Its public knowledge their profits have taken a huge hit in recent years. Down to 1.8million according to online documents but that doesnt mean they’re going bust. Big highstreet chains have gone into the red my multiple millions before going into liquidation – Evans are still very much in the Green.
Conviviality Retail went into administration in April, there expected profits were around £55million, just sayin. Point is that being profitable is only a part of it, investor confidence, cash flow etc are just as important
Its owners aren’t happy with the profits so they’re looking to sell it.
- "but its backers and bankers were understood to be unwilling to provide the extra cash."
- "and the retailers’ lenders AIB and HSBC failed to agree on a cash injection."
erm, I think you'll find this is the reason why they are looking to sell, because they can't raise the £10mil+ (some reporting upto £20m) they need to keep the business going (cash flow). All it takes is someone to buy it, and the fact it is a profitable business will work in it's favour, but the doom and gloom mongering, as you put it, is not without foundation, the high street is a very tough environment at the moment.
In the end I chucked a tub of energy juice on to scrape over the £100 threshold and put it on CC. It’s a rubbish situation for the company, especially the staff. However, as a consumer once confidence wavers there’s no point taking a chance.
Just be aware that Section 75 only covers "single items more than £100":
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases/#when
It's worth noting that there's some confusion around this, but this is a good example quoted from the above page:
- Alternatively, if a suit jacket and trousers are individually priced at £60 each, you're not covered, but if you buy the suit as a whole for one price of £120, you are covered.
Worth a read, but the reality is that that a £100 order made up of lots of bits is unlikely to be covered. You may still be able to chargeback, but that's a different thing.
In much the same way as people who die of 'cancer' in the end often succumb to pneumonia or organ failure or the like, businesses in the end mainly fail because of cash flow as the aspect that nails the lid on. Your profit margins or order book is worth jack if you don't have the cash to run it until those orders get paid.
This is a rollercoaster thread!
Well, the Zealot backpack I ordered yesterday has been despatched this morning.
Being up for sale is a very different place from needing to call the Receivers in. Businesses can be up for sale for very long periods with no collapse although staff morale may take a hit.
There is such a thing as a self fulfilling prophecy. Enough people whispering about imminent collapse is just the thing to cause a business that otherwise needn’t have closed to fail due to a lack of customers.
The investors in Evans will be looking at a number of factors. I doubt the comments on this tread will be one of them.
I doubt the comments on this tread will be one of them.
Not directly but a drop off in sales or orders due to rumours and uncertainty will be something they are looking at. How many people are willing to pay a sizeable deposit on a bike from Evans for instance at the moment. That is what will be monitored by investors, the fire sale approach may help cashflow but it will also impact reorder rates and not holding stock has the same impact on confidence.
Being up for sale is a very different place from needing to call the Receivers in. Businesses can be up for sale for very long periods with no collapse although staff morale may take a hit.
That's true, businesses are bought and sold all the time, but this is reporting a bit more desperate than that. They need at least £10m to "meet their financial obligations over the next few months" , They've called in outside financial advisers (PriceWaterhouseCooper), their existing lenders won't give them any more money (AIB, HSBC), they've set a deadline for purchase bids of this Thursday.
My summary (if the reporting is accurate) is more along the lines of, they need to find a buyer, pretty sharpish.
The Havant store was having a delivery at 07:30 this morning when I rode past, so stock is still being sent to shops if that helps calm your fears of spending your money there at the moment!
Well, quite. Whilst the STW hive mind may have been where all Google searches ended up before the ‘upgrade’, it’s unlikely Evans’ investors and Creditors will pay attention to comments on a thread here. But a few hundred of possibly the better heeled amongst Evans’ customer base starting a whispering campaign that the ‘game is up’ based on hearsay and guesswork? That’s the sort of thing that can hurt a viable but cash-poor business, badly.
Leave it out until there’s something more definite, guys?
Popped into evans kingston over the weekend. The staff there were still frantically trying to avoid eye contact with anyone looking to get served so I was relieved to see it was business as usual.
Do hope they do OK though Be a shame to see them go.
Just been in Liverpool store. Lots of bikes on the floor. Lots of clothing and accessories. Maybe half a dozen customers and what looked like a full complement of staff.
Usual friendly welcome. No obvious signs of panic selling. Just looked like normal day.
I'm thinking of buying on arkose on 0% plus deposit and like the sound of their swap guarantee if you really can't get on with it. My worry is I'll either lose the deposit or the chance to exchange. Thing is, before the news/rumours, I wouldn't even have thought of worrying about it. So that's a near guaranteed sale gone or at least postponed, the same really if you need the cash.
Having been involved in mergers, acquisitions and disposals I doubt very much that anyone outside the directors of Evans and their accountants will have a scooby-doo about their financial predicament and negotiations. They will have an interest to maintain trade and generate cash as they probably have some big bills to pay at the end of this quarter. The problem with any equity buy-outs and expansions is the huge debts that will have been placed on their balance sheets which means it needs regularly re-financed, hence the plea for £10m - we've had a devaluation of the £ meaning it costs more to buy stuff as they'll be paying suppliers in US$, plus they've probably taken a hit in their credit worthiness and insurance, again increasing their costs. There's plenty of people out there who'll be happily lend them the £10m, but whether its at a price they want to pay because it'll be loaded with risk.
But a few hundred of possibly the better heeled amongst Evans’ customer base starting a whispering campaign that the ‘game is up’ based on hearsay and guesswork? That’s the sort of thing that can hurt a viable but cash-poor business, badly.
Leave it out until there’s something more definite, guys?
I think the bbc article holds more sway than stw... as soon as that came out the general public will not be thinking this company is a good bet to order a bike for my kids Christmas but ohh maybe I can get some discounted stock.
Even if they get the cash the article will still have been on the bbc and in major newspapers...
@tinglesrack:
”Specialized and Trek probably get 30-40% of their UK sales through Evans“
Source?
Source?
Evans staff training, I'd wager.
There’s plenty of people out there who’ll be happily lend them the £10m, but whether its at a price they want to pay because it’ll be loaded with risk.
Well no no there are not plenty of people who will lend them £10m. It wouldn’t have gone public if there were. You exhaust funding options in private before going publicly desperate. Sounds like cash flow to me
Suppliers will now be getting twitchy, lenders will be getting twitchy, it’s a downward spiral
Being brutal. If I was an institutional investor, VC or other fund, would I put it into high street retail with expensive city centre locations, specialist market with a track record of volatility, and increasing encroachment on market share from direct to consumer, both on bikes and P&A? Not a chance.
It might be nice to save an established British business that says it's profitable, but what's the trajectory of the business and it's profitability? How is the supplier and customer goodwill?
There **might** be an interest in scooping up the brand and sub-brands for a new online play or reduced number of stores, but even then, it comes with setup/change investment needs, and history of those kind of "physical to online" switches doesn't inspire confidence.
Sad to say, but I reckon they'll go.
Sad to say, but I reckon they’ll go.
Yup. Reckon that's right
I don't want them to, they have 2 stores close to me and both have been pretty good when i've needed something, and as I pass one of them every evening on the way home and they have a car park, the click and collect is easier than having it delivered and not being in without having to pay for express / timed.
However - the articles don't read that well and while I kind of agree that negative press can be really damaging, by the same token I won't be putting any money into them myself unless i have something to take away in return - even if it is > £100 and protected by CC i don't want that hassle - and I'm not sure people saying 'it's fine, carry on as normal' are offering any refunds either if it suddenly goes HoF.
Well, taking a gamble, I couldn't refuse a new Reverb at £150 minus another 8% discount via perks at work.
We'll see if it turns up in the shop tomorrow...
Well, taking a gamble, I couldn’t refuse a new Reverb at £150 minus another 8% discount via perks at work.
We’ll see if it turns up in the shop tomorrow…
Did that involve purchasing vouchers through work?
Well, I did my bit to try to save them.
Did that involve purchasing vouchers through work?
Yup - instant e-voucher.
0)There **might** be an interest in scooping up the brand and sub-brands for a new online play or reduced number of stores,
I had a similar conclusion from the press reports wording as FunkyDunc and Andyrm (see page 6). Although not willing to end it as bluntly, partly because none of us genuinely know with absolute certainty what the outcome will be, but reading between the lines it doesn't sound good unless a buyer comes forward.
My desire is/was to give a heads up to staff on here who are buying the line by managers or internal communication that everything is ok. it really isn't. I've been lied to in these exact same circumstances and you (employees) are the last to be told the truth as the company spins a positive line down the chain to try and maintain a positive staff vibe. When it all becomes apparent you feel totally cheated, lied to and "how could I have been so naive?", unless, of course, it gets pulled from the brink by a buyer, hey, business as usual!..
A buyer by Thursday and I guess it's business as usual, no buyer and it's administration by the looks of it, from the general vibe in press. Administration isn't the end, a buyer can then buy the business cheap and/or cherry pick stores and just cut unprofitable stores loose out of long term leases. without much financial consequences.
I might be clouded by 10 years of bitterness of being lied to by management as the co spirals downwards, but I don't think so, all the bullshit and press wording is exactly the same.
Hmmmm. The Bell Super lid I ordered was due in yesterday. Had two emails today, one to say it was delayed and another a bit later blaming a delay at the suppliers end and now due 4/10. So from a few days before the deadline and month end to a few days the other side. Maybe just co-incidence but....
A buyer by Thursday and I guess it’s business as usual, no buyer and it’s administration by the looks of it, from the general vibe in press. Administration isn’t the end, a buyer can then buy the business cheap and/or cherry pick stores and just cut unprofitable stores loose out of long term leases. without much financial consequences.
With a business head, what changes does your £10m deliver, if it's same as before will they be back for another £10m later
A lonely pensioner who “lost everything” after giving away £100,000 to a woman he has never met is warning others not to be taken in by an online sex fraud.
Roy Twiggs, 67, says he has lost his life savings after paying out thousands of pounds to a woman he began swapping emails and explicit messages with online.
He handed over the cash to the mystery woman who latterly referred to herself as his wife and told him that she loved him.
He has been told by police that there is little chance of securing a conviction or recovering the cash from the woman who is believed to live abroad.
The former RAF serviceman: “I have lost absolutely everything. Every time I paid money, I was assured I would get it all back.
“The amounts just kept getting bigger and bigger, but I’ve not had a penny back.”
Whereas if you have the cash you can get the lot and control on your terms.
Hmmmm. The Bell Super lid I ordered was due in yesterday. Had two emails today, one to say it was delayed and another a bit later blaming a delay at the suppliers end and now due 4/10. So from a few days before the deadline and month end to a few days the other side. Maybe just co-incidence but….
Same for me for my reverb. I think I’ll cancel it.
Been ordering stuff over the last week or so and all of it has turned up on time
Latest purchase is on track to be delivered today
Will keep on using them
If your that worried then use a credit card linked to your Paypal account, that way you should be protected if they do go under, which i very much doubt would happen
I ordered a Hope front brake in store on Monday night using Clubcard vouchers i’d arranged on Friday,picked it up yesterday. The Sram clamp was out of stock so cancelled that
As I had quite a bit of money left on the vouchers as well as a Evans giftcard I ordered the matching rear, hopefully it arrives before any deadline
i spoke to the same chap both nights and management are telling them the £10m is wanted for new stores!
Hmmmm. The Bell Super lid I ordered was due in yesterday. Had two emails today, one to say it was delayed and another a bit later blaming a delay at the suppliers end and now due 4/10. So from a few days before the deadline and month end to a few days the other side. Maybe just co-incidence but….
Zyro don't currently have stock of any 2019 Bell Supers. They are showing a provisional (not confirmed) due date of 29/10
Hmmmmm......I had assumed mine was a 2018 as well at that price although I think the black/green is unchanged from last year. It does make me think I should request a refund as other places have stock for a bit more money but I don't want to hasten their demise as I should have the section 75 cover. Hassle though isn't it?
If they fold I wonder what will happen with bikes that aren't due in until the beginning of November ... If the arrival time was accurate I'm guessing the frames must be built by now if they're shipped from China.
Maybe they're built but haven't got components on them so may never arrive or the frames just get sold off, I've been waiting to grab an Arkose 3 but the small's haven't been in stock since I've been looking at them.
Be a shame to lose them whatever so fingers crossed ... especially for the staff.
Same for me for my reverb. I think I’ll cancel it.
Just got the email that mine is in the store waiting to be picked up...
I'd better not leave it too long 😛
well Ive got an order for £100 of stuff in my basket, ill hit the check out button on Friday, if they are still in business, which I sincerely hope they are.
I used pay after delivery Paypal. That way there is two weeks to get your bits before it becomes an issue.
If its gonna arrive in store a fortnight should be plenty.
My Zealot apparently arrived today according to the Royal Mail notification.
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jimdubleyou
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<div class="bbp-reply-content">Same for me for my reverb. I think I’ll cancel it.
Just got the email that mine is in the store waiting to be picked up…
I’d better not leave it too long
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There's a button you press that makes it shorter.
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This was a interesting read on the demise of Maplin, I was suprised how profitable they were but were undone by debts loaded by management buyouts.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/26/a_story_of_m_a_failed_retailer/
I had several items on my 'ride to work' voucher that kept getting pushed back in terms of delivery...I suspect things are getting tighter at head office and suppliers are possibly 'delaying' sending them stock until the future is certain.
Decided today to change them all for 'In Stock' items on the premise that when (if) things get sorted out and they come back in stock I'll just get them exchanged.
Didn't want to end up loosing out on my new winter Northwave boots because they potentially go into administration. Worst case scenario I'll be cycling around on bright yellow winter boots as opposed to black ones...at least I'll not go missing in a snow drift. 😉
Really hope someone bails them out....having been there myself with a historic employer, it's crap for the staff. Hope it all ends well.
I genuinely hope Halfords buys them. If there is one thing worse than being listed and answerable to shareholders its being run ragged by the scum that is the PE business.
I genuinely hope Halfords buys them. If there is one thing worse than being listed and answerable to shareholders its being run ragged by the scum that is the PE business.
Totally agree with this - def better off under a big brand - probably by far the best option allround
<div class="bbp-reply-author">disco_stu
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This was a interesting read on the demise of Maplin, I was suprised how profitable they were but were undone by debts loaded by management buyouts.
Yup. The really demented thing is that the vulture capitalist companies bought a functional company, then instantly loaded that company with the debt that they used to buy the ****ing company, and charge massive interest rates (15%, in this case). They don't risk their own capital, they borrow and then redistribute the borrowing. And this happened to Maplin three times. Eventually, by some hilarious quirk of late stage capitalism, it becomes more profitable to destroy a business that makes money so that you can reduce your exposure and go off and ruin another company, than it does to cut your "repayments" to a sane level and have it continue to operate.
Rutland bought Maplin for £85m with Maplin's own money then extracted £42 million- 80% tax free- in interest from that deal, by lending money to themselves, then closed them down. It's indefensible. I mean, it's hard to even explain what happened, because it's so fundamentally ridiculous you get halfway through your rant and you start to think you must have imagined it.
I don't know what the cure is. Nooses, possibly, and lampposts.
Halfords are Cycle Republic, aren't they?
They've just opened a new store, pretty much, next door to the Metrocentre (Gateshead) branch of Evans. That branch must be on borrowed time, surely?
