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news
Evans Cycles Leeds Station (01).JPGEvans Cycles reports losses of £5.2 million
High street cycling retailer Evans Cycles' annual accounts show a pre-tax loss of £5.2 million in the latest signal of challenging times for the bike industry.
The accounts for the year to April 2022 show greater losses in 2021-22 compared with the £2.7 million of the year before. Evans also reported a 50 per cent drop in revenue from £91.6 million to £45.3 million, the company suggesting this is related to a restructuring following its purchase by Mike Ashley's Frasers Group in 2018.
Last month, it was reported that Ashley, who previously owned Newcastle United, was close to adding ProBikeKit to the group's retail empire, the online cycling retailer likely to be handled through Frasers' Evans Cycles subsidiary.
Notes in the most recent accounts suggest Evans' online sales operation was only fully inegrated in 2021 and director Adedotun Adegoke explained that mean online sales went from being recognised in revenue to "the company receiving royalty income from other group entities for online sales under the company's brand name".
"Management believes the company has performed strongly in the period even with the well-publicised supply chain issues with bicycles," he added, acknoweldging the problems the bike industry has struggled with since the pandemic.
Evans' accounts show a cut to staffing numbers in the most recent financial year, from 829 to 490, aggregate remuneration dropping from £19.4 million to £9.3 million too. One thing that was on the rise, however, was store numbers, Evans increasing its offering from 48 to 57.
Overall, Frasers Group revenue was up 34 per cent from £2 billion to £2.6 billion in 2022 as it went from a £28 million loss to a £183 million profit.
2023 has been a troubling year for the bike industry as a whole, major UK-based distributor Moore Large entering liquidation in March before Livingston-based 2pure entered administration at the back end of last month.
In January, one of Evans' rivals, Halfords, suggested the cycling market was down 20 per cent year-on-year as the cost of living crisis hit consumers' appetite for high-ticket discretionary purchases.
Just last week, we reported that Yorkshire-based bike manufacturer Planet X was refusing to comment on administration rumours as a Notice of Intention to appoint an administrator was applied for by a director.
Come Friday evening however, the future of Planet X was "secured", and the jobs of all 33 employees saved, after it was sold to Winlong Garments Limited, funded by Baaj Capital LLP.
Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.
Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.
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15 comments
Wouldn't go near them these days, they were in gradual decline before Ashley bought them.
And that store in the photo closed ages ago.
Same with the Halfords in the lower picture, which was right next to an Evans.... which also closed.
Not surprised. I used them when I got back into cycling 5 years ago as I didn't know any of the local independents. I stopped using Evans after taking it back for a service and getting the bike back in a shocking state, gears completely out of adjustment and unable to get in the lowest three gears at all, oh and a couple of the stem bolts luckily I spotted were not even finger tight!
I know any retailer can be hit and miss between stores but I have had far better experience with our local Halfords. Last thing I bought for click and collect turned out to not be available a that store despite the website saying it was. One of their staff was going to another store where they had found it was in stock and brought one back with them. It was a bit of a laugh click and collecting from their car boot
I must admit I stopped using Evans long before the takeover due to their approach to customer service for online sales, which basically boiled down to "bring it to your nearest store" a la Halfords. The difference being Halfords have a shop pretty much everywhere, the nearest physical Evans store was 70 miles away. I asked if they would pay my mileage and travelling time as they were refusing to pay for return postage on faulty goods.
The last three times I've been into my local branch (I use another LBS generally but will pop into Evans if I'm passing) they've had, consecutively, no rim tape (or rather they did but "only for the workshop", I waited to be offered some of that but to no avail), no 700×32 inner tubes, and most remarkably, just two weeks ago, no chain lubricant at all of any type or brand, just an empty display. On the last occasion the assistant said, "The supply and restock system in this company is a joke." Not really surprising that they are making losses when they are keeping stores open and paying workers but haven't got really basic items available to sell to customers.
Not really surprising. I was just saying to someone else the other day that the amount and range of products they currently stock is nowhere near as much and varied as it used to be compared to their pre-Ashley buy out days. There used to be a reason to go to evans but now I only go there if I snap a cable while im out and they are the nearest bike shop to me, otherwise they wont have anything that i'd want.
A lot of branches have been shutdown and the ones still in existence are only there to provide the absolute bare basics in terms of products while bike servicing or repairs are the main business of the day.
I bought my bike from them just after the takeover in 2019. Unfortunately the frame cracked where the seatstay joins the seat tube. This was over two years later. Evans replaced the frame without quibbling, parts and labour. So I'm very happy to recommend them.
was it a Pinnacle by any chance?
Sure was.
Then that would explain it
Pinnacle is owned by Ashley afaik. Had it been any other bike brand. You might have been fobbed off and told to go directly to the manufacturer yourself for a replacement.
Hats off to them for covering all parts and labour though.
Pinnacle is certainly their own house brand. AFAIK it was Evans' brand before the Ashley takeover, so he'd have acquired it with the takeover. Anyhow, I bought it just after the takeover, so they were not able to wash their hands of it by saying the guarantee rested with the previous business. To be fair, they never tried that ruse. Luckily I'd kept the receipt, as they had cleared out the old database.
So yeah, I got decent customer service, over two years after purchase.
To be fair, I wouldn't be at all suprised if focusing on servicing/repair was a much more viable business strategy. Internet shopping will have decimated the retail side of the business, but servicing/repair you still have to go to a brick-and-mortar location. And arguably modern bikes are harder than ever for the home mechanic to work on, thereby increasing demands on professional mechanics.
The thing is logistics. Evans had a lot of branches meaning that you could do click and collect at a branch near you and if what you bought didnt fit or wasnt right for you etc etc, you could have a refund processed there and then without even stepping out of the store.
Cycle surgery closed many if not all of their branches and all the big online bike retailers apart from a tiny handful of them (Halfords, Decathlon etc etc) might not have any retail outlets at all or small outlets which are convenient to get to as evans was. If they do have an outlet. They'll have one but it will be 150miles up north or somewhere so its not convenient to get to.
I used to buy a lot of my gear from Evans and cycle surgery because I worked bang smack in the middle of two branches within 5mins walking distance so I could pop in there when on break and I would rather be able to walk into to a store, pick up an item i wanted/needed or try items of clothing on before buying. Evans also had a lot of branches in the big city so im sure there was plenty of money being made from sales of clothing and accessories.
focusing on bike servicing and repair alone probably wont even make enough money to pay rent, You've still got all your staff to pay. if you already have properties and tonnes of floor space. why not use some of that empty space stock and sell more clothing/accessories? to me its a no brainer and this is further evidenced by their $5.2M loss.
They now charge for click and collect, even when spending lots.
Pretty much means that better deals can be found online and delivered to home.
SJS charges p n p for everything, and full price for pretty much everything, but worth it because of their incredible range.
Yeah. Im aware of the click and collect charge that they implemented a while back. It was another nail in the coffin to be honest. Thats the price of doing business I guess.
I dont often shop with SJS as much as i'd like to but they have saved my bacon a few times when it came to more hard to get and obscure bits and peices.