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Insolvent and in administration.
Made some nice stuff, IMHO.
Made nice stuff at sensible prices.
At least they tried.
Ahhh, yip.
Sad news that.
Hope they find a buyer, potentially a good business.
great shame - good product and a good ethos.
🙁 Seems to be the way of all my favourite companies recently...
Sombrio
Middleburn
Embers...
damn, I really like the merino padded boxers I got from there. And the bibshorts. That said I got both heavily discounted in their sale which probably speaks volumes.
I think they needed to diversify away from the hipster lifestyle cycle wear which I can't see there being much demand for in this country given the weather and cycle infrastructure.
Didn't they very recently commission a couple of bespoke bikes from August frameworks which is some clever, ahem, balance sheet management from the owners assuming they could see the demise of the business coming.
They were also selling loads of stuff on Sports Pursuit too
Interesting particularly after all that crowdfunding.
I have bought some Vulpine - right from the very beginning - that stuff was good, I didn't think much of the size of any of the other items I'd bought it was all very oddly shaped, and TBH it mostly didn't work very well.
Before I get roasted - I'd spent probably £500 on Vulpine stuff, but nothing for the last 2 years as it just didn't really do anything for me, and I rarely wear what I had bought because of the function and cut issues.
That's a shame, always liked their design although they didn't really suit the cycling I do.
London prices.
I had an email from them with some 'off bike' T-shirts in just yesterday.
Some looked ok.
They're £50. each.
So I passed funnily enough.
Always a shame when a company closes its doors. Personally, I never really got them, they lacked a USP but maybe I wasn't their target market.
Sad news especially as I have a jacket I need to return because of a faulty zip 🙁
letmetalktomark - Member
Sad news especially as I have a jacket I need to return because of a faulty zip
Support your local seamstress
£160 for a pair of jeans. U wot now?
Definitely a Gen X company. Not for us Boomers.
Really shocking to hear, their jeans are awesome and fit great (you need to wait for the sales to afford 'em however). They clearly worked their arses off to make it work so deserve a break. From reading other stuff hopefully it's a necessary move to keep afloat.
Nice people too. We have had them at Bespoked many times.
That's a shame. Got a merino cycling top of theirs that I really like.
Stuff was generally wa-ay out of my price range, though, without quite having the wow-look-at-me-I'm-minted cachet of the likes of Rapha to back it up.
Just need to wait for their fire sale stock to appear on SportPursuit.
one more company bites the dust, more to closely follow as is capitalism, possibly sports direct might buy the brand name and start selling their stuff at affordable prices
the more you look at the investment and turnover figures, the more it starts looking like
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Shame to see them go. Bought a few items from them, jacket, shorts, couple of cycling tops. The last few items shorts and jersey not same build quality and the previous items.
I wish them luck. It isn't easy to run a business. I really hope they keep going because I sent a pair of shorts back the other day and havent had a refund yet.
Shame to see it happen. Got a merino top of theirs in the sale at Christmas for £30 and its lovely. Wouldn't have paid the £110 retail price though 😯
Hope the make it.
Chuff me just looked at their prices.
Very few places in the country you could wear stuff like that and not look a right d!ck
So cycling gear for rich London Hipsters
Rest of us commute etc in Aldi / Lidl gear
Maybe that trouser co from Hebden Bridge could taken them over 😆
Very few places in the country you could wear stuff like that and not look a right d!ck
Eh? It's just everyday badly cut clothing that happens to be made of technical fabrics and is overpriced.
To the casual observer it looks like ordinary clothing you might wear to hop on a bike to nip out for a pint of milk.
I have a few of their pieces, and I was wearing the wind proof jersey with matching arm warmers today. Lovely kit.
Never paid full price though.
I've sat in a room with Buffet and listened to his advice on investing. I don't think he'd recommend cried funded equity - even if he did miss a couple of gems.
For once I agree with ninfan.
Still nice kit the bits I've got (from the less hipster end of the range)
I felt bad saying in their questionnaire that having Hoy branded clothes didn't make me more likely to buy them and they dropped the whole range.....
Shame to see them go, the Portixol and Beacon waterproof jackets ive got are excellent.
If accurate, that crowdfunding blog post is quite damning. How a business can miss sales targets, turn a predicted profit into a loss and give itself an increased market value is beyond me.
Although social media companies seem to do the same thing quite well
When they started I loved their kit. It was affordable and good quality then they took investment and it went bonkers IMO. Overpriced and boring. Seems they wanted to expand too quickly too soon and lost the way. Always sad when a business goes especially as Nick was so passionate.
liked Nick when i met him, nice chap, enjoyed the CityCross 1 Vulpine corner throwing lettuce at the racers with him dressed as a fox...
How a business can miss sales targets, turn a predicted profit into a loss and give itself an increased market value is beyond me.
In a general sense, that's fairly simple.
Possibly.....borrowed a lot of money to purchase assets/buildings/equipment/stock etc.to fulfil one or more large contracts.
Possible not the case with Vulpine, but the scenario isn't unheard of, for genuine reasons.
looks like the Hoy Vulpine / Evans thing cooling off may have caused some of the pain...
IIRC nealglover that's what happened to GT Bikes - a basic cash flow crisis where they had millions tied up in new (I drive) stock and nothing left to pay the bills.
I thought the Hoy line with Evans was misguided and over ambitious - and I tried a pair of their bib shorts when quickly reduced to half price and they were basically transparent which you'd think might have been spotted at an early stage.
I thought the Hoy line with Evans was misguided and over ambitious - and I tried a pair of their bib shorts when quickly reduced to half price and they were basically transparent
I have those bib shorts, and they are brilliant. Transparent? Nope. Did you try a pair two sizes too small or something?
I have the Hoy trail shorts as well, and use them 80% of the year. No nonsense and well made.
Sad to see the brand fall into the cashflow trap… depressing to see the normal negativity on this forum.
Kelvin, usual charming people and their negative views. I tend to ignore them now. Not worth the time of even replying to them.
FWIW, I'll miss Vulpine. Cut fitted me as a leaner chap, and the pieces I have get worn to work daily. My jacket of choice is their softshell which I've had three years now and purchased after testing it for the mag. I've had great service when I needed to return items, even having them fully refund me for a pair of trousers that were lost on return from them after repair (I'd crashed them and put a hole in them) . The repair was done for free, then posties lost it 🙁
I do hope Nick manages to sort something out for himself, family, and staff over the coming weeks.
I thought the Hoy line with Evans was misguided and over ambitious
Evans sold it but the design and spec etc wasn't 'with' Evans as such, purely Vulpine and Hoy.
Seems to be the way of all my favourite companies recently...Sombrio
Middleburn
Embers...
Middleburn still going....
Ecans can make more profit selling their own brand gear, just copy everyone else's designs. Seems to be the way most of the big shops are going.
Prices are too high imo and too much aimed at city riders. The Hoy take was a nice idea but was overpriced and then they had to have multiple sales to try and shift it.
I bought Mrs W a Hoy jersey the other week: [i]really[/i] nice for £50 at 50% off. STiff competition in her wardrobe, but still I think it's going into her 'favourites' drawer next to rapha and above twin six/morvelo, but we're struggling to see who would have been happy to pay twice the price for it.
That is a shame. 🙁
Ecans can make more profit selling their own brand gear, just copy everyone else's designs.
Nah, do that and you're always 2 years behind. And a chunk of margin you make by having less layers of margin between brand and retailer goes on staff wages to get the own-brand kit sorted. Anyway, this is about Vulpine not Evans. Never good to see a UK brand struggling.
@julian re full price that was my view exactly. I looked at their website in the last and thought it was all quite pricey. POC I like and I thought was better value for example