Comments on: Rocky Mountain Bicycles Files for Pandemic-Fueled Business Restructure https://bikerumor.com/rocky-mountain-bicycles-files-for-pandemic-fueled-business-restructure/ All the best cycling news, tech, rumors and reviews Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:41:33 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 By: Tom https://bikerumor.com/rocky-mountain-bicycles-files-for-pandemic-fueled-business-restructure/#comment-3531535 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:41:33 +0000 https://bikerumor.com/?p=374721#comment-3531535 In reply to Jon.

Optimism, not greed. That’s all my comment was. What you infer is up to you.

I hope you have a great holiday season. May we all enter 2025 with a little more optimism and a little less aggression than in 2024.

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By: Jon https://bikerumor.com/rocky-mountain-bicycles-files-for-pandemic-fueled-business-restructure/#comment-3531532 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 07:58:37 +0000 https://bikerumor.com/?p=374721#comment-3531532 In reply to Tom.

No, but ‘bet the farm on boom lasting forever’ was and it was a comment around how greed or optimism (or both) are the general takes online on why bike brands bought big. That’s all.
Personally I think covid caused problems for everyone but a more significant reason many brands now struggle is that even if you stock-managed that period to perfection the market has been devalued for years now. Good stock is simply worth less. Plus R+D needs are high – MTB is a fashion-tech market, e-bikes are high stock value, carbon is a general PITA.. and so on.

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By: Tom https://bikerumor.com/rocky-mountain-bicycles-files-for-pandemic-fueled-business-restructure/#comment-3531529 Sun, 22 Dec 2024 19:50:49 +0000 https://bikerumor.com/?p=374721#comment-3531529 In reply to Jon.

The word Greed was not used by myself or Oliver in our comments or Ron in his post. Not accusations of the sort were cast by anyone in the discussion and I’d invite you to review the article and comments to fact check me on that one.

I do feel you’ve hit the nail on the head with the word Optimism. It would be great if the bike boom lasted forever, and to your point, yes companies did have go big on securing stock during that period. I remember at one point during Covid, walking into a bike shop and being told not to use my brakes too much because they couldn’t get pads.

I’m actually a fan of Rocky Mountain and would love to see them continue to thrive. But as you’ve stated, it is a mature market. In a mature market we’re likely to see more consolidation and more elimination of mid-tier brands.

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By: Jon https://bikerumor.com/rocky-mountain-bicycles-files-for-pandemic-fueled-business-restructure/#comment-3531523 Sun, 22 Dec 2024 08:38:27 +0000 https://bikerumor.com/?p=374721#comment-3531523 In reply to Tom.

Not spot on imho. Everyone ordered big at that time, you had to to secure any stock at all. People like to throw accusations about of greed or crazy optimism of a boom but it’s a mature, competitive market and survival at that time meant going outside normal processes to avoid crashing a few years ago.

Good luck to them I say. It’s right that one risk here is increasing polarisation via consolidation by the main brands.

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By: Tom https://bikerumor.com/rocky-mountain-bicycles-files-for-pandemic-fueled-business-restructure/#comment-3531521 Sun, 22 Dec 2024 01:39:46 +0000 https://bikerumor.com/?p=374721#comment-3531521 In reply to Oliver.

You are spot on. I have to wonder how many more stories like this we’ll see in the next couple years. They weren’t the only ones to over play their hand during the Covid sales rush and now we’re seeing the negative impact. It’s too bad really. I have to wonder if we’re heading to a market split between major players like Trek, SBC and Giant who have economies of scale and small, boutique builders but with no more might middle.

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By: Oliver https://bikerumor.com/rocky-mountain-bicycles-files-for-pandemic-fueled-business-restructure/#comment-3531519 Sat, 21 Dec 2024 18:00:33 +0000 https://bikerumor.com/?p=374721#comment-3531519 Translated: they bet the farm on the the covid boom lasting forever. Also, I think covid likely forestalled their inevitable demise. Formerly budget brand with the reputation to go with it goes ultra premium – more expensive than Yeti – and becomes almost impossible to buy outside NA. Horrible decisions were made.

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