Orange Bikes to go in to administration!

[brocklanders023]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlto...o-appoint-administrator/?sh=94cdc174cd7c&s=09
Gaaar! Thought I'd put it in this section due to them being possibly the last old school brand that had links to the original team. Gutted, what am I going to buy now?

Suggestions they've been struggling to pay the bills for a few months. @jonnyboy666 any intel?

 

[jonnyboy666]

i only heard a couple of hours ago, can only try and phone them on monday when everyone else will, got 6 in stock, hardtails and gravel onlky, gonna send them out the door atb what i paid for them.

i think this whole thing is the beginning, well the middle, of bikes not being sold in shops anymore, it'll all go direct to consumer, you want to ride it first? they'll have regular demo days around the country and you'll be told to go to them or order it blind, i think that will be how it goes with most brands.

 

[brocklanders023]

Hopefully they can sort something out. Only really interested in the hand built stuff these days as a modern bike but want to continue my 34 year love affair! Such a shame for the staff as I've been to the HQ plenty of times and they've always been ace.

 

[Bike Hoarder]

Sad news indeed - an historic British MTB brand disappearing...

 

[Bike Hoarder]

i think this whole thing is the beginning, well the middle, of bikes not being sold in shops anymore, it'll all go direct to consumer, you want to ride it first? they'll have regular demo days around the country and you'll be told to go to them or order it blind, i think that will be how it goes with most brands.

Car dealerships will go this way too... Brands selling direct, through small 'shops' and online. Who wants a test drive, as long as its got apple car play, and parks itself.

 

[jimo746]

That's not great news. Hopefully they can come to some arrangement to keep the brand going, in some shape or form.
Pace are still going, not sure why Orange couldn't continue, I think they've got a strong brand image.

 

[GavinD89]

Gutted to see this! I really hope something can be sorted out! I remember the XC races in the early 90's were awash with Clockworks and Prestiges and the black and orange spotted jerseys. Really sad to see an iconic brand in trouble that have been there since the early days.

 

[madjh]

Sad, they still make a distintive product, what happen to them? No body hear anything outside UK, they are not in the magazines etc I don´t know who is the dealer in my country ...

The bicycle industry is killing himself, they tell us they make great products, this is better than ever, they make many standarts that nobody whants etc etc and they are loosing us.

EDIT: No dealer, not easy to find in continental EU, so they sell mainly in UK? I don´t understand. A fast search of the Five model and all in UK.

 

[Twozaskars]

Low-margin??? Also, where did all the money go from all these extra bikes that were sold during the Covid outbreak?

 

[BlackCat]

I wouldn’t worry too much. This is unlikely to be the end of Orange. It’s bad news for the existing ownership and worrying times for staff (and any LBS currently out of pocket).. but someone will step in and acquire it, provide additional working capital, restructure and it will have another shot. Someone being, of course, private equity. Whether the entity that emerges looks the same (or has the same ownership lineage) as today, is less certain.

There are quite a few turnaround shops that will chase down a brand like this. That business model needs a shakeup though. UK built alloy vs Taiwan built carbon, too many SKUs, too much customisation, pricing not competitive, money squandered on non-core (and debatable marketing) activities like international race teams etc..

We’ve all seen other big names in the industry face problems or administration this year - publicly, like WiggleCRC.. but less publicly there have been other notable names running into liquidity issues that have come across my desk in a professional sense. It’s a tough market at present - but there remains a lot of equity in that brand, particularly in a UK context.

Good luck to all at Orange.