Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 20 total)
  • Would you like to own and run Lumicycle Ltd?
  • AlexSimon
    Full Member

    Just got this bizarre email from Lumicycle.

    Dear Alex

    Would you like to own and run Lumicycle Ltd?

    It’s been great fun running Lumicycle for the last 16 years but the time has come for me to lay down the soldering iron. My concern now is to find a capable and enthusiastic new owner for the company. Someone who will care for our many thousands of loyal customers, in the way that they have come to expect, and continue our track record of making good profits by making great bike lights. If you’d like to know what would be involved in taking over the UK’s best loved Bike Light Brand, please drop me a line. No tyre kickers please!

    Yours sincerely,

    Stephen Young
    Managing Director Lumicycle Ltd

    A very odd thing to send out to your mailing list.
    It must be very difficult to run an LED light manufacturing business in the wake of Dealextreme, Ebay, etc.

    I wish them good luck though – the old Halogen Lumis I owned were a really good piece of kit that I enjoyed owning. I’ve never been in the £300 light bracket though.

    nonk
    Free Member

    Not seeing the odd nature of that at all he wants a change .
    As you say best of luck and all that.

    AlexSimon
    Full Member

    I guess it’s odd because a) it says to customers that there’s a possibility that the company may not exist in he future and b) it looks a bit desperate that nobody in the company or his bike industry contacts are interested.

    Or at least that’s what it communicated to me.

    Not deliberately trying to be negative, but that that’s how I felt when I read the email.

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    footflaps
    Full Member

    Yep, I just got that email today.

    Personally I can’t see them surviving against the Chinese imports much longer.

    tonyd
    Full Member

    Very odd and as you say doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in buying the product let alone the company! Still, good luck to him. I’ve still got some old halogen Lumi’s in the draw. They’re a bit yellow now but will still do the job at a push.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    With the rise of the perfectly decent and very cheap Chinese suppliers, the only spaces left will be very niche companies such as Lupine. I don’t think there’s enough space left in the middle for an ‘average’ bike light company, like Lumicycle, to exist. They were cutting edge in their day, with the Halogen kit, but they’re just one of many now.

    shermer75
    Free Member

    End of an era!

    moridinbg
    Free Member

    Well, I have always found the bike lights price waaaay too high for an LED, a driver, a battery and water resistent casing.

    Cheezpleez
    Full Member

    Sad. Great company and great products

    rapiddescent
    Full Member

    all niche bike companies have a rise and fall unless there is adequate diversification or investment in finding the “new thing”. My bike parts company lasted 13 years before I got fed up carting stuff to the post office every day!

    whomever takes this on also takes on future warranty claims but also the brand; they’d have to have a pretty good idea about where to go next and how to develop the theme and extract a 3 – 5 year lead from the chinese LED suppliers.

    40mpg
    Full Member

    I think the market they represent consists of people wanting reliability and customer service.

    I started with the Lumicycle halogens, upgraded these myself to LED’s at the start of the LED phase, then went through a number of cheap, less easy-to-use and less relaible chinese lights.

    I’m now back with Lumicycle because I have absolutely no doubt they will get me home from the middle of nowhere in the worst conditions. I’m happy to pay for that security. Also their customer service is second to none. When my original battery pack started playing up (after 3 years weekly use summer & winter) they serviced and repaired it – for free!

    In fact I like them so much I could buy the co… oh!

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    whomever takes this on also takes on future warranty claims but also the brand;

    I assume you have not heard of bust every year Karrimore with a lifetime (no that was the last lot) warranty department.

    As STW will demonstrate the desire for cheaper wins,

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    suprised its taken this long to be honest.

    they won’t be the first to go.

    ti_pin_man
    Free Member

    If true thats a great shame, my lumi’s were, and still are, great. Their customer service was pretty top notch. I guess it shows that even though we all stand up and proudly say buy british, we are always voting with our wallets. we cant have things both ways.

    ScottChegg
    Free Member

    Has Troutie not got a few quid down the back of the sofa?

    I can see a fusion of cutting edge and trad lighting solutions if the two mashed together.

    DavidB
    Free Member

    I got an email from him (or his business partner, can’t remember which) many many years ago asking for a copy of a picture of a cow I had taken, as he liked cows.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Seems they found a buyer:

    Dear Ben

    Great news Lumicycle just got better!

    After having a lot of interest in the company we are pleased to announce that we have just completed the formal transfer of Lumicycle to a larger company that have some really exciting plans for it.

    The management team have a wealth of expertise in areas that we could only previously dream of. They share our vision to continue to strive for the very best products, customer service, and reliability that you can find anywhere, but have also brought a lot to the table in terms of infrastructure, creativity, marketing and technical experience.

    We have already planned some upgrades to our product range in 2013 that could see our lights being the most powerful and durable production lights in the world for cyclists. With heavy investment planned for future research and development we really do have a “bright future”.

    Design and production will still be based in the UK, and will continue to use only the finest materials and manufacturing techniques possible, to ensure we continue to provide the very best high end products made to an exacting standard.

    All warranties will continue to be honoured in the same service orientated fashion that they always have been, as our customers always come first!.

    I will continue working with the new owners, with a heavy focus on the research and development side of things, as I have always found that the most enjoyable part of the business for me after 16 years.

    Looking forward to the brightest possible future for Lumicycle, please “Like” us on Facebook and take part in our competition on there to win a brand new set of lights.

    Here’s to a “bright future”.

    Steve Young
    Lumicycle Founder
    “for the long ride home”

    cr500dom
    Free Member

    Wonder if that would be on-one / planet X ?

    brant
    Free Member

    It’s not

    scruff
    Free Member

    CRC then. Nukeproof Sam Hill signature lights.

Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 20 total)

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