Frasers Group To Relaunch Wiggle and Chain Reaction Websites

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OK, hot off the press… Wiggle and CRC are to make a return. We honestly don’t know what this corporate speak below actually means, so we’ve reached out to Frasers Group to see if they’ll tell us in something a little more bike-world friendly! Meanwhile, we’re going to ring fence some unicorns and drop the kids off at the flag pole.

Riding through a field of wheat?

FRASERS GROUP TO RELAUNCH WIGGLE AND CHAIN REACTION WEBSITES

Frasers Group plc has announced the relaunch of Wiggle and Chain Reaction’s ecommerce sites, marking a significant step following the acquisition of the brands and intellectual property.

Frasers Group, which already has a strong position in the UK cycling market through Evans Cycles, secured the rights to Wiggle and Chain Reaction in March 2024, alongside the brand rights for their in-house ranges which include Nukeproof, Vitus Bikes, and DhB.

Alongside the ecommerce relaunch, which is due to take place next week, Frasers Group is looking to create commercial partnerships to enhance and expand these own-brand lines through development, sales, licensing, and international distribution opportunities.

Russell Merry, Managing Director of Wheels for Frasers Group, said: “Wiggle and Chain Reaction are well established names among riders in the UK and across Europe and the acquisition of both brands is consistent with our ambition to become the no.1 Sporting Goods retailer in Europe. 

“It also brings with it the opportunity to work with respected partners through the highly admired, award-winning product lines that Wiggle and Chain Reaction had built. We are excited to explore partnerships with suppliers or distributors looking to expand their offering or an organisation looking to get a foothold in the market by leveraging some established names.”

The brands acquired include Nukeproof, Vitus Bikes and Ragley, Prime’s components range, DhB clothing, Lifeline Tools, Mobi bike pressure washers and outdoor clothing range, Fohn.

The recent acquisition follows a successful year in cycling retail for the Group, with a number of new store openings for Evans Cycles, the launch of Evans Go, the introduction of a Cytech approved bicycle mechanics apprenticeship scheme, as well as an online dropship programme.

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Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 100 total)
  • Frasers Group To Relaunch Wiggle and Chain Reaction Websites
  • footflaps
    Full Member

    Do Frasers actually know anything about bikes?

    I’m expecting a load of cheap tat covered in Muddy Fox logos….

    butcher
    Full Member

    I suspect we’ll see a rebranded Evans. I’ll be very surprised if they were to come up with anything genuinely new, there’s simply not the time to do it.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    We honestly don’t know what this corporate speak below actually means

    It’s not that hard. They are saying they want to utilise the brands they bought along with Chiggle.

    But how they’ll do that is unclear.

    Does that mean DHB & Nukeproof logos on the crappy Muddyfox clothes they currently sell? Or ordering some of the successful lines that were previously sold / even developing new ones with Chiggle’s suppliers?

    In the short term, I’d absolutely expect a white-labelled version of the Evans website with CRC and Wiggle branding.

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    We honestly don’t know what this corporate speak below actually means, so we’ve reached out

    Oh the ironing….

    stwhannah
    Full Member

    @thegeneralist I nearly wrote (see what we did there…) but gave you more credit 🙂

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    but gave you more credit

    Careful, it was that sort of behavior by the parent company that got them into this mess.

    mashr
    Full Member

    stwhannah
    Full Member

    @thegeneralist
    I nearly wrote (see what we did there…) but gave you more credit

    The Edinburgh defence knows no bounds 😉

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    ” I nearly wrote (see what we did there…) but gave you more credit 🙂”

    I was 90% sure you’d reply saying that.
    and 80% sure it would be in truth 🤣

    But a little nagging part of me…,..

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    Do Frasers actually know anything about bikes?

    Possibly not, but you can buy an expert.

    They are however experts at selling things so surly thats all you need for an online bike parts retailer ?

    devash
    Free Member

    Can’t wait to send it on a new Nukeproof BSO bought from my local Sports Direct.

    branes
    Full Member

    Can’t imagine it’ll be anything more than a re-skin for the Evans website…but I do like ‘Managing Director of Wheels‘.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Surely they shoudl just be able to start selling DHB gear or Nukeproof bikes  in Evans shops without a middleman and make more profit? Seems like a winner to me?

    footflaps
    Full Member

    They are however experts at selling things so surly thats all you need for an online bike parts retailer ?

    Does depend what they decide to sell and which bit of the market they target.

    Like the bike spares rack in most Decathlons is like going back in time 30 years with 6 and 7 speed cassettes on the racks…

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    My hope would be that they’ll re-launch the brands and re-employ the people behind them. From a business, if not ethical, perspective it makes sense as the employees get made redundant (and paid redundancy) then you can pick the ones you want to offer roles too under your own T&C’s without having to TUPE the whole company.

    I wonder if they bought all the remaining stock in the end?

    dirkpitt74
    Full Member

    Surely if they own the IP etc they can just speak to the factories and order more of the same stuff?

    jimthesaint
    Full Member

    I read the statement from Frasers to be that Wiggle and CRC will quickly re-launch and therefore the product offering will be what’s already stored in Shirebrook and for sale on Evans.

    Nukeproof, DHB, Ragley, etc are all up for sale/rent

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Surely if they own the IP etc they can just speak to the factories and order more of the same stuff?

    That was my assumption. Why wouldn’t you sell the bikes and gear if you’ve just bought all the designs?  The factories will be all tooled up to make it so they’ll want to keep selling it to the new owners. I cant’ see why they wouldn’t do this.

    I didn’t read the statement.

    chestrockwell
    Full Member

    My hope would be that they’ll re-launch the brands and re-employ the people behind them. From a business, if not ethical, perspective it makes sense as the employees get made redundant (and paid redundancy) then you can pick the ones you want to offer roles too under your own T&C’s without having to TUPE the whole company.

    I read it as they will have a look at doing something like this but are also happy for another group to come along and stick a name on their kit? Doesn’t necessarily mean BSO and could easily be similar to what went before. Let’s be right, plenty of the CRC/Wiggle brands were decent but pretty basic. Shouldn’t be too hard for a competitor to buy the same catalogue frames and put a Vitus decal on them.

    mashr
    Full Member

    Nukeproof, DHB, Ragley, etc are all up for sale/rent

    All sold as part of the deal I thought?

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Surely if they own the IP etc they can just speak to the factories and order more of the same stuff?

    That’s what I’d do.

    They should have a good idea how bad the industry is still over-stocked on both soft goods and bikes.

    Stick some orders in for popular Chiggle lines, informed by that.

    They’re probably still working it out TBH.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Do Frasers actually know anything about bikes?

    Does it matter? It’s just another website to flog stuff through.

    I imagine they’ve only just got the keys to the website and so They’ll probably be lobbing together a group composed of various Frasers/Sports Direct/Evans people to figure out what to actually do with the trainset they’ve just been handed.

    If it was me I’d start by looking at current stock the group hold for cycling (and other sports) that could go on there, while deciding how best to exploit the brands they’ve just acquired, including “cheap tat covered in Muddy Fox/DHB/NP logos”, but also looking at picking up with some (probably not all) former Chiggle suppliers’ to pick up some of their legacy product lines…

    I wouldn’t expect anything too exciting, but Frasers as a group have clearly recognised the value of specific brands and online retailers in the cycling market, considering this isn’t their first acquisition in the bicycle retail niche.

    brant
    Free Member

    Russell Merry is a smart bloke, time served in the bike industry. Watch this space I reckon.

    bigrich
    Full Member

    I want a crc pint mug

    petefromearth
    Full Member

    Chiggle

    Reported

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    Nukeproof, DHB, Ragley, etc are all up for sale/rent

    Are these not just sales brands though, not actually a unique brand themselves

    When you look at the list of creditors it’s mainly far east bike manufacturers or bike related factories that clearly churn out a product that you stick your own brand name on.

    i could be wrong but I assume they have bought wiggle/crc and related brands so they just go to any factory and ask them to start  making DHB clothing or Nukeproof bikes.

    I could be talking BS though but that’s what the creditors list looked like

    slackboy
    Full Member

    Dhb, fohn , nukeproof and prime stuff is already being listed on the Evans site.

    Can’t see any bikes yet

    kimbers
    Full Member

    They are however experts at selling things so surly thats all you need for an online bike parts retailer ?

    They’re going to start selling Surly bikes?

    unexpected!

    bigG
    Free Member

    If they run these new retail businesses like the ones that their group already own then they’ll be efficient, keenly priced and offer a broad range of products.

    The sports direct model built a very successful empire, let’s not forget that.

    jameso
    Full Member

    As Brant says, watch this space. There’s some background stuff in all this and I’m interested to see how it plays out.

    ditch_jockey
    Free Member

    ‘Online drop ship’
    Maybe they’re going to take off and nuke the entire site from orbit – it’s the only way to be sure!

    oldfart
    Full Member

    Looking at the knockdown prices Ashley was flogging 5 / 10s for it seems he thinks of them as just another far east pair of daps to flog ? Either no concept of the legacy of the brand or just doesn’t care .Or were they vastly overpriced in the first place ? I understand they haven’t been as good since Adidas bought them ?

    Karrimor is one brand in particular that comes to mind among others.

    thepodge
    Free Member

    They’ll have been priced on what is a good return on what they paid for them not some romantic notion of what they used to be valued at 20 years ago. Grumpy stuff is being “devalued” but also grumpy if the business makes money.

    As for Karrimor, both the kid and I have shoes by them and they’ve outlasted everything else in terms of waterproof and wear and tear while also being cheaper than the competition.

    ampthill
    Full Member

    When my wife was doing 4 dog walks a day she swapped from Karrimor to Decathlon boots at the same price point. She recons the Decathlon ones lasted 3 times longer.

    thepodge
    Free Member

    Neither me nor my child are your wife and we don’t have a dog but thanks for that.

    ampthill
    Full Member

    I’m sorry if I’ve caused offence. I’m just trying to say that we found that the value stuff from Decathlon lasted better for the same price

    akira
    Full Member

    People will still buy stuff from them and they’ll be unaware of the buyout. Not me personally and god help anyone who buys a bike from them that develops problems.

    politecameraaction
    Free Member

    “the bike spares rack in most Decathlons is like going back in time 30 years with 6 and 7 speed cassettes on the racks…”

    And yet wildly successful, right? Maybe most bike buyers don’t need anything invented after 1994 to meet their needs…

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    This just be turned into the UK version of Aliexpress.

    whatgoesup
    Full Member

    commercial partnerships to enhance and expand these own-brand lines through development, sales, licensing, and international distribution opportunities.

    Translates as “Sell a bunch of cheaply manufactured low quality tat under their newly acquired brand names” – same as they did with their other acquisitions – see Karrimor etc

    monkeyboyjc
    Full Member

    🤔 Well that’s two websites I’ll try to avoid in the future 🤷‍♂️

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