Canyon’s sales in the first nine months of 2025 were down seven per cent on the same period last year, the direct-to-consumer bike brand admitting that issues with oversupply, heavy discounting, US tariffs and a battery recall in one of its e-mountain bikes that cost “a double-digit million amount” have all contributed to a “challenging” financial picture.
Founder Roman Arnold returned to the business earlier this year to try to get Canyon back on track and the bike brand confirmed to road.cc that it is undertaking a “comprehensive review of its product portfolio and the implementation of efficiency measures” to “enhance performance”.
The investment company which owns a majority share in Canyon, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), this month published its financial results for the first nine months of 2025, including comparisons with the same period last year.
Canyon’s sales for the first nine months of the year were €611m (£538m), compared with €650m (£572m) in the first nine months of last year, a drop of seven per cent. This comes just months on from the company reporting a £32m loss for 2024, GBL also saying the value of the shares in the business it bought back in 2020 are now worth 35 per cent less, and 43 per cent less than in 2023.
Parent company GBL puts this down to the “ongoing challenging market environment” of the bike industry and references “oversupply” issues and “aggressive discounting”, firmly suggesting Canyon’s predicament is like many companies across the industry who have been struggling with inventory woes since the pandemic, sparking a cycle of sales and discounted bikes to simply shift old stock from warehouses.
When asked by road.cc what is meant by “efficiency measures”, a Canyon spokesperson said it is a return to “serving our customers with excellent quality, best-in-class products with a reputation for innovation, performance, reliability and outstanding price-performance, made possible through efficient, effective processes and our direct-to-consumer business model”.
“Our future success will come from making processes more efficient and agile, creating space for investments in innovation and customer experiences, and the discipline to focus on the initiatives that create long-term value for Canyon customers,” they added.
“GBL’s figures according to IFRS accounting standards are heavily influenced by acquisition costs. Our operating performance is significantly stronger than the IFRS result reflects. Since 2023, we have reduced our inventories by more than €140 million, thereby significantly improving cash flow. Debt has fallen significantly. The equity ratio of 60 per cent is solid and provides a basis for sustainable investment. Although profits are not as high as planned, we are still posting a respectable pre-tax result on an EBITDA basis.”
While there is bullishness from Canyon, GBL says the financial performance was impacted by “ongoing challenging market environment marked by oversupply and aggressive discounting, especially in electric and non-electric mountain and urban bikes”.
The European market was described as “resilient”, the group’s largest market by far, but there was an acknowledgement demand in the US has softened amid “tariff uncertainty”.
Elsewhere, a 2024 recall of selected electric mountain bike models “weighed on performance”, founder Arnold having previously put the cost of this recall at “a double-digit million amount”.
“Canyon is pursuing several initiatives to enhance performance, including a comprehensive review of its product portfolio and the implementation of efficiency measures,” GBL stated. “In parallel, Canyon is driving key strategic initiatives, including strengthening its omnichannel presence to bring the brand closer to riders, as showcased by the recently opened flagship store in Munich.”
In June, GBL, who bought just over 50 per cent of the business in 2020 for €400 million (£337m), said its shares are now worth 43 per cent less than in 2023 and 35 per cent less than what they invested five years ago.
Founder Arnold is back in charge and looking to improve the business’s fortunes. Speaking to RND from Germany earlier this month he called Canyon his “life’s work” and said he “felt the desire to take on responsibility myself again, instead of just giving advice from the sidelines”.
15 thoughts on “Canyon sales fall by £34m with “efficiency measures” now underway, months after parent company reduced bike brand’s valuation by 43%”
I had a new Canyon Endurace
I had a new Canyon Endurace with the recalled dt swiss wheels and canyon made sure I knew it was a me problem and I was expected to deal with dt swiss myself which would have meant no wheels on a new bike for months. It was within the 30 day retrun period so i r it as quck as I could. It was my 3rd Canyon but there will never be another one.
I think the shine has come
I think the shine has come off the direct to consumer bike buying experience. Plus they’re not much cheaper considering they ‘cut out the middleman’.
Canyon are exposed.
Brick and mortars are falling
Brick and mortars are falling even further than direct to consumer. I wish that weren’t true but that’s reality.
You’re right bike shops are
You’re right bike shops are closing , a lot of that is due to a broken distribution model and crazy amounts paid to ride to work middle men.
A lot of bike shops took care of the DT wheel recall for Canyon customers.
Echo wrote:
Got some evidence for that? When I last bought a bike on C2W, Sigma charged a premium on my on-sale bike, because otherwise they got nothing. Fair enough. How does this mythical ‘middle man’ (male, for sure?) make money?
Assuming “ride to work middle
Assuming “ride to work middle men” simply translates as “cycle to work scheme providers”, then have you not just answered your own question – the scheme provider charges a substantial commission (up to 15%), which gets paid by the retailer. Thus retailers either take a big hit on their profit margin, or add an additional premium to the sale price. Either way, the scheme provider gets a big chunk of money for doing basically fuck all.
Nicely put! I’ve had all of
Nicely put! I’ve had all of my bikes on C2W & learned that the local store was losing 10% to the scheme. Best I could do was return to buy some other accessories, as the unintended “middle man”, but still made me question why the scheme takes such a sizable chunk.
It’s getting harder to find a local bike shop these days. Canyon seemed so affordable 4 years ago, now I look & if I want anything “mid-range” you’ve gotta spend £4k (give or take a grand) , made me question why I’m still spending this amount when I have a motorbike licence…. That for me, is why Canyon’s sales are declining
Okay Halfords will take 66%
Okay Halfords will take 66% of the shops profit on an Amflow and 50% on a Brompton or any Specialized e bike.
Halfords are the most
Halfords are the most expensive to shops
The supplier of the voucher
The supplier of the voucher gets 15% of the total ,thats why in any bike to work scheme you always say full RRP
Quote:
So not efficiency of language then?
My other half has been trying
My other half has been trying to buy a Canyon for months but they have had no stock of small sizes in the model she wants…….
Maybe that’s why they’re
Maybe that’s why they’re losing money – they can’t fulfil demand? Their current ‘black friday’ sale is full of bikes for giants (sic)
I’ve no idea the appeal of
I’ve no idea the appeal of Canyons ,ive seen enough of them new out the box with issues .no brakes being the m9st popular defect since they went direct to consumer .
And their stupid headset configuration is tge main reason I would never own 1 .Having a single point of failure on a steerer is beyond dumb .Its the most expensive headset to do bearings in my workshop too .Like most propriety stuff its totally pointless
It’s simple and the opposite
It’s simple and the opposite situation as they thought, they cut off the entry level line up is the main reason causing decline…
1.I love to buy a Canyon Aeroad?, but I just don’t need anything beyond mechanical 105, not everyone want a expensive bike and most of them just don’t, even I already got Propel and TCR for years, when I switch to Canyon Aeroad a mechanical 105 is good enough for me, it’s good enough for amateur to enjoy riding or even race day.
2. No entry level bike = hard to expand and develop new rider = no new customers shows up in this market = no sales.
How does canyon expect new rider are going to consider e shift 105 or even CFR when they got cheaper good enough choice from other brand.
How many CFR does canyon think a CFR owner want to buy ?
3. Don’t play the paint job game? why use paint job to separate a CF and CFR, and try to force people to buy a more expensive model, Just give the best paint job to all model, canyon already got custom paint service. Specially for cheap model buyer, they won’t magically rise the budget because of the not ideal paint job, so why not give it to them every one happy. And it doesn’t affect the Custom paint job service target market, it is for the high-end model owner .
Simple logic