figure of 35,000 bikes seem very large for them to have?

I thought that - I suppose a lot of them may be cheap kids bikes but even so. It'll be interesting to see what they list on this auction.

A mate reckons that the management buy out had a business plan that relied on 40% growth - maybe just me but given cycling has just been through a boom that does sound somewhat unrealistic.

https://www.geldards.com/insights/geldards-advise-derbyshire-bike-firm-moore-large-on-management-buyout/

No doubt the ex directors had sizeable personal guarantees in the deal too.

The current break down of stock suggests £25million of bikes and £10million of cycle accessories.

The suppliers in this case have an impossible position here. Firstly they take the hit not only on the lost stock but also on any monies owed. Who know what credit terms were negotiated, 10, 30, 60 or 90 days?

These suppliers now have a sizeable amount of their products potentially hitting the market at peak time at a substantial discount if acquired at a low lost relative to saleable value through the auction.

The suppliers in this case would have to bid on their previously owned and unpaid stock to protect their brand, existing customers sales and revenue streams. At the very least to drive the price point up.

Considering the administration is an office of a court of law, their power is considerable with an obligation to recover as much money as possible for the creditors who will rank in preference according to the type of debt. With that in mind it will be interesting to see how they handle the lots by auction.

And the above doesn’t touch on the employees who have lost their livelihood.

Munsford0

It's up and running. Predictably Ebay is already awash with bikes that people are buying and trying to turn a profit...

trevor.hall12

The bids showing seem high on basic bikes .
A 500 retail Lombardo MTB at 250 to 300
Then +25% buyers premium then 20% vat then shipping .
Hardly worth the bother

imposter2.0

verylonglegs said:

Is it just me or does the figure of 35,000 bikes seem very large for them to have?

That's a huge amount of cash to have tied up in stock, if correct...

DeVlaeminck

I missed the buyer's premium and vat - yes not exactly a bargain when those are factored in.