After news of US-based power meter and indoor bike brand Stages Cycling apparently ceasing its operations and laying off all of its staff yesterday, it is now being reported that Taiwanese bike manufacturer Giant Bicycles is suing Stages for £11 million worth of unpaid invoices, with four former top executives from Stages also having joined Giant.
Reports about Stages’ apparent shutdown of operations was first reported by Escape Collective two days ago. Yesterday, road.cc reported that the company’s UK distributor has confirmed that it will cover future warranty claims for any UK customers.
Giant, one of the biggest cycling manufacturers in the world, also manufactures many Stages products in Taiwan. Last January, it had announced that it had agreed to acquire a share in Stages for more than $20 million. However, a few months later, it was reported that Giant ended negotiations with the Oregon-based brand.
Bicycle Retailer reports that AIPS (Advanced Intelligent Perpetual Solutions), a Giant subsidiary established in 2020 to develop and manufacture cycling technology including power meters, filed a lawsuit against Stages in Oregon on 12 February, alleging Stages had 161 unpaid invoices that had come due between June 2022 and January 2024.
The total amount of the invoice is reported to be NT$454 million, or £11.1 million, and are attributed for power meters, exercise bikes, other products and parts, and storage and shipping fees. The complaint says that Giant also has produced and is storing products that Stages ordered valued at another £5.4 million.
In the lawsuit, Giant’s complaint against Stages also names Foundation, the Portland, Oregon-based company that launched Stages, as a defendant, and indicates that Stages Cycling LLC remains a subsidiary of Foundation. Stages and Foundation CEO Jim Liggett haven’t respond to Bicycle Retailer’s request for a comment.
Meanwhile, at least four high-ranking staff at Stages have also posted about moving to Giant. The list includes Pat Warner, who served as Stages’ senior vice president of product research and has now joined Giant as vice president of product R&D. Paddy Murray, former vice president of Stages’ global marketing is now Giant’s VP of global sales and marketing.
And finally, Eric Golesh, formerly product development director has joined Giant as principal engineer, while Andy Lull, product development director and senior mechanical engineer at Stages is now Giant’s principal R&D engineer.
> Giant collabs with Stages for the new Dash M200 and L200 cycle computers
Murray shared in a LinkedIn post: “I am really excited to announce that I have embarked on a new chapter of my career by joining the Giant Group, the world’s leader in cycling innovation and manufacturing (They’ve actually manufactured every bike that I’ve been involved with since I joined the industry)!
“In my new capacity as VP Global Sales and Marketing, I’ll be spearheading the launch of a groundbreaking indoor cycling division SPIA Inc, reuniting with some of the most brilliant product and engineering minds in the bicycle and fitness industry, Pat Warner, Eric Golesh and Andy Lull. It’s truly a special opportunity, and I can’t wait to dive in and bring our innovative plans to life!
“Reflecting on the journey that led me here, I feel immense gratitude for my time at Stages. Working alongside some truly inspiring colleagues, partners, customers, and together we innovated and built something special.
“We shared unforgettable experiences and smashed our own expectations and many in the global indoor cycling and power meter worlds. The memories of our adventures across the globe bring a huge grin to my face, and I’m incredibly proud to have played a small part in shaking up this little industry we play in.”
> Review: Giant Defy Advanced SL 0 2024
Two days ago, Escape Collective had reported that sources close to Stages indicated that the company laid off all of its staff last week. According to the story, Stages initially stopped supplying orders to suppliers and then ceased shipping to customers. The Stages website shows most products as being unavailable, although various models are in stock at Saddleback.
Josh Lambert of Saddleback, which has handled Stages in the UK for over a decade, said: “In truth, we aren’t sure what is going on yet. Our brand manager is in contact, but we haven’t been updated with anything as yet.
“As for consumers, we will cover warranty claims, as we still have stock here. Hopefully, we will be able to update the trade and consumers shortly.”
-1024x680.jpg "“Clear anti-cyclist bias”: Lawsuit filed against Toronto police after cop doored cyclist… before ticketing rider over incident")
14 thoughts on “Giant sues Stages Cycling and recruits four top executives from the now-shutdown US power meter brand”
(No subject)
Hey, you 4 execs helped run a
Hey, you 4 execs helped run a company into the ground and have no jobs anymore… Come work for us because you have great experience in the industry…
I love how the corporate world rewards high level incompetence.
I too wondered why Giant want
I too wondered why Giant want to recruit 4 highly paid with bullshit-speak sales & marketing experience, not real hands-on R&D knowledge (the bit you think Giant might actually want).
Perhaps there is something valuable they have that we don’t realise – maybe their contacts & knowledge are genuinely useful.
You might have missed this:
You might have missed this:
“Pat Warner, who served as Stages’ senior vice president of product research and has now joined Giant as vice president of product R&D. Paddy Murray, former vice president of Stages’ global marketing is now Giant’s VP of global sales and marketing.
And finally, Eric Golesh, formerly product development director has joined Giant as principal engineer, while Andy Lull, product development director and senior mechanical engineer at Stages is now Giant’s principal R&D engineer.”
Well Paddy Murray seems to
Well Paddy Murray seems to have been nicely rewarded for his efforts to drive Stages into the ground.
Sounds like these were the
Sounds like 3 of these were top product development engineering staff, rather than corporate-BS-waffle execs.
What do you do with their 5
What do you do with their 5 million in unsold stock? who would buy with no warranty or back up?
tbh I’d take a punt.
tbh I’d take a punt. Probably not on their smart bike but certainly if a singlesided pm was down to £150 or less.
If you’re interested,
If you’re interested, Westbrook Cycles have them down to £140 already, albeit in a very limited range of sizes.
Hmmmm.
Hmmmm.
Did Giant just push Stages into Bankrupcy and then nobble their staff? Strange timing…..
That seems a very brexity way
That seems a very brexity way of thinking.
Or they got access to all the
Or they got access to all the books as part of the pre-purchase due diligence, and found some funny stuff. So they back out. That is the final straw that takes the house of cards down for Stages. The top product engineers see the writing on the wall and approach Giant?
Who knows…
But agreed there must be some interesting stuff that has happened behind the scenes!
Because what you want are
Because what you want are four execs from a company so successful they have just gone out of business.
So I have 2 M200s, what is
So I have 2 M200s, what is the best way forward? Also have 2 L10s. I know Stages link/Sync is gone but what about the Stages Cycling app that M200 uses? It seems pretty much a rip off on the customer? What’s the next move? A class action law suit…be nice if they kept the cycling app for M200s going at the very least, otherwise you stuck with crap. Also have a single arm campy 11 172.5mm if anyone interested? So a Garmin next I think. Anyone got a recommendation on Garmin head unit? Karoo? Wahoo?