GT Bikes to "suspend operations"
 

Looks like another old friend is going down. Pausing operations and manufacturing, liquidating the warehouse, and layoffs just before Xmas.

Here and a bunch of other places: https://www.bikemag.com/industry-new...date-inventory

Sad!

Can't the company owner just put some other stickers on them?

So if Pon can just pull the plug on GT, presumably they can do it to Cervelo or Cannondale or Santa Cruz or ...

So you see this as a sort of sacrifice, rather than a decision to end an unprofitable and unpopular legacy brand?

Rocky Mountain also declared bankruptcy this week.

GT hasn't been relevant in the drop bar world for years now. Their gravel bike was always a quirky option that had some cool ahead of its time features while oddly also being behind expectations for some other features.

Other brands have come in over the last 20 years and filled what GT once provided.

I see this as mega conglomerates buying up independent small companies and shutting them down.

They want the name in most cases, a cash-cow they can milk for a while. But without maintaining a competitive level of R&D the companies, yes, sometimes are shut down as profits wane.

Cannondale has surprised me, I had somewhat expected them to fade from the pro racing scene when they got bought by Pacific, but that didn't happen and they remain relevant.

The bike industry has been getting tossed and turned for well over 130 years, and some of the brands have incredibly long legacies. Sad to see Peugeot out of the picture.

When was GT last an independent small company? 25 years ago.

You need a hobby.

This is one of them.

I also rebuilt my KHS today.

Motobecane also, they reorganized into MBK I think prior to 1990.

interesting that both brands had a moped line, the precursor to the e-bike as far as extended reduced effort mobility.

There are actually a lot of real-world examples of conglomerates purchasing companies intending to plow them under while making a profit for their investors and consultants along the way, then shielding the profits behind liquidation and bankruptcy. The fact that Pon only owned GT for a year and the use of words like "restructuring" in the article remind me such tactics.

-Gregory

At some point after acquisition by a larger company, many former independent companies with long, storied histories become little more than a name and set of trademarks.

It isn't that I doubt this is possible, but what does GT have of value other than a name? There is no factory, no extensive design team, no proprietary technology. "GT" exists whenever someone orders some bikes from China and puts a logo on them.

Well, it may just be the name they're after indeed. There are strategic reasons for choosing to purchase and liquidate any company, and in this case, it may well just be the legacy that comes with the brand name!

It may well be that they are suspending the brand because the whole industry is hurting after the Covid boom.

GT hasn't been an independent small company since before the current century started.
The brand has been part of a few different large companies in that time.
Pon kept the brand active for over 3 years of ownership.

These things don't seem to align with your narrative.


ETA- I see someone responded to the 'independent claim'. Didn't realize. Not intending to pile on.

Pon purchased the Dorel Sports brands over 3 years ago.
As for your claim that GT was 'plowed under' while making a profit for Pon investors and consultants...what in the world are you talking about?

- there is no known shielding of GT profits from liquidation or bankruptcy. So that part of your rant doesn't apply.
- Pon owned GT and other Dorel brands for over 3 years before THIS GT announcement was made. They gave GT a chance and invested in the brand.
- GT announced a year ago that it was moving HQ and hiring a bunch of people. That doesn't match the actions of a company that intended to plow GT into the ground.


Maybe Pon bought Dorel's brands, gave GT a chance by investing in employees, it hasn't worked out, and the brand is being shelved as a result.
It's a boring suggestion, I know. It's not nearly as captivating as your nefarious hypothetical, I know.

Sorry, I was just going based on the information provided in the article, which stated that Pon purchased GT in 2023 and is undergoing a "strategic reorientation."

I literally just witnessed a similar merger and promise of reorganization at a major company that was in the same industry I spent the last ten years at, and it ended with bankruptcy, liquidation, and a realization that the consulting firms hired to implement the "restructuring" of the company made tens of millions of dollars and were longstanding partners of the investment firm involved, which also came out on top after all was said and done by liquidating assets.

And the profits I was describing as being "shielded" are those that are paid to contracting parties such as outside consultants and legal teams with direct connections to the investment firms. Company money is used to pay for this work and then when all is said and done if they go bankrupt the consultants still get paid at the end of the day. It is, indeed, nefarious.

Totally hypothetical in this situation, but I was prompted by the direction of the conversation to affirm that it does happen.

-Gregory

Pacific owned GT before they bought Schwinn, then Dorel bought Pacific, then sold all their bike brands to Pon.
Pon already already owned Santa Cruz, and from my observation, Santa Cruz was very successful in finding bikes to sell during Covid.
So GT re-relocated from east to west coast. I've noticed that big companies often use relocations to shed personnel at a low cost.
It's a tough market out there now - did Pon need that duplication?
One of the things to think about is if Pon has too many brands, do they really need Cervelo and Cannondale competing in the pro road world?

not liquidating - restructuring.
 

https://www.bikemag.com/industry-new...s-restructures

You are claiming there was an unnamed bicycle company purchased then stripped of tens of millions of dollars then forced into bankruptcy rather than left to operate profitably? Sounds doubtful.

GT was doomed because no one wanted their bikes, blaming Pon for shutting them down is nonsensical. I spend a substantial amount of time around the sport of cycling in N.A. and abroad and can’t recall the last time I saw someone riding a GT much less a new one.

If they are money losers with products the consumers have no interest in it is their obligation to shut them down.