All staff at UK-based cycling distributor I-ride, best known for its popular in-house bike brand Orro Bikes, have been made redundant and are still without pay for last month after the company entered administration, sources have told road.cc.
I-ride distributed many major brands' products across the cycling industry, including those of Campagnolo, Continental and De Rosa and had last year moved to a new multi-million pound facility in East Sussex.
However, road.cc has heard from a source at the company that it has entered administration, with all staff made redundant and asked to leave yesterday. The source also suggested that nobody has been paid for September, a claim that has been backed up by others.
I-ride's parent company Martlet Group has not yet commented, nor has the distributor itself, Martlet Group's Companies House page so far unchanged too. We have contacted I-ride for confirmation of the accounts emerging from those formerly employed with the distributor but had not received a reply at the time of publication.
I-ride calls itself "the specialists' specialist" and distributed products for SeaSucker, Kool-Stop, Gemini Lights, Green Oil, DeFeet, Cyclus Tools, Catlike, Seatylock, Token and more, in addition to the bigger name brands listed earlier in this article.
In August, the distributor advertised a "huge overstock clearance" sale with "cheapest prices ever" on a host of products, including some from Shimano, SRAM, FSA, Fulcrum and Continental, suggesting I-ride may be struggling with the inventory troubles felt across the bike industry since Covid.
Last year, fellow distributor Moore Large entered liquidation, the distributor for brands such as Tern Bicycles, Lake and Forme going under one year on from the long-running business being sold to board directors from the Moore family.
That meant stock worth £35 million was auctioned off, with 35,000 bikes and £10 million worth of bike accessories listed via John Pye. The inevitable scrum saw road bikes sell for as little as £110 and further huge discounts elsewhere as Moore Large's stock was shipped off at whatever price could be got.
Two months later, Livingston-based distributor 2pure entered administration, before another UK cycle distributor FLi ceased trading shortly after.
FLi Distribution's director Colin Williams was outspoken in the aftermath, citing the impact of Brexit, the complexities and restrictions surrounding UK and EU trading, and the difficulties facing the bike industry in the post-Covid lockdown period as the main reasons behind FLi's demise.
"If you voted for Brexit, please realise this is 90 per cent because of your decision back in 2016," he said. "I'm done fighting, I'm done with the red tape and the barriers to trade. It hadn't been fun for some time, so the time was right to end it now, life is too short."
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12 comments
Regrettably one more company for greedy Mike & friends suck what they have good and get rid of the rest. Good luck to all staff finding new jobs and getting paid.
Ah well, someone will soon pop up to replace them.
No great loss if Orro disappears. Based on this video inspection, they are cheap as chips low-QC frames from far east factories that can probably make better for a matter of a few dollars more per unit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPEv4k-TSVo
My Venturi is the absolute mutts nutts.
Very bad though for those owed a month's pay and needing to find another job.
The bike shop mechanic who built my bike up around a Venturi frame at my request raised no concerns about the quality. Love it!
I feel very sorry for the staff... unforgivable in my view to have run the business to the point there wasn't enough for the month's payroll.
All too often a company's greatest asset is seen by senior management as a liability (and dispensible).
I have snapped up a few pairs of Kool-Stop road pads before they disappear. It's the only brand of rim brake pads I'm happy with and the LBS couldn't get hold of any in the Covid years.
I disagree. I have no experience of carbon frames as I have never owned one, so cannot comment on them, but their aluminium and steel bikes are excellent. Well designed and good quality. I have one of each. It would be more likely that their problems have stemmed from their recent move to very expensive new accommodation, in addition to other pressures in the industry which are well documented.
I must be the kiss of death. The bike shop I got my Orro Venturi went out of business not long after I took delivery, and now this.
Im still not clear on the relationship... has Martlet Group gone into administration, or I-ride as a separate entity?
Wow, does this mean Orro are about to vanish? That's horrendous, I've wanted a Venturi for years.
Me.Too. Thats horrific for all the staff but particularly a UK based brand that was doing something a little bit different than the generic far east carbon molds.
I hope Orro is sold as a going concern.
I picked up a Venturi SC Signature from CRC when they were closing down with 60% off
Absolute top spec including Black Inc finishing kit, SRAM Force AXS etc.
It's stunning and very, very fast.