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Hot of the press! Performance files Chapter 11
Last Post 01/14/2019 04:39 PM by 79 pmooney. 31 Replies.
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Dale

Posts:1767

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11/16/2018 10:52 AM
There are a crap load of brands tied up in this fiasco

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2018/11/15/ase-owner-performance-bicycle-and-asi-file-chapter-11?fbclid=IwAR2bldcvzc_90q7FN61G3yBLfWRIsu4MAI4dX8Ct2qVoJEvy__mzWcAYVRw#.W-70nS3MzVo
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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11/16/2018 02:57 PM
It is the parent company that is filing but according to the Velonews piece, the brands Fuji, Breezer and Cycle Tuesday have been showing steady sales and will not be touched.

I don't know Cycle Tuesday at all, Breezer only through early MTB fame and I have Breezer-style dropouts on my first TiCycles. (This was actually a step down from the standard bullets but I liked that that the thicker stays with little taper looked better buttiing up to the breezer-style dropout. Yes, more hassle orienting the QR lever, but I don't race and won't. (Later TiCycles spec'd the same dropouts for its Hyak brand, the Asian made production bikes.)

I have always had a soft spot for Fuji. I worked in the Fuji shop aligned with the dealership '77. Bought and raced a last year's Fuji Pro and absolutely loved that bike. It fit! That platformed extracted effort from this body I didn't know I had. The bike did have a manufacturing flaw which lead to the BB shall breaking at the seat tube. Fuji came through with a frame built between runs, slightly different from that year's and the next. Beautifully built.

The other aspect of Fuji that I always liked was where they cut corners to keep price down and where they didn't. My Pro had a cheap seat and seatpost. Pedals were OK, nothing special. Drive train was Cyclone, Winner, Sugino Mighty. Full on race, no compromise. 144 BCD so all the Campy rings dropped on. I did switch early to Sedis chains and they worked beautifully with the Cyclones and Winner. Brakes were Grande Comp. Not a big name but much better stoppers than that brake everybody else used (and that I had to keep in mind in races). Bars and stem - Nitto (who? - remember, 1977).

I swapped the seat out immediately for the Avocet III i'd been riding. That cheap post? Funny - early on I race the Stowe Race in Vermont. Screaming descent in a light drizzle. COuldn't see ahead. (Glasses.) Stayed 3' to the right of the yellow line. Fine. But I hit a frost heave that I didn't see until it was about 20' away (going close to 50 mph). Got a kick in the butt that put me over a foot in the air. Bike came down straight, wheels rolled smoothly. Good bike! Finish the race in the "money" and win a Zeus seatpost from a local Boston shop. Nice. Took a week and a half to get to the shop to swap it out fror a 26.8 seat tube. Had to race the States the next week on the old post which was now slightly curve back. Painful! I screwed that race up badly, rode easily one of the hardest rides of the day to finisih 6 spots back from qualifying for Nationals. In so much pain at the finish I rode up ont someone's lawn, hit the brakes and keeled over, still strapped in. Horrified my mom, out to see her first race ever.

So that was a big aside! Except for that post (and seat that I never sat on), I loved that bike. I loved that Fuji did it right where it mattered. (That frost heave was a once in a lifetime experience. Haven't even come close since.) Over the years, I have gone into shops and checked out the newer Fujis and it always seemed to me they stuck with the overall philosophy I saw. Good to see that the plug isn't getting pulled (at least now).

Ben
longslowdistance

Posts:2881

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11/16/2018 03:23 PM
Looks likes it’s a maneuver to ditch some low profit stores and get a better deal on brick and mortar leases.

I wonder who bought the Motobecane brand name.
zootracer

Posts:833

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11/16/2018 06:19 PM
Did a lot of buying at Performance back in the day (early 2000's).

Motobecane (I had a few Motobecane's back in the mid 70's) is now owned by Kinesis (Taiwan) . Who have a manufacturing plant in Guangzhou China.

Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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11/19/2018 09:22 AM
This comes as absolutely no surprise to me...always expected this deal to fail.

ASI acquired Performance simply because Performance owed them so much money.....as capable as Cunane may be, he doesn't know retail operations and they did not bring in someone who understands how to run retail. Getting ownership of a company because they owe you too much money is rarely the start of good things. Rarely does it get turned around.

The *good news* for us as consumers is that there are deal to be had. Their Black Friday sale is going on now...almost everything is at least 30% off. If you are in the market for a a smart / interactive trainer, now is the time to move. The Elite Qubo Interactive that I used for 2 years is now down to $315. They also have the Elite Zumo, which is the cheapest direct drive trainer on the market...normally $799, now down to $560. Both are stoopid-low prices if you wanna get in on the Zwift world.

Other deals abound....
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Dale

Posts:1767

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11/19/2018 10:36 AM
Posted By Cosmic Kid on 11/19/2018 09:22 AM
Getting ownership of a company because they owe you too much money is rarely the start of good things. Rarely does it get turned around.



^This.
Also leveraged buyouts where the company gets so loaded with debt that it can't pay the juice
(Toys R Us, I'm looking at you).
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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11/19/2018 11:02 AM
I'll also add (as Dale noted above) that this is really bad news for the industry as a whole. Yeah, the IBD's love to hate on Performance, but they were a major outlet for a number of brands. If the reorg does not work, it will be difficult to replace that volume for a bunch of companies (Pearl Izumi, Shimano, etc).
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
longslowdistance

Posts:2881

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11/19/2018 05:52 PM
Are the Trump tariffs a factor?
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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11/20/2018 07:16 AM
I don’t think so...Performance was in trouble before ASI acquired them and sakes have declined for 6 years.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Dale

Posts:1767

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11/20/2018 07:33 AM
Posted By Cosmic Kid on 11/19/2018 11:02 AM
If the reorg does not work, it will be difficult to replace that volume for a bunch of companies (Pearl Izumi, Shimano, etc).


Not just that but the chain reaction of ASI going Chapter 11 and stiffing suppliers means some of THEM will be in trouble.

And so go the dominos
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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11/20/2018 08:42 AM
Yeah, there are rumors brewing of another major supplier about to file Chapter 11....my guess is that it would be Accell North America (Raleigh, Diamond Back, etc). They took a HUGE hit when Sports Authority closed and then lost the Dick's business.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Dale

Posts:1767

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11/20/2018 10:04 AM
I saw the dollar amount one supplier was owed when one of the big box stores went under-- it would have sunk a smaller supplier.

It's like the joke where the man worried he couldn't pay the bank the $100,000 he owed. If he owed $100,000,000 it would be the bank that worried.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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11/20/2018 10:20 AM
Did you see the list of suppliers owed money from Performance (and how much)? Not good for some of them....
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Dale

Posts:1767

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11/20/2018 02:19 PM
Here it is... read it and weep

Unsecured debts owed to trade suppliers include:

Active Cycle, China: $4.4 million
PT Insera, Indonesia: $3.3 million
Vista Outdoor: $1.77 million
Shanghai General Sports, China: $1.5 million
Mizuki International, Taiwan: $1.4 million
Todson: $548,000
Highway Two: $423,000
Marin: $480,000
Garmin: $290,000
Saris: $285,000
Elite: $264,000
Accell NA: $280,000
Aptos: $212,000
Louis Garneau: $204,000
Wahoo: $202,000
Pearl Izumi: $200,000
Eliptigo: $200,000
Lezyne: $198,000
Castelli: $196,000
J&B: $178,000
Vittoria: $159,000
Fox: $149,000
Clif Bar: $131,000
EN-R-G Food: $82,000
Team Tibco: $35,000
PeopleForBikes: $22,000
PinkBike: $11,000
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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11/20/2018 02:32 PM
That's a lot of Clif Bars.
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