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news
Evans Cycles, Manchester, licensed on Flickr under CC BY 2.0 by Smabs SputzerEvans Cycles set to become latest victim of High Street crisis?
There are fears that Evans Cycles, the UK’s largest specialist bricks-and-mortar cycling retailer, could become the latest victim of the crisis gripping the country’s High Street retail sector.
Sky News reports that ECI Partners, the private equity owners of the business founded in south London as FW Evans in 1921, are inviting bids for the business by the end of next week.
Companies approached by PricewaterhouseCoopers, appointed earlier this month by ECI Partners to explore options for the business, include other private equity firms and retailers, as well as retail turnaround specialists.
According to Sky News, it is unclear whether a potential buyer of the business, which trades from around 60 stores having expanded steadily outside its London and the south east heartland in recent years, might look to secure a company voluntary arrangement to close underperforming stores.
In common with many other businesses that trade principally from physical stores, Evans Cycles has been hit by competition from both specialist online-only retailers, as well as general internet-based retailers and, in particular, Amazon.
Price competition has squeezed margins, and at the same time the High Street has been hit by rising overheads, with a number of household names including House of Fraser and Mothercare running into major financial difficulties in recent months.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- momove 1 sec ago
Cheers for the lesson! Wasn't expecting one so was pleasantly surprised, especially getting to find the origin of "laconic"!
- ktache 46 min 26 sec ago
Isn't it a rights issue?
- antigee 50 min 58 sec ago
I've checked on Facebook and stopping the red light running cyclists was simply revenue raising and police time is better spent chasing real...
- Mikezerodown 1 hour 30 min ago
They were before change all systems, then went downhill due to bad adminstration aka CEO who agree to proceed with the worst system I have seen...
- AidanR 1 hour 36 min ago
Same here - it took me by surprise. 10:30am doesn't feel like a dangerous time to cycle; apparently I'm wrong on that.
- Daddy Feebs 1 hour 49 min ago
If anything, it looks a bit like an SL6
- wtjs 2 hours 26 min ago
Other commenters have different views True!
- Daclu Trelub 2 hours 40 min ago
Incredibly bone-headed.
- Sriracha 4 hours 43 min ago
Lidl have a window poster emblazoned, "Black Friday. Starts Sunday".
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40 comments
I've always found Evans Cycles in Bristol pretty empty and full of fairly boring stock, I can't say I'd ever go into the shop to buy anything.
I buy online from Evans a lot, just because they are cheap.
I can't say I'm bothered about what happens to any of their shops, but as long as their online stuff stays cheap, I'm happy
Our bike to work scheme is through Evans and I've always been happy, have a Pinnacle Arkose which I was very chuffed to get with full hydraulic shifters (RS685) &105 for just over a grand, a couple of years ago but...when I see the spec of bikes now for a grand I'm very glad I picked it up while I could. Great bike. Also got a Pinnacle Lithium which I did a loaded hilly tour on this summer, it has a Deore triple on it, great for touring, full hydro, brilliant. I think its a good range with well thought out bikes, good spec, fair price. Shop service is mixed, some staff are great but some not so friendly, I usually know what I'm looking for so haven't relied on for advice etc. They don't carry loads of stock but no bike shop does , click and collect is good. I will be sad to see it go and gutted if Mike Ashley gets it.
Bought two bikes through the Bristol store over the past 5 years or so. Very accommodating re: test rides arranged online, and both occasions meant I made the purchase as was undecided before riding them. Staff have been very friendly and pretty knowledgeable on most occasions. I've also found the click and collect system useful and reliable, especially when ordering a couple of sizes in clothing or shoes and getting an instant refund on the items I don't keep after trying, and avoiding return postage charges. Bristol branch sorted out a warranty replacement BB on my Arkose singlespeed quickly and hassle-free, and the mech happily spent time explaining some adjustment hints and tips for the eccentric BB and TRP hydro disc brakes.
I've also had some excellent bargains in their sales from time to time. I'd agree on the issue that their standard in-shop stock hasn't been great on the occasions I've just popped in off the street though.
I'd certainly miss them if they disappear....dont see a lot of smaller LBS outlets stepping in and filling that space to be honest, and it'd be a shame to be restricted to mainly online outlets.
Unlikely they'll go entirely but I'm sure they'll be a few store closures.
I've grown to quite like my local one - Clapham. A few years ago it was staffed by the rudest, miserable bunch I've ever encountered, but over the last couple of years the store has had a huge turnaround, they're now a friendly and helpful bunch, I'd even let the mechanic near my bike.
So, a couple of years ago I decided to get a nice bike
I wanted to test ride it before buying
This may surprise you but Evans have a great system for test riding bikes
1) ask them either by email or in person to get the bike in stock
2) wait a week for it to arrive at the store you are going to use
3) turn up (with your own pedals)
4) lend them your credit card (nothing is actually charged)
5) ride around the block
Because of this I spent £2k on a new bike from them. They weren't the absolute cheapest but this is a vital part of getting a bike
Of course, after I'd bought the bike their service with fixing stuff was patchy but you can't win 'em all
I really like my arkose and my daughter's pinnacle aspen has also been great. Bought various bits from them online when they have had things others haven't or have been better value.
I've bought a few things from Evans over the years and bought my last bike from Cycle Republic. I think it would be a shame if they go. A lot of ordinary people find a LBS intimidating and perceive them to be full of nerds or bike snobs with a small range of stuff - going into an Evans, Halfords, Decathlon or Cycle Republic is more comfortable for many. The more bike shops the better - whether the be chains or independent.
I am so sad to see this happening, Evans are (were?) a great bike shop and have done a lot to promote cycling.
I did the first ever Evans Ride It.....basically a few club riders, a few people (me included) with no clue what we were letting ourselves in for. Short Route...turn left at water butt.....long route turn right at second water butt and we will provide food in the shape of 1/2 a bannan.
10 years on, there sportive is a whole different thing (it costs more!) but now there are 1000+ people doing them...it was the start of the cycling revolution!!!!
I hope all goes well of the company.
I would agree with a lot of the comments here. The staff generally seem to know their stuff, but the stores always seem slightly light on stock. The Hoy kids bikes are great value, the Pinnicle range always looks a bit meh. They always seem to have a lot of discounted/clearance bikes, so I can't imagine their margins on bikes can be very good.
I've ordered a few things online over the last few years from them. They can sometimes be cheaper than others.
I've had really mixed experience with Evans, when I bought my folding bike there they were great, and they were really helpful when my wife went to buy a helmet and some clothes for her new bike. But several times I've done the click and collect thing, received the message to say it's in store, gone down there half a day later and it either hasn't actually arrived or they can't find it, then when a seatpost turned up and wasn't the diameter I'd ordered they told me I'd have to go online to process a refund.
Sometimes it's the little things that let them down, I hope they survive, it seems like they could use a new website platform and a little bit of a restructure in terms of what they're aiming to do.
The last time I was in Evans, the sales assistant, rather than answering some questions I had about a BMC road bike, directed me to their website. When I pointed out that the reason I was in the shop was because the website didn't contain the info I needed, he just shrugged and apologised.
Businesses go bust when they don't meet their customers' needs.
I will miss them if they go. Of course the shops can't stock everything, but I liked that you could order on-line and collect at the shop - that way I could 'smuggle' it in at home and my wife never knew how much I was spending on bike stuff
The Evans local to me (well, my commute) is in Notting Hill and had a Carluccios next door (now closed down). If you can't pay the bills with the profit margins on food in that part of the world, goodness knows how a bike shop can survive with the business rates they must be paying for that location!
The whole high street shops business rates model needs an overhaul to redress the difficulty bricks and mortar shops have in competing with warehouse-based on-line operations.
Well maybe if certain online cycle magazines spent less time advertising loss leading cycle clothing from certain supermarkets, bike shops might have more chance of surviving.
Rhubarb, Evans could compete with this using their own brand but chose not to, instead priced the items at *what the market could bear" as per most UK own brands, British businesses need to learn from Europe & the internet and realise that it's better to sell 2 items with 50p profit on each item rather than 1 item with 99p profit on that item. It's this sort of retailing attitude that let foreign competitors take over the market
Foreign businesses such as Wiggle, Chain Reaction ?
You are kind of right though apart from that. You can't pretend like the internet isn't there. Neither can road.cc or any other site which increasingly rely on these kinds of affiliate deals as people block regular advertising and invasive trackers.
What happens to my lifetime waranty on my frame, which has dropouts out of alignment. Guess that's the end of that
Under Consumer guarantees you always have recourse to the manufacturer if the retailer is not available (you can do this whether the retailer is still operating or not, but the retailer can't make you if you don't want to)
If it's an Evans' own brand bike then it depends who buys the company and on what conditions. They haven't gone bust so it's possible it'll be sold as a gonig business and your warranty will still be valid.
If it's not an Evans' own brand bike then your warranty is with the manufacturer/UK distributor - deal direct with them or go through another retailer.
Where I am in Berlin, there are a huge number of small indie shops and also some larger chain stores. The smaller ones keep pay the bills by servicing bikes and offering good advice on bike sales. Prices for parts, clothing and accessories are usually high, but they still manage to keep things ticking.
Evans' problem is that they're stuck between the sell it cheap model and the LBS offering good service.
They can't compete on price with Wiggle or Amazon (not while making a profit) - which is a shame because the convenience of collecting from store with no delivery charge, no minimum order and easy, free returns if it doesn't fit persuaded me to use them a lot.
Unfortunately, having recently bought a bike from them I would no longer trust their service mechanics. If they ever get the problems they've created solved I'll be back at my LBS next time I need a service or a repair.
Does anyone remember when you used to try things on there and then without having to wait for it to arrive and then send it back if it didn't fit? Deciding what to buy by having a look and a feel of it? Or a test ride, if you were buying a bike? Wandering around the shops as a recreational activity?
Seems like a chicken and egg thing going on - we expect a bricks and mortar store to have *everything* in stock at all times, the same as an Amazon warehouse the size of Manchester... It doesn't (can't), so we go off and buy it from Amazon. Then complain that the bricks and mortar store stocks less and less and then, one day, goes bust.
I agree mostly, not entirely. Making choices based on fit, feel, texture, occasionally even smell (maybe not so much smell for bike things, but this applies beyond bikes as well), and on price as well – not only on price and some nebulous reputation – allowed us to make mostly wiser but fewer choices. Shopping as a recreational activity, however, is very much alive and booming, both in physical shops and online.
As for stock, back in those pre-internet days I don't think we did expect every shop to have everything in stock. I don't think we do now, to be honest. But back then we mostly selected from the stock each shop had, whereas now we know we can order it from wherever, whenever. In many ways it's a surfeit of options.
Fair point but in this day & age it's vital that your website is up to date.
I could go on the Evans website now, check 20 products that would supposedly be "in stock" at my local store & I bet every single on wouldn't be.
I don't think that means the website is out of date. At least, I've been told by people in retail management that it's a deliberate ploy – once you've been attracted to Website Xyz by the thing you were looking for, you then go on to search it for the other things, which are in stock. Wiggle, CRC and so on do the same, as do many Amazon and Ebay sellers.
Maybe it is a deliberate technique but it doesn't work, for me at least.
To me if something is "in stock" that means I should just be able to walk in the store & buy it. My experience with Evans works otherwise.
Having said that I've never had a problem with them whenever I've used the Click & Collect so I hope something will get sorted that enables them to survive.
It doesn't work for me either. In fact, I find it offputting, whoever does it. But it does seem widespread. My most recent experience was with Go Outdoors. In that case, also ordering click and collect, they didn't tell me till the day I was supposed to pick it up that "we need to talk to you about your order". Perhaps that one was a genuine cock up, but it's put me off G.O. (and I then found the same item for the same price, £20 cheaper than anyone else, from a little place in Sheffield, including postage – but we're getting a long way from Evans now!).
I tend to find that Evans has some nice stuff for sale, but it's never in any of the shops.
I bought some clothing from them last year, but had to order nearly all of it online, as the shops just don't stock the stuff I want.
To be honest, my local Evans doesn't even stock the basics - last year, I wanted some consumables for sorting out my sister's bike and they didn't have a common size of bottom bracket, hydraulic fluid or some other bits and pieces on the shelf, so I went to Decathlon, who did.
100% this for me.
You go on their website & select your item / store, it will say it's in stock but when you go down they have to order it in & will arrive next day. Not good enough in the modern age.
Will be sorry to see them go if they do but they will be just another victim of the internet.
Well Road.cc predicted it just before midday today.
http://deals.road.cc/content/evans-cycles-takeover-649
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