Planet X is reported to have made almost half of its staff redundant. The Yorkshire firm, which designs and builds Planet X, On-One and Titus products, says it is restructuring to become sufficiently flexible to meet future surges in demand.
BikeBiz has suggested that Brexit was being blamed for the redundancies, but Planet X founder and CEO Dave Loughran said this was not the case.
A spokesman said: “After 28 years we are still founder and enthusiast owned. As such, we have no external pressure to deliver huge profits for shareholders. Our passion and reputation for designing and manufacturing performance products at great value sets us apart.
“This passion and reputation continues to grow. In fact this past year has seen sales at record highs, coupled with the spikes generated by our notorious sales, we were acutely aware that our operational capability was not flexible enough to cope with such surges in demand.”
The firm will therefore be making use of Abbey Personnel Services, a Selby-based recruitment specialist. It says this will allow for greater flexibility while reducing fixed costs.
The firm has recently added former World Triathlon Champion Spencer Smith to its design team and says a new line-up of bikes, clothing and accessories is on the way.
55 thoughts on “Planet X makes significant redundancies – says it is looking to become a more flexible business”
So they’re essentially
So they’re essentially farming out employment to an agency and therefore avoid some employer responsibilities.
I’ve worked for a number of these agencies, they do very well out of it. The loser is the employee.
Considering their business
Considering their business model of buying everything in from abroad and selling it cheap I imagine they’ve taken a beating with the recent devaluation of the £.
DrG82 wrote:
That’s sort of the business model of 90% of UK retail business.
Wouldn’t be surprised if
Wouldn’t be surprised if Brexit is the real cause, it’s just that any company who says so gets shouted down these days. If Unilever had to backtrack for putting its head above the parapet then a company a hundredth of the size has no chance.
I’m with Greg on this one, they are simply reducing costs by using agency labour. Some of their stuff is so cheap I guess they have to do what they have to do …..
“More flexible” = we will be
“More flexible” = we will be sacking and rehiring, then treating our workers like sh*t.
Sports Direct had a similar attitude.
And this is an industry that is still booming, is this the best we can do as a country?
Next up will be news of
Next up will be news of egregious tax avoidance or even evasion.
Ah, zero hours contracts then
Ah, zero hours contracts then? Or just minimum wage with minimal benefits?
I have steadily decreasing
I have steadily decreasing respect for this company, and this has taken a big chunk out of it. I think it was Dave Loughran who said he modelled their fake sales on Mike Ashley and Sports Direct, and it seems they’ve been inspired by some of their employment practices as well.
Poor employees.
Hated agency work. Always had
Hated agency work. Always had it in my mind that 10 minutes of every hour worked was going to support a recruiter. Enough to make you feel a bit stabby.
Disappointing. As others have
Disappointing. As others have said, looks like a move to zero hours contracts and “flexible” working practices.
I don’t know how many other companies I have or do purchase from use this (there’s probably a list out there somewhere) but it certainly colours my opinion of them as a company/owner. Enough to not purchase from them again.
bjeato wrote:
It’s the problem with such employment practices, along with interesting arrangements for corporation tax they’re contagious. Once a company has competitors that adopt them, they’re under commercial pressure to do the same.
Flexibility and zero hours is actually something I’m OK with as a principle. What I’m not OK with, is its use as a way to avoid basic employment rights.
Ah well, that’s them off my
Ah well, that’s them off my list. Shame, as I’ve liked their bikes and approach (until now)
kil0ran wrote:
Same here. Have been mulling over a flat bar conversion of the XLS as a quick commuter bike. But this is pretty shabby.
I’d always seen them as
I’d always seen them as rebellious, anti-industry (Pompino, Kaffenback, Dirty Disco et al) but this just makes the yet another exploiting employer. Staff being punished for success and hard work…
Have they asked the
Have they asked the government for the same deal Nissan got? The one the government won’t tell us about? The one that will cost tax-payers billions over the next twenty years?
I’ve bought from them before,
I’ve bought from them before, not any more. On-One can do one.
I have a Planet X track bike
I have a Planet X track bike and have bought from them regularly over the years. I know they import nearly all of what they sell but I liked the idea of supporting a UK business smaller than the online giants. Not any more.
Do you people saying that you
Do you people saying that you will stop using them realise that you are putting the future of the remaining staff at risk?
Welsh boy wrote:
Play that back to yourself.
A successful British bike firm, during peak bike years, slashes its workforce to be ‘more flexible’.
Some disgusted customers say they won’t buy from the firm again.
You blame the customers for putting remaining employees at risk.
Hello, Mike Ashley.
davel wrote:
It would be better to write to them too, telling them why you’re withdrawing your custom. Otherwise all they see is a loss of business and may seek to respond by cutting more cost (workers) or having more short-term promotions that don’t help sustain permanent jobs.
I agree, a pro carbon
I agree, a pro carbon previously looked attractive – not anymore….
A suggestion though, writing to them direct will make a much bigger point than comments here.
Ribble though is now worth a look – assuming they are aren’t jobsworths as well?
And so Italian online bike
And so Italian online bike retailer ‘Pianeta X’ buy up a warehouse of new old stock from northern England …
Seriously though, that’s rotten for all concerned. Hope they can turn it around, but it won’t be easy in the current and what could well be future climate.
Sounds a bit like WiggleCRC
Sounds a bit like WiggleCRC then ! So why don’t you give them the same flak ?
Well; so the buy’em for naff
Well; so the buy’em for naff all sell’em for substantially more model is screwed. For companies like planetx/ribble it’ll be a race to the bottom. First to suffer will be the staff, after that, maybe the customers – short term staff paid naff all, tend not to.be invested in the future of their employers. They’re normally looking for a better paid future role.
Buying direct maybe the ‘future’, for many of us.
Based on the other comments,
Based on the other comments, all those saying they won’t use them again, can you also tell us that you voted remain?!
funny world, looks like we are all going to be a lot worse off based on a vote that was irregular in that for a referendum to be a mandate I thought you needed two thirds majority not a straight 50:50. Based on the need to have a clear majority of all the people not just those sensible enough to vote or some such?
wonder how bad it has to get before the politicians reverse the decision?
Anyway my point is get off your high horse, hate what is happening but I won’t destroy the rest of their employees prospects by buying from others who are just as bad.
Asking people to get off
Asking people to get off their high horse,
from a high horse.
I’ve always found Planet-X to
I’ve always found Planet-X to offer shoddy goods and a pretty poor service.
I’ve had items arrive poorly packed, obviously damaged by the goons who work at their Warehouse, not in transit. I recently ordered a pair of wheels, only to receive 2 rear wheels instead! And that was before Brexit!!
Whilst I feel bad for anyone losing their job (been there myself a few times), any company that operates on a “stack ’em high, sell ’em cheap” business plan is going to fall victim to fluctuations in the Markets at some point. The better led of these ride the storm… I fear Planet X are going to flounder at sea seeing as the only way forwards they can see is employing agency staff, who are not going to care if the cheaply made tat they import from China is damaged at the warehouse or packed and shipped properly…
I wont be spending my hard earned cash with this second rate company again.
Why the hate for Planet X? I
Why the hate for Planet X? I’ve never had a single problem with them or anything they sell.
There is no doubt Brexit
There is no doubt Brexit impacts Planet X as of course most things are imported to build the bikes.
I would hate to see the prices of the 2017 new model bikes and of course most components are imported that we use. Even the likes of Wiggle have to be affected, very little of their ranges they sell will be home made.
Thanks to the idiots who voted out of the EU this country will become very significantly poorer, well done.
ianrobo wrote:
Oh do shut up you moaning cunt
Road.cc missed a trick,
Road.cc missed a trick, Clickbait title:
Planet X sacks staff and Hires Doper
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/features/spencer.html
Regardless of your opinion of
Regardless of your opinion of the “well informed, well-educated people of Britain who voted to leave the stranglehold of our European ‘friends'”, since the Brexit vote the pound has got substantially weaker against the dollar and other non-European currencies.
So our heavy reliance on importing things from other countries is going to cost us more, relatively speaking. We can’t just sulk and say “well we’re not going to pay more”, like Tesco did, without those costs being absorbed somewhere.
In the short term, that means wages will fall and working conditions will get worse like for the guys at Planet X who, the article implies, will shortly be on zero-hours agency contracts. In the medium term, it means businesses will close and people will lose jobs.
In the long term, perhaps one day, we might Take Back Control, Make Britain Great Again, Reclaim Our Empire and all that other rhetoric, and actually start making stuff with our own materials and our own staff and our own resources and fund it with our own money, and maybe even sell it to the world if it’s any good, but for now we’re screwed for a while, and we did it to ourselves.
Actually agree that the EU is
Actually agree that the EU is building an Empire. Of a sort previously unseen in history though. It’s laying a framework that would make the transfer to a more socialistic, automated, way of life quite smooth.
The EU itself, as a framework is quite impressive. Just it’s corrupted by the same sort of people who corrupt the fabric of the UK. In out, no difference there. No matter what system you set up, it will always be manipulated to benefit the few.
Going to be like this until the majority of people want and understand socialism.
The word still strikes fear into the average citizen. They think you can’t have a nice car or skiing holidays all up in your Moncler
In the future it will simply mean levelling the playing field with wage ratios, job-sharing etc. More time off, less workload. Quality of production and workers having vested interests in that productivity outside of the pay packet.
Drink all the champagne you want, but it’ll be cheaper and your neighbours will be able to afford it too, so you can’t look down on them. Think I can live with that.
Unconstituted, I agree with
Unconstituted, I agree with your sentiments completely.
I’m a Socialist. Paid up member of the Labour Party too. I’m not totally against the EU (in fact, I was initially, a reluctant Brexiter!). However, people’s attitudes since the referendum have hardened my responses at times… The World should not be seen in a stark Black and White contrast. Life’s very shadey and grey sometimes.
In an ideal World, we’d all live lives’ of plenty, no wars, disharmony or fear. One day, humanity will achieve that. Unfortunately, I can’t see the present, unreformable EU structure leading the peoples of Europe to that Nirvana. As with most things in life, the EU was a great idea in principle, in reality, power corrupts and Man’s inate ambition rules over common sense.
Hopefully, Britain’s Brexit vote will get them to look deeply within themselves before other EU states (France, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden etc.) choose to slam the door closed on their way out too. Time will tell.
I’m good with that. Actually
I’m good with that. Actually if I was handed a dictatorship of the EU I’d break it up, entirely. And start again from the ground up. It would be far more technological and democratic. Just one of many ideas would be that people would have EU apps they could vote from on issues, as a guidance, at least. Issue mandates, and keep in track of daily goings on. People would feel a part of it. I’d also have water-tight rules on lobbying and the membership of boards.
Anyway, expect a lot of EU chat on boths sides of the net today over this court ruling 😀
Rhetoric or not Pierre
Rhetoric or not Pierre (Reclaiming our Empire? If there’s any Empire building going on in the World today it’s being done by the EU!), Britain’s future place in the World will depend upon innovation, ambition, drive and a ‘can do’ attitude. The relative lack of strength in Sterling can only be good for Britain’s trade and Exports. I have very little time for companies who operate on low margins, or who treat their employees like commodities (Planet X, are you listening?!).
Things may well cost us more in the short term, I for one, am willing to succumb to short-termist cost increases in certain areas (imported goods), if it means the UK can set it’s own agenda in the World. I’m pretty sure sterling will rebound at some point.
Remoaners are a bunch of doom and gloom mongers, who can’t wait to see Britain fail so they can say “we told you so!” Pathetic!
Thanks to the idiots who
“Thanks to the idiots who voted out of the EU this country will become very significantly poorer, well done.”
Oh dear, yet another Remoaner blaming the well informed, well-educated people of Britain who voted to leave the stranglehold of our European ‘friends’ for the mismanagement of British Industry. When will you bunch of cry babies finally belt up?
Oh, and can you actually back up your misjudged outburst with actual facts, or do you have a Crystal Ball ianrobo?
SteveJ72 wrote:
The majority voted to leave, that’s done an dusted – but “well informed, well educated”… seriously ?
fukawitribe wrote:
“Thanks to the idiots who voted out of the EU this country will become very significantly poorer, well done.”
Oh dear, yet another Remoaner blaming the well informed, well-educated people of Britain who voted to leave the stranglehold of our European ‘friends’— fukawitribe
The majority voted to leave, that’s done an dusted – but “well informed, well educated”… seriously ?
— SteveJ72
Yeah, how’s that £350m a week back into the NHS working out for you “well informed, well educated” people then?
SteveJ72 wrote:
Oh so petrol UP, APPLE products UP, FOOD UP
the pound 15% DOW
these are facts, I know for some facts don’t matter now but you would have to be very stupid to say negative impact from a 15% or more devaultion of the currency in a matter of weeks.
You know that Shimano, Campag or SRAM stuff you have to replace, guess what if new stocks have to be imported will cost more.
Tell me the benefit of leaving the EU to a cyclist then whose most kit is imported ?
ianrobo wrote:
Those sort of stats don’t prove anything. Petrol was up to over £1.40 a litre before Brexit. The markets have shit themselves outside of Brexit. And Apple products……please. Those robbing twats will seize any opportunity to ram prices up. See if the price goes down when the exchange rate goes back up.
Yorkshire wallet wrote:
I’m glad I’m not the only one to share such sentiments. The world’s most valuable company and still the sheeple queue up to buy each and every ‘latest’ model they churn out. Vaguely depressing really if you think about it.
guyrwood wrote:
so instead of Apple subsitute any of these
Sony
Samsung
Phillips
BMW
Mercedes
Ford
Lenovo
HP
Specialised
Trek
Giant
Focus
BMC
Shimano
Castelli
Campag
Sportful
need I go on ?
Good god Steve, don’t start
Good god Steve, don’t start with your oh so intelligent puns on the word remain.
Give it ten posts and you’ll be banging on about poppies, stolen jobs and using;;;;;;; biffer punchooachun;;;;
so devalutation means nothing
so devalutation means nothing when importing, oh dear me no wonder this country is like this now simple economics dont apply anymore.
It’s never been the same for
It’s never been the same for workers since 1984 when we lost the miners strike, fighting for jobs. Since then unions have become ineffective. Cheap labour is abhorrent and totally wrong. Prime example Philip Green robbing worker pensions.
I appreciate it’s difficult for businesses to compete with other countries who practically use their workers as slaves, producing cheap goods.
There is no answer to sort this, the fat cats will always feed off the backs of the working classes. I would imagine that Brexit won’t help industrial relations between employers and employees either.
I bought a bike from Planet X and I am well happy with my Ti bike.
I feel sorry for young people who are exploited by employers
Jimnm wrote:
There are some answers…
For example, more parity between top and bottom employee pay, an EU-wide policy on funnelling sales through subsidiaries based in lower tax regimes.
Most of the time there isn’t the will to put these ideas into practice. Even when there is the will, the implementation of them is so ham-fisted they’re wasted (see Apple anti-competition case).
Politicians, eh.
I think it must be hard to do
I think it must be hard to do what px do, compete on price with big brands and much bigger retailers.
No way am I condoning their apparent new business model, it seems shitty. But most of the ethical small brands I can think of are in the high end of their market and charging top whack…
I’ve never been quite sure how planet x managed to sell their stuff so cheaply.
pretty cool brand, for
pretty cool brand, for mountain, cross and road – sad to see them struggling
lets face it, outside of specialist boutique brands like shand, pretty rare to see uk marques on the road these days
planext x, boardman, dolan, merlin… dawes… i’m struggling
On a more mundane level what
On a more mundane level what the hell are Planet X playing at with their pricing ?
Their (nearly 10 year old|) StealthTT frameset which has been offered regularly @ £399 is now advertised @ £799. Do they think we are stupid? I just can’t take these people seriously at all.
Not bought from them in a long time after a tedious refund experience.Too many shabby antics going on to want to go there with my money again.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRPXPCTTFF/planet-x-stealth-pro-carbon-time-trial-frameset
Some of you guys make me
Some of you guys make me laugh. Happy enough to spend £1000’s on the latest 11 speed equipped carbon super bike/bits but the thought of having to spend a just a little bit more…
We’ll just have to agree to disagree. I wouldn’t stoop low enough to start calling Remoaners uneducated idiots but understand that throwing a child-like tantrum seems to be par for the course in their selfish, “me, me, me” view of the World.
Much as I’d like to blame
Much as I’d like to blame this on the Brexit vote and devaluation, I think the comment about PX pricing is the real reason here.
PX have given themselves a brand image as the Sports Direct of the cycling world where there is always a sale on, you can buy their own brands that nobody else sells at 70% off (a massively inflated RRP), and when one offer finishes the next one starts in a week or so. So nobody with any sense buys anything unless it’s really discounted. This in turn creates huge peaks and troughs in demand. So a flexible staffing model is the only way to cope.
I don’t believe they are really in trouble, they’ve just moved into a huge warehouse and the fact they’ve had problems with backlogs suggest the orders have been strong at times. But I do believe the obvious admiration for Mike Ashley has resulted in a race to the bottom for quality, marketing, ethics. And I also think they run they are likely to be the first company in trouble if/when cycling stops growing in popularity, as the model relies on having a pool of people who aren’t wise to their tactics.
Had Planet X been based in
Had Planet X been based in China would anyone give a thought to workers there?
Apparantely the Amazon workforce are grossly exploited too!
It’s a fact that business has no sentiment, sad but true.
The likes of Sir Philip Green the pension snatcher rule.
Just bought a stealth TT bike
Just bought a stealth TT bike with full carbon bars, trimax wheels and sram force with half the profit going to 72nd sheffield scouts. £1275.
I for one am pleased to buy from them.