David Millar's cycling clothing brand CHPT3 enters liquidation and ceases trading immediately

TE;DB

Too expensive; Didnt buy.

I dont see how anyone who makes kit way above the £100 mark expects or deserves to survive when there is marginal difference between them and kit that costs under £100.  You are paying for the millions they waste in "establishing a brand".

Sorry/Not sorry they are gone.  They had no USP apart from price and a funky colour pallette.  Sorry for the employees.

A pity, not least because for a while CHPT3 was turning out some really good kit - certainly the casual/off-bike range was higher quality than most: CHPT3 Yorkshire spun Tees versus Rapha's Made in Vietnam Tees for the same price did make me ponder the long term viability. 

But in the last couple of years it got a bit odd - the casual range went off on a strange tangent, and the on bike seemed to have fizzled out. Felt like the energy had gone from it, and the Transit shoe seems to have taken longer than expected. I think it had run its course - I've heard that the collaboration with Brompton had become a bit terse as Brompton morphed from small volume/quasi-bespoke/customisable to mainstream during 2020. The v4 Chpt3 Brompton feels a lot more phoned in than the three previous editions. 

As a long term repeat customer of CHPT3 I had some dealings with Millar on occasions when they were seeking customer feedback or launching new things. Always found him personable, allowing for his natural personality type. I'm always slightly bemused by people getting bent out of shape when professional athletes come across as arrogant, hyperfocused, self absorbed, and singleminded. 

Who would have thought charging £50 for a pair of socks, or £120 for mitts wouldn't be viable? Although, if people spend £12k on a Specialized anything is possible. 

It seems to me that David Millar got bored with it. It wasn't long ago. He set up an online club called Sporting Club Chpt3.And started selling club kit. I found his comments on the podcast,very dismissive of Chpt3. So I feel sorry for the employee's.Who may be out of work,and have worked very hard to keep Chpt 3 afloat.

I have a nice set of arm warmers and skull cap from chpt3. Sorry for David, great recovery from his past troubles. Tough, tough business cycling retail.

If the likes of Rapha and Endura are losing millions, then small businesses like CHPT3 are almost certain to fall by the wayside. Most new businesses fail within the first 2-3 years. At least they gave it a go, something the vast majority commenting negatively obviously haven't tried.

It's extremely hard times throughout the industry regardless of which sector you actually sit within. For me within the logistics industry you'd think Black Friday and Cyber Monday would be a licence to print money, but we are being screwed so far down by the likes of Amazon, that any profit there previously was, has now disappeared down the pan.

God knows what it'll be like next April when increased employers National Insurance contributions will need to be factored in. It's going to cost my business over £30k and eat into what is already a shrinking profit margin every year.

Perhaps not unexpected - a recent and very candid podcast with Matt Stephens revealed that David Millar has undergone a somewhat turbulent few years. It makes for an interesting listen, so won't reveal it here.

As for the man himself, I really admired him as a young pro and remember his fall from grace. Anyone remember IMT? His return to cycling was welcome but... he appeared to become a face not only for anti-dopjng, but a newer and wealthier cycling clientele who enjoyed curated Rapha cycling holidays and drove Maserati's. Not sure that's a bad thing, but I guess CHPT3 was somewhat embelematic of that.

As for the brand, Millar spoke of its demise in the podcast. However, the implication was one of a withdrawal from the business and not its collapse. You were left under no doubt though that it wasn't long for trading. I do hope that there were no purchasers and suppliers who have been left high and dry by this announcement.

Should have lead with

> CHPT3 files for Chapter 11

(Though not technically correct as it's not a US company)

Shame as I have a lot of time for him despite his past, the ineos grenadier thing and the pic of him drinking madri with ned on a podcast 🙂 was always a bit pricey for my pocket but if anyone sees those chpt3 shoes or bromptons going cheap let me know!!!

Shame it didn't work out; pity some people on here make jest out of someone elses misfortune.  His books are very good and he put his hands up to cheating; shouldn't be a reason to damn him for his post-cycling career.  Given the effort they put into the shoes (rated highly on this website), it sounds like top-quality kit.  I like the way he shows that there is more to cycling than drop-bar, carbon, deep-section wheeled bikes and black lycra; even made a Brompton look cool.  Need a bit more of that if we want a continental style approach to cycling in the UK and more people riding bikes.

I liked the clothing. Very good quality and great customer service. Guess it's a very crowded marketplace though.

FWIW, I could handle his former association with the sport's murky past. What did for me was when he got one of those RIDICULOUS Grenadier tanks.

Was never a fan. I think the fact that he cheated in racing stoped me from buying his brand kit, which was mostly rebranded Castelli clothing in the early days. His commentary, was like big Maggies-  self indulgient. Hope he can move on and away and find peace

Another one for Mike Ashley's Frasers Group to snap up and besmirch?

Not a great few weeks for Millar, one way and another.

An ultra trendy brand that no one knows how to pronounce? Reminds me of Prince turning himself into a symbol...before turning back into Prince when everyone started calling him Symbol 🙂