Wiggle and Chain Reaction gone into administration.

[Kell]

Shame - I've been using Wiggle since the early days and they've always been great.

https://road.cc/content/news/wiggle-chain-reaction-enters-administration-304741

 

[rafiki]

What a great shame. I have used them both a lot over the years but, living in Spain for the last years, I have come to rely more on German, French and Dutch online retailers following Brexit. There's just less hassle. RIP Wiggle, RIP CRC.

 

[bikingdad90]

Mapil Top co which also has links with Peloton by way of owning their share capital is in administration too which means that Peloton will be next.

Unfortunately Signa has killed the entity through charging acquisition costs through to the I&E and then riddling the company with debt. The new website also cost circa £8m! Gulp!!!

 

[a.twiddler]

I've bought stuff from Wiggle and CRC over the years and although service has been good, I always had the uncomfortable feeling that by doing so, I was contributing to the demise of some smaller retailers. So while I'm sad that another giant is biting the dust, to join the ranks of Moore and Large et al (and I bought plenty of their stuff), why do I feel the loss of Islabikes more, when I never bought anything from them. Perhaps that's my fault, for not having loads more kids and setting them off cycling!

 

[Kell]

I've bought stuff from Wiggle and CRC over the years and although service has been good, I always had the uncomfortable feeling that by doing so, I was contributing to the demise of some smaller retailers. So while I'm sad that another giant is biting the dust, to join the ranks of Moore and Large et al (and I bought plenty of their stuff), why do I feel the loss of Islabikes more, when I never bought anything from them. Perhaps that's my fault, for not having loads more kids and setting them off cycling!

I didn't realise Islabikes had gone.

Also a shame - we bought my daughter a bike from them and it was excellent.

As an aside, her previous bike was a Dora the Explorer cheapo thing from Halfords. Cost around £80 and sold for £5. Was heavy, slow and the brakes were impossible to set up. On the other hand, the Islabike was a dream - and when she outgrew it, we only lost about £50 on it. Might not even have been that much.

Did Frog bikes take their share of the market?

 

[bikingdad90]

With Isla bikes I understand the company is trading down and the owners don’t want to continue anymore as they want to close that chapter of their life, personal choice as opposed to a business force- Majorue shall we say.

Whereas Wiggle has ran out of cash.

 

[ianrauk]

Did Frog bikes take their share of the market?

According to Isla Roundtree.. a lot of bike companies stepped up to make much better bikes because of the quality kids bikes Isla made and sold.

 

[MichaelW2]

According to Isla Roundtree.. a lot of bike companies stepped up to make much better bikes because of the quality kids bikes Isla made and sold.

Her business model was a Dragon's Den nightmare. What stops other bicycle companies making high quality children's bicycles at lower cost?
Nothing.
Even if the Big Brand product is not as good, most buyers probably can't even tell.

 

[ianrauk]

Her business model was a Dragon's Den nightmare. What stops other bicycle companies making high quality children's bicycles at lower cost?
Nothing.
Even if the Big Brand product is not as good, most buyers probably can't even tell.

Indeed. Other companies saw how successfull she was and jumped on the bandwagon.

 

[yello]

I didn't realise Islabikes had gone.

Me neither. That's a real shame. I had a job interview there once (it was local to me at the time) and got to have a look around. I didn't get the job but liked the place, I could see myself working there.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

My wife sent something back to Wiggle 10 days ago. Thanks to Yodel it only arrived yesterday. Today she got an email saying Wiggle had issued the refund so it seems that they are operating as normal whilst the administrators try to find a buyer.Still, it would put me off ma any significant purchase from them at present.

 

[oldwheels]

My grandchildren had Frog bikes as that is what the local retailer in Oban stocked. Seemed pretty good and they were eventually sold on for a good price.

 

[mustang1]

The rumours/stories about wiggles and CRC going into administration, along with increasingly frequent posts about bad customer service or packages not arriving makes today's story not too much of a surprise.

But still sad news. Like many of you, I used wiggles from the early days and they have always been fantastic.

 

[Fastpedaller]

I always found CRC to be good, in fact so good it was maybe to their detriment?..... Let me explain....... I bought 2 MTB rims from CRC which I had hanging from a hook for some 8 months. I then decided I didn't want to keep the MTB I had, and noticed CRC had a 'return within 365 days' policy, so I took advantage of it! Outstanding customer service, and it would appear maybe not good from a profit-point -of -view? Maybe many factors (including stock (non) availability during and since covid have been key (as for a lot of struggling businesses)

 

[craigwend]

https://news.sky.com/story/frasers-looks-to-ride-to-rescue-of-online-bike-retailer-wiggle-12994213

@Kell did you put this in 'folding bikes' as a pun? Or....