Cycle clothing brand Vulpine is "insolvent" and enters administration

I feel sorry that a company with commuter oriented cyclewear has shut down. But even more sorry that there aren't many if any commuter cyclewear companies with reasonably priced products. Yes the lycra lovers have sports direct, aldi etc but if you want a low cost waterproof breathable jacket that will not reveal your taste in boxers and not look like a MAMiL, you are out of options.

Guess they just didn't turn over goods fast enough, so they had this sale with about 2/3 off. Made me wondering who would buy at full price. Value was ok while on sale otherwise - 105 quid for a jersey with nothing special - apart from the Hoy name?

I know Nick was a regular reader of Road.cc so I wish him the best of luck with whatever he chooses to do in the future.

Think it's a real shame they've gone under - and from the info in the article - looks like the vultures are circling.  I have lots of their kit - been buying it since the start (near enough) - and I really love it ... although I always bought it in their sales as the standard pricing was high.  I remember when I got my first jacket and showed it to "the purchasing committe chairwoman" she approved and said "it doesnt look like a cycling jacket, it looks really good". I liked Vulpine's overall commitment to cycling which I do think was genuine. The designs vary, some are really excellent IMHO ( I'm not in Shoreditch - but in the North of Scotland and my commute is a 46 mile round trip on A roads - and for rain, the Vulpine jacket is my jacket of choice). Had some minor quality issues and had one pocket stitching come loose and a hole come through on an Alpine Jersey ( and I got the "overloaded pockets" line - and no it was never overloaded ).  Also had dissapointing buying experience when I bought a cycling jacket online for my wife (who was delighted) ... then a couple of days later I got told they didn't have it and that was that (so why take the order ?) so the Mrs wasn't well pleased   I did check out the crowdfunding thing last year but didn't like the content of the prospectus as it seemed to focus on an exit strategy of selling the brand to Adidas or someone like that and going just for high end market.  Was surprised to get that "Vulpine advert mag" a few weeks back - although it was nice enough I really thought what a waste of money this is ... this is a tiny marketplace ... I also thought it strange that it tried to push their own high-end custom-ish bikes.  Anyway, real shame in my opinion. I wish Nick and all at Vulpine the very best for the future.  

Shame. Decent guys and doing something genuinely different (and really good quality).

Guess being the interesting outsider is always a risk though.

I've only bought one Vulpine item (a cap) cos most of it is too expensive for my pay packet, but I had to arrange to replace it for a different size (my mistake, not theirs). Their customer service was absolutely great and totally beyond reproach. I guess great customer service just doesn't pay the bills...

I'm very sorry to hear this.  An interesting company, which Nick has put his heart and soul into.  I have some of their merino stuff and a couple of jackets, their stuff is good and customer service excellent.

In the end I'm a Roady, so I don't really need urban cycling stuff, which is maybe a niche to far.  Their is plenty of disposable income for Roady gear, and maybe Hoy-Vulpne wasn't compelling enough against the likes of Castelli.

Still a great shame, and I wish them all the very best

Yes, certainly a shame when companies like this go under.  I had a few items (merino hoodie, primaloft gilet, winter cap (matches the gilet) and softshell gloves).  All are great quality, all were too expensive at RRP so all were bought in theIreland numerous sales at massive discounts.  I do like the fact that all the items are truly dual purpose  (i. e. Work very well on and off the bike).  Have been eyeing up a Deluge waterproof jacket in Dutch orange for ages,  again due to looking good for multi-use, so may now end getting one in a future fire sale.  It will be a real shame if their designs totally disappear as for the most part they worked well....very sad.

Sadly said before but:

I ordered a load of stuff in their last sale - was very keen on getting a nice smart jacket, and loved the look of the merino jerseys. Also ordered some capri trousers and shorts.

The capris and shorts are a perfect fit, and great for cycling to the pub and still looking great. I was wearing the padded merino boy shorts under my jeans while out on the piss last night. I'm after the trousers too. 

However, nothing for my upper body fitted - there was no room for boobage at all. Female friends reported the same. It's sad, as the jacket and jerseys were lovely. This appears to have been the case for years and years - I tried on a friend's jacket about five years ago when I was so skinny, I was flat chested, and it still had no boob room. Other female friends had the same experience.

If they had sorted out the boob issue years ago, perhaps it would have made a difference? 

They were great about the returns though.

Shame, liked a lot of their products and my Hoy winter (long) tights are great.  I do try and do the 'bike to office' clothes approach but, to be honest, I don't see many others doing it so the market is pretty small.

I aways checked Vulpine stuff out and checked out Rapha stuff at the same time.

Let's just say I have over 20 items of Rapha clothing and zero Vulpine.

I wanted more daring road stuff and not commuter stuff. The Hoy Vulpine gear looked OK but it lacked something.

Rapha and Morvelo for me moving forward.

I'm one of the unfortunate 588 investors in Vulpine.

I would vent my spleen on the investors forum but Nick Hussey had that shut down on Friday afternoon so I've got to do it here - I hope he's reading.

He may have created nice gear and have been passionate about his product, and cycling in general , but I feel that he's not been quite as honest and transparent as he would have us believe.

He's taken less than two years to squander the money I gave him during the first round of crowd funding and he then had the nerve to come to me again to ask for more with exactly the same pitch as the first time - Adidas and Nike are knocking at the door, in five years time we'll all be cycle clothing fat cats.  Whilst telling me this he knows that the company is going down the tubes.

Just a couple of months ago the company celebrated it's fifth birthday and Mr and Mrs Hussey rewarded themselves with two bespoke bicycles, some of which was paid for by me and the other 587. Can I have yours Nick? It won't cover my lost investment but it would make me feel better.

Rant over.

Talked to a newish staff member today. The small business  worked well and when they got the cash and doubled the workforce, ordered the stock the numbers were never correct.  Nick stepped down from day to day at this point also

There is a load of stock ready with no cash to pay the final installment.

Sad for a cool company 

582 people just lost their holiday fund thru mismanagement

https://www.crowdcube.com/investment/vulpine-19885

http://fantasyequitycrowdfunding.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=+vulpine

the truth is in their 2016 accounts. prokected loss of 224 k.

FILED losses of 770k on a turnover of 1.3 million.

How is that even possible!

I'm another investor, who's lost a couple of hundred quid. Only invested as I always felt that it was worth a small gamble on a company and products that I really liked. Aways felt Nick was really passionate about the company, product and cycling in general, so was happy with any risk. 

To be honest I feel more sorry for Nick than I do for myself.  I haven't lost much and I really like the Vulpne kit I've got. More sorry that I maybe won't be able to buy any more in the future.

Not sure whether I've been conned, but in the recent video featuring Nick and his Wife, they stated that she had given up her job in the television industry to help run part of the company so I kind of thought that the business was set for growth this year. In any small business cashflow is always a major issue and it looks like this was partly the case hear. The problems last year burnt a lot of the investors cash. The wholesale route they took was clearly a major mistake and meant the money they had couldn't be used where it was really needed, in creating new markets abroad and paying for new season stock without being on the brink of running out of money.

I've also just bought a Harrington Jacket in two sizes, the small one I want to keep -The other, it looks like I'm stuck with, as now the companies in Administration I don't think they will except any returns. Maybe I'll keep it for when I get old and fat. 

I lost money too and I don't share many of these kind words. Business is first and foremost about controlling your costs and making a profit; it's not meaningless word porridge about 'joy' and 'highly technical.' When that absurd 'magazine' dropped through my door my blood ran cold. Here was a company without two cents to its name wasting money on some fluff extolling the virtues of a bike he bought for his wife. Give me strength. Luckily I can afford to lose the money I 'invested' - I hope others in the same boat can afford to do the same. It's taught me one hard lesson though - I won't be 'investing' through crowd funding again. I bought a few items and I liked them but jeans for £160? Come on! The trouble with a 'life-style' brand is that his life-style is funded with other people's money. 

Pretty low post counts for the people singing this guy's praises. Hmmm...

Personally I've admiration for getting the thing off the ground but clearly the last business moves seem shady and lacking in morals.

I've got a good bit of Vulpine stuff. Jerseys, jackets (2), t-shirts and (casual, not bib) shorts. I was into Vulpine cause of wool. I don't like wearing petroleum - unsustainable. Vulpine were one of the few still making woolen jerseys.

The jerseys were mostly good. Unusual, but nice cut - though fairly short sleeves. The pockets were a bit unusual in shape. Small, but well stitched. Helps discourage overloading that inevitably will tear wool apart I guess.

I guess I'll be going to https://cimacoppi.cc/ for jerseys from now on. More traditional cut. Heavier grade of wool in the jersey I have. Which I guess is sturdier, but you do feel it a bit more.

The Vulpine wool t-shirt is lovely, and I regularly wear it. The epic cotton cycling rain jacket I bought had some quality issues, but I bought it in a sample sale - they fixed it. Was good for heavier rain commutes, providing a bit of a barrier against the rain while still being a bit breathable - not completely waterproof, but that's the trade-off with breathability one has to make.

The epic cotton Harrington jacket is lovely and my favourite casual jacket.

The casual shorts, with diamond gusset for casual cycling, are also nice and a staple in warmer weather. Though, they are a tight fit on my legs. Luckily, they have some lycra for stretchiness.

I really liked Vulpine, but I have to say they seemed to be spreading themselves thin. They had this huge selection of things, a lot of which wasn't relevant to me, or else eye-wateringly expensive. You couldn't rely on them for staples either, e.g. wool wears fairly quickly (polyester physically lasts, but OTOH gets dreadful perma-stink within a few rides for me). I could never rely on Vulpine to have short-sleeve jerseys in stock though. Bit hit and miss (which is how I ended up discovering Cima Coppi).

Also, the regular clearance/sample sales undermined their RRP. Nearly all the stuff I bought - the jackets particularly - was in sample sales. I did buy some stuff at higher prices in years past, but the last while I knew to just wait for the next sale.

I'm very sad for the Vulpine crew. They must be gutted. Though, I note the questions being asked by some others in comments.

Ah well, Cima Coppi it is then. (And, to be fair, they seem much more focused).

It's a shame to see a British business go down the pan.

The gear was not my cup of tea, but I totally brought into Nick, his social marketing and use of media contacts has been consistantly excellent throughout the life of the business.

I feel sorry for the recent crowdfunder backers, that's got to sting! Think you're buying into someones heart and soul to help them grow, only to find out that it was precarious situation and that you've just given them a  bucket to bail out water with.

Fixie, do please continue to keep us updated on this , many thanks!

@Fixie Girl

Hi there, 

In case you’re wondering where some of your comments on this story have gone - we’ve deleted them to save you from the real risk of being sued for slander. 

Not sure how it works over there in Portland but over here if you call someone a crook you generally need to be able to back the assertion up with something more than your “Spidey Sense”. 

As for the rumours circulating in Portland - we’ve asked around and they would appear to have no basis in fact.

At least one member of the road.cc team invested money in Vulpine, we’ve been reviewing their kit since they launched, and from time to time they’ve advertised on the site - generally we like their stuff. 

Our hope is that the company will emerge from administration in some form, ideally with all or most of its workforce intact. 

Don’t know how likely that is to happen, but I do know that personal abuse and unfounded rumours from someone who seems to be neither a Vulpine customer, investor or employee is unlikely to do much to help that positive outcome become a reality - the personal abuse bit also breaks our site T&Cs.

Tony,
road.cc editor