Planet X – In Administration

Rumours on here a couple of weeks ago are true

Bike retailer to appoint administrators

Doesn’t sound good at all.

A Companies House first Gazette notice for the compulsory strike off of the business has also been posted, dated 6 June 2023. It states that the business will be struck off the register and dissolved not less than two months from this date, “unless cause is shown to the contrary”.

Thats a real shame. I’ve always liked Planet X, had a couple of bikes from them a a few other bots of kit.

I don’t have any of their bikes, but bought loads of other stuff from them.

Agree, a shame. They took some stick on here, but they did some really good kit. Be a shame to see them go.

Real shame , got 3 in my shed.

Only been good for me over the years 🙁

Sad

That’s poo.

Another nail in the coffin for consumers. Despite the slagging they sometimes got they produced decent bikes with sometimes very good finishing kit for half the price others were, maybe the reason they are in this situation.
Just means the rest of the companies can continue ripping us off for bike parts and charging obscene prices compared to elsewhere in the world.
Gutted for them, hopefully something can be done.

Sad news for all involved.

I’ve had at least six On-One/Planet-X bikes over the years and loads of other kit.

Service could be hap-hazard in later years but to me the value made up for it.

Bugger.

Have 2 On-Ones and a PX bike in the shed. Had loads of tops, sun glasses and other bits and bobs off them.

Was just on their website this morning looking at helmets.

Never had a bad experience with them. Ever.

Oh wow… i’ve bought a fair bit from them in the past… But they did mostly go roadie/gravel and sell of crap that no-one wanted.. Like random shaped/sized ‘things’ and cheap and nasty stuff….

their bikes though, they’ll be missed..

As will their socks which i still wear most days.

Was it a bike boom/bust related issue?

Hopefully something can be salvaged from administration anyway, and jobs retained.

As I said on the deleted thread before, they were brilliant for cheap soft goods and accessories – as well as turning out the odd really good bike (the C456 for example).

I think they had a really strong core offering hiding somewhere amid their ever-changing pricing, myriad brands and the undeniable amount of dross on their site.

I’m not going to shed a tear I’m afraid. Worst customer service I’ve received from any company in a good while.

not for the 50 employees that presumably still have mouths to feed and houses to rent / heat, etc.?

Sad to hear this.

That’s sad news. I’ve had 6 on-one frames over the years and my Scandal v2 is still my longest serving bike i still regularly ride. Never had any issues with them from a delivery/customer service perspective

I think they had a really strong core offering hiding somewhere amid their ever-changing pricing, myriad brands and the undeniable amount of dross on their site.

Yep, i thought the ‘on-one’ bike side was diluted down with all the brands and haven’t bought from the site for a long time

Used them a fair bit recently, after vowing never to use again in the past due to poor CS, and they were excellent. Sorted a couple of problems which were not their fault very quickly.

Also an employee owned business now so a massive shame if they fail.

Ah rubbish, my Scandal is a really good bike and have bought bits and pieces from them for ages.

A Companies House first Gazette notice for the compulsory strike off of the business has also been posted

Lots of companies get those, it just means they’re late filing accounts.

So sad, they’ve serviced me well over the years. Hopefully they’ll make a comeback.

Very sad, all my current bikes are Planet X or On One, as is most of my cycle clothing, I’ve been a customer since about 2007 and have never had a bad experience with them in countless orders.

We have four OO/P-x bikes in the family at the moment.

They were a great value option, be a real shame to see them go.

That is really sad news. Whilst they have had their problems, they have been a disrupter in the UK bike market for a long time. They’ve driven trends like jump bikes, singlespeeds, fat bikes, the introduction of 29er – making them affordable to people.

I personally have felt their more recent marketing style of constantly being on sale has caused customers to lose sight of their value with confusing pricings.

Real shame, however appointing an administrator doesn’t mean it’s over for the staff. Hopefully something can happen to keep the business going.

How does administration work for new orders? Thinking of stocking up on Mech hangers for my Tempest, don’t think I can stomach the £32.99 cost if it’s never going to be fulfilled though…

I think almost everyone has owned a PX bike at some point. I’ve got my first PX road bike still hanging in the garage, which still occasionally comes out as a spare turbo bike. Still see loads of their frames on the track in Manchester underneath youth racers too.

Sad news.

As @Footflaps has said,

A Companies House first Gazette notice for the compulsory strike off of the business has also been posted

Lots of companies get those, it just means they’re late filing accounts.

At the moment they haven’t gone bump!

Not for the 50 employees that presumably still have mouths to feed and houses to rent / heat, etc.?

I’m not celebrating their demise, and obviously I have sympathies for the employees, but it’s not hard to see that my statement was approaching this from a business perspective rather than a personal/human one, surely? Unless you choose to willingly try and misunderstood it that way?
It’s not possible for every business to succeed, there’s only so much humanity for any employed by them that I have the capacity for, so, obviously I have to apply some detachment. But I don’t actually need to tell you that, because I’m pretty sure you’re just trying to score internet points by being deliberately difficult.

CS is one of the things that makes or breaks a company, and my experience with PX has been universally terrible. Without exaggeration, I now approach them as akin to buying something from Facebook Marketplace – don’t spend more than you are able to accept losing. And that’s a pretty crap indictment of a company.

The constant sale thing can’t have helped as I can’t imagine they make much on the heavily discounted stuff and since there’s always a deal around the corner, who’s going to pay full price?

I’ve only bought one bike off them and it was meh but cheap so I won’t miss the brand but my mate has had plenty and has always rated them. Will be a real shame for the staff so hope it can be saved.

My buying experience (Hello Dave) was great, good Comms (pic of built bike) etc. Admittedly I didn’t need to use CS.

Shame if they do fold – like or loathe them they’ve been part of the UK MTB scene for a long time.

A Companies House first Gazette notice for the compulsory strike off of the business has also been posted

Lots of companies get those, it just means they’re late filing accounts.

Yes, but that’s really just a postscript in the article (if you read it) – it says they’re appointing administrators which is the key point.

As others have said, a real shame, some unique stuff, and worst case are a good source of Chinese open mould stuff.

Hopefully aiming to allow a restructure rather than go full belly up a la Moore Large.

Never had a bad experience with them. Ever.

Same. I’ve bought more from them than anywhere else in the last decade, mainly due to PX being my go-to for consumables or spares. Never had an incomplete order, something poorly advertised, or any of the things that seem to be mentioned with regards to PX. Communication has been superb, especially during lockdown(s).
It’s a shame; I hope it’s a recoverable situation for all involved.

If they’re appointing administrators then there would be a filing about that and no gazette re write off.

The gazette looks like its a result of the late filing of the company statement. It should have been done by end of March so they would have had plenty of warning letters and then the “do it by dd/mm/yy or you’ll be struck off” notice has spurred them to action & it was filed on Friday but the gazette was already primed.

This is touched upon on in the “should I buy a road bike” thread- I think a poster is closer to the action and would indicate there is something going on, but the gazette on its own is no sign it is in administration.

When Stanton went into administration, the appointment was made on 11th Nov & filed on the 22nd.

If it is in administration, they won’t wind it up until they’ve got their fees paid.

Saw some rumours about this on Facebook a couple of months ago, apparently they were sending lists out to bike shops trying to sell stock wholesale.

I’ve had loads of their bikes over the years, and some great customer service (and cups of tea).

It’ll be a massive shame if they disappear (or get bought as a bunch of brands without the inventiveness and ethos). For a long while they were actually on the front foot of bike development. The 456 wasn’t long low and slack, but it was longer, lower and slacker than just about anything else on the market. As well as the ubiquitous original pro-carbon and track/TT bikes.

Agree on some of the ‘bargain bin’ buying though.
A lot of their stuff was rubbish plastic crap, the kind of quality you’d expect from and MBUK cover freebie. And the ever spiralling number of models. They really should have just stuck with Scandal, Inbred, and Tinbred model names. And had one “pro-carbon” race bike, one sportive/winter bike, and a gravel/CX bike. Not a confusing (and frequently ugly) revolving door of models. Same with the steel/ti versions.

The sales ……. Mehhh. It’s a way of doing business. You need to shift a number of items each month/quarter to make way for new stuff and make money to pay suppliers. If the market slows down, you up the discount. If the market heats up then you reduce the discount.

Shame – I’ve a 456Ti, Full Monty, Scandal 29 and Free Ranger in the workshop from them.

Because of their approach and VFM it meant I could happily try stuff without breaking the bank, so gravel and then bikepacking all tried and happy with.

How does the employee owned model work then?

I presume someone is still in charge and all 50 employees don’t all try and dib-in with ideas and opposing ways of working.

The constant sale thing can’t have helped as I can’t imagine they make much on the heavily discounted stuff and since there’s always a deal around the corner, who’s going to pay full price?

Most people probably aren’t researching bikes for months/years, tracking prices, comparing models etc. They take up cycling, ask a club mate for a recommendation, get pointed towards Planet-X and buy whatever is in budget.

I just bought a “shed” (it cost more than double any of my cars so shed is a bit of a cruel description), the salesman gave me 17.5% off. Last month it was 10%, the month before it was 15%. I’m under no illusion that by November it’ll be 30%. But at some point the value of owning the “Shed” is more than what I’ll save waiting for a discount.

Same with bikes. They probably sell more bikes at RRP this time of year than in the “great random number generated 36.27% off Warehouse Mick’s birthday sale” in November. Business isn’t all about maximum profit per item. That would just reverse the problem, they’d be the ones sat on their hands waiting for those cash rich summer customers. Some months you just need to generate turnover to keep the lights on and people employed.

How does the employee owned model work then?

I presume someone is still in charge and all 50 employees don’t all try and dib-in with ideas and opposing ways of working.

Assuming it’s the same as other companies that do that: The employees own shares, which gives them voting rights, but there’s still a CEO and board of directors (which could be voted out by the shareholders / employees)

: (

Remembering that this is an employee-owned firm, I hope it works out ok for them all personally.

Mixed feelings. My first MTB upon my return to the sport was an inbred 29er. Was a great bike. However when the Deore calipers started leaking after 18 months they tried to bin me off saying they were only warrantied for 12 months. Had to point out that Shimano warranty them for 24 months. Got a new brake set from them in the end.

Also owned a London Road for commuting. Was a lovely riding bike and I racked up loads of miles on it. Then one day when cleaning I noticed it had a crack in the toptube/seattube weld. Tried to claim under warranty but they weren’t having any of it. Bit disappointing as it was clearly a manufacturing defect.

Brought a few odds and sods from them when they were up the road from Magna as they were close to work. But not brought anything for years.

Feel sorry for the staff, but as others have said the range is just way too big with too much crossover. And the constant sales made you wonder if you were getting a good price or not.

Hopefully they’ll find someone to buy them out, consolidate their product range and go back to what they used to be good at.

Hopefully it’s just a blip – as many others; I’ve had great service from them (two PX bikes in the shed) and I was looking forward to seeing the new Helm they announced in the flesh; It looks like it could be superb for the money.

Well I’m desperately in need of some new bib shorts – noticed they are becoming thread bare ! Order made as they are cheaper than Decathlon.