Months after its “purchase one get one free” sale, American gravel and mountain bike model Kona Bikes has been put up on the market by its homeowners, Kent Outside, amid stories that it’s being wound down.
Eventually week’s trade present Sea Otter, the model arrange after which disappeared mid-week, with the sale – which is reported to end in lay-offs – rising quickly after.
Kent Outside, a Canadian sporting items firm, purchased Kona from its founders in 2022 and appointed a brand new CFO final week, apparently to cope with the sale after a strategic evaluation.
“In reference to the funding of capital and the administration crew coming onboard, the corporate carried out a strategic evaluation of its working models and decided that it will proceed to hunt a purchaser for its bike enterprise, Kona,” a Kent Outside press launch said, which was printed over the weekend.
“This transfer (promoting Kona) permits the corporate to direct its sources towards funding in its key water sports activities companies. The bike trade has confronted very vital challenges within the post-Covid world and Kona has not been immune to those headwinds.”
In December, Kona Bikes provided a “purchase one get one free” supply on some bikes, which urged it was aiming to up gross sales at a fast charge. The method is much like the value slashing seen at Canyon, nonetheless, with a much less constructive final result.
Workers have been knowledgeable throughout a city corridor assembly final Thursday that have been could be in depth job losses, based on Singletrack World. A supply informed the publication that the corporate is being wound down and that the model’s mental property could be the first bargaining chip. An insider informed Singletrack that Kent Outside believes that the bike trade is not going to recuperate for as much as two years.
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A report from the Bicycle Affiliation within the UK mentioned earlier this yr that it can seemingly take at the very least till 2025 for the British bike trade to appropriate itself following the Covid growth which has affected many manufacturers.
Kona’s UK distributor, Mount Inexperienced Cycles, mentioned that they intend to proceed to import and distribute the bikes “whereas shares final”. In an electronic mail to its sellers, Mount Inexperienced’s Scott Taylor mentioned: “Within the coming hours Kent Outside will put stay a press launch saying they’re pulling out of the bike enterprise, alongside extra constructive information for the remainder of their portfolio of manufacturers.
“This implies, by means of no fault of its workers, its superb product or its international community of loyal followers, Kona USA and its EU entities will stop buying and selling within the coming months.”
It’s believed that there’s nonetheless a wholesome inventory of Kona bikes out there, therefore the optimism on persevering with to distribute the bikes, till provide runs out.
