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Performance Bicycle Bankruptcy

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Performance Bicycle Bankruptcy

Old 11-21-18, 09:27 AM
  #51  
Dave Cutter
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It begins:
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Old 11-21-18, 10:39 AM
  #52  
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I like Performance Bike. They have almost always done me right. I bought my first roadbike there in the beginning of 2015 after too many years off. It was a 2013 close out model in the wrong size (but really close), so they exchanged it for free, no questions asked. The exchange had a substitute rear wheel. They located the right wheel and swapped it free of charge. I rode the dickens out of that bike and still have it. The manager who always knew my name always did me right if ever there was any issue.

The only thing I think was their down fall was parts. I tried to locate a square taper bottom bracket. Nada. I tried to buy some chainring bolts. Only for single speed. I tried to buy rim tape. Only in super skinny or too wide for my rim. I tried to buy replacement RockShox. Only tapered head tube in stock. I tried to buy chain rings. Only 4 different sizes, all FSA 5 bolt 110BCD. I tried to buy tubes. 1 exploded, I exchanged it, the exchange had a hole in it straight outta the box. I tried to buy upgrade shifters to Ultegra. Outta-luck. I was going to buy a Ridley...unavailable in 58...Got a better bike, (a brand they don't carry) at a different shop.

I hate to say it, but even for a shop that in my eye has done everything right from a customer service perspective, the writing has been on the wall for some time. They ran their inventory too lean to be a one stop, full service bike shop and what they did have was produced too cheap and their service was too expensive. They had 1 good mechanic. When he left because corporate wouldn't pay a wage he could live on, so did I. I followed him to Greggs Cycles.

Sorry, I'll take non-punctured tubes, Showers Pass rain gear, Ortleib Panniers, and a wall of various chain ring selections any day. So I shop at shops that those products are an option.

If they need to order a part, then so can I. I feel sorry for Performance, but when I need a thing, I frequent bike shops that don't need to order parts with a 1 week turn around for basic things like bottom brackets or brake calipers.

Last edited by base2; 11-21-18 at 10:47 AM.
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Old 11-21-18, 11:07 AM
  #53  
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Global economy is at tail end of 10 year debt binge and many are leveraged to the hilt. Rising rates/borrowing costs are going to wipe out a lot more than just Performance/Nashbar.
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Old 11-21-18, 01:17 PM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by dailycommute
Global economy is at tail end of 10 year debt binge and many are leveraged to the hilt. Rising rates/borrowing costs are going to wipe out a lot more than just Performance/Nashbar.
I disagree. Every adult on planet Earth knows rates go up as well as down. It isn't the normal cycles of change that caused Performance to fail. It was poor management that hurt Performance, and Sears, and GM, and many others. No one wins every race... or any other competition. And business IS a competition.
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Old 11-21-18, 01:20 PM
  #55  
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BTW... I stopped in the Dayton store this morning. They said 40 (of the 104) stores are closing.
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Old 11-21-18, 01:33 PM
  #56  
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Originally Posted by Dave Cutter
BTW... I stopped in the Dayton store this morning. They said 40 (of the 104) stores are closing.
Not that I know anything, but you would hope a big box like Performance could keep a store going in a major metro area like Dayton, apparently not.

Again, this sucks.
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Old 11-21-18, 02:06 PM
  #57  
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follow the money...

IDEALBIKE

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Old 11-21-18, 02:14 PM
  #58  
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I detest the entire consolidation of all sorts of business areas into virtual monopolies. Where is Teddy "Trust Buster" Roosevelt when we need him?
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Old 11-21-18, 03:22 PM
  #59  
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The parent company has been on a buying binge that is now bust as debt servicing rises, typical in low rate debt cycle that has reversed. That game works so long as rates keep falling and the leverage can be constantly added to or refinanced. 2019 will see many bankruptcies not just in retail.
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Old 11-21-18, 03:34 PM
  #60  
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The few times I walked around in the stores several years ago I found that they were amazingly spacious. In that way where a normal person is thinking "wait, does anyone need so much space?" I also found that the product offerings from Nashbar were becoming more elitist. Fewer 26" or 27" tires, no more threaded headsets or quill stems, not so many older parts. I remember buying ball bearings there in high qualities, various sizes. Not possible today. That was only about ten years ago.
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Old 11-21-18, 06:48 PM
  #61  
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Originally Posted by merziac
..... Again, this sucks.
Lots of customers in the store today.... we all got the email. It was like a viewing at a funeral. I will roll with this... I accept change well. But I did enjoy that store.
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Old 11-21-18, 08:30 PM
  #62  
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Originally Posted by dailycommute
The parent company has been on a buying binge that is now bust as debt servicing rises, typical in low rate debt cycle that has reversed. That game works so long as rates keep falling and the leverage can be constantly added to or refinanced. 2019 will see many bankruptcies not just in retail.
Watch those corporate bond offerings and ratings... we live in so much danger.
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Old 11-21-18, 08:35 PM
  #63  
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this may get intriguing:

China deals push bike chain to bankruptcy after CEO?s spouse, Madeleine Dean, elected to U.S. Congress
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Old 11-21-18, 08:41 PM
  #64  
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Damn!
This may require a thread in P&R.
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Old 11-21-18, 10:04 PM
  #65  
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One of many threads on this, here, BF, and elsewhere..

They were already under water, .. in a debt for equality trades..
So, they were already owned by the vendors they could not pay
so they traded them the company to pay the debt ..
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Old 11-22-18, 09:03 AM
  #66  
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Bummer. My local performance bike is closing down. It's the Novi Michigan location. As I stated above, I cleared out their shelves of Strada SL tires, and a few packs of bar tape. Sucks to see them close down. Good people that work there.
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Old 11-23-18, 10:00 AM
  #67  
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Originally Posted by repechage
Watch those corporate bond offerings and ratings... we live in so much danger.
I'd say this best fits the old adage... that you can't spent yourself wealthy. Making profit.... no matter big or small your business is NEVER a given... or even an easy task. Making money is a competitive venture that poses real risks. Yes, performance made mistakes, management was not perfect, but profits are never guaranteed. Eventually all businesses fail.
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Old 11-24-18, 02:44 PM
  #68  
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So.... it is going under? Or is it that only some of the brick and mortar stores are closing? Will I still be able to buy my new favorite bar tape (Forte Griptec 2) and the so-comfy Ultra Bib Shorts?
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Old 11-24-18, 04:13 PM
  #69  
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Originally Posted by Rocket-Sauce
So.... it is going under? Or is it that only some of the brick and mortar stores are closing? Will I still be able to buy my new favorite bar tape (Forte Griptec 2) and the so-comfy Ultra Bib Shorts?
Not fully going under, closing many brick and mortar stores, still might want to stock up, you never know. I am pretty good friends with the #2 at my store, he says the restructure will be done first and evaluated. He is confidant that they will keep going, whether it will stay as is, isn't for sure.
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Old 11-25-18, 06:55 PM
  #70  
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Originally Posted by Rocket-Sauce
So.... it is going under? Or is it that only some of the brick and mortar stores are closing? Will I still be able to buy my new favorite bar tape (Forte Griptec 2) and the so-comfy Ultra Bib Shorts?
My crystal ball says: It is certain. No... wait... that's my Magic Eight Ball. In real life... rarely is the future a certainty.
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Old 11-25-18, 07:14 PM
  #71  
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Originally Posted by Dave Cutter
My crystal ball says: It is certain. No... wait... that's my Magic Eight Ball. In real life... rarely is the future a certainty.
As always, "clear as mud".
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Old 11-25-18, 07:18 PM
  #72  
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Originally Posted by merziac
As always, "clear as mud".
The comment was dated. Eight Balls... were a kids toy... which predicted the future. Adults realize... we can NOT know the future.

The store is in a death spiral. They might survive.... there will be damages. How much of a product line will survive? I don't know... and I'd bet no one does.

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Old 11-25-18, 08:02 PM
  #73  
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Originally Posted by Dave Cutter
The comment was dated. Eight Balls... were a kids toy... which predicted the future. Adults realize... we can NOT know the future.

The store is in a death spiral. They might survive.... there will be damages. How much of a product line will survive? I don't know... and I'd bet no one does.
Oh yea, spent plenty of time with them.
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Old 11-25-18, 08:04 PM
  #74  
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The USA is insane. We spend millions of dollars erecting steel and pouring millions of cubic yards of concrete into work places and retail stores that nobody wants to go to. Then, we go home to miserable stick frame homes in the suburbs built on top of mud that are falling apart. Soon, we will all realize what a bunch of dumbass decisions we have made over the last few decades. People in France, Italy and, Switzerland are laughing at us. I would move to Italy if I could actually escape the gravitational pull of the USA.
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Old 11-25-18, 09:03 PM
  #75  
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$nicker$
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