Shimano has announced that it will shut down its Milremo custom clothing brand and scale back its wider cycling apparel offerings, citing “increasing competition, shifting retailer priorities, and supply chain challenges” as key reasons behind the move, while also laying off 13 workers in the process.
The Japanese brand, best known as the world’s largest manufacturer of bicycle components, said the decision comes after more than two decades of investment in the cycling apparel category.
“After more than 25 years of investment in the cycling apparel category, Shimano Europe has announced the difficult decision to scale back our activities in this area,” the company said in a press release.
“In recent years, the cycling apparel market has changed significantly due to increasing competition, shifting retailer priorities, and supply chain challenges, all of which were further intensified by the impact of COVID-19. Despite our best efforts, these factors have made it increasingly difficult to grow our cycling apparel business.
“This means that Shimano’s custom clothing brand, Milremo, will be discontinued; the regular Shimano apparel collection will also be streamlined. Our range will continue to offer shoe covers, gloves, and socks, along with a limited apparel lineup.”
While Shimano is a name more commonly associated with bike components than cycling clothing and apparel, the Japanese giant has nevertheless produced a few highlights over the years. Its Evolve collection, as well as the Climbers Jersey, received praise in road.cc reviews for their design elements and quality materials.
In 2017, Shimano launched its performance clothing range S-Phyre, developed in collaboration with and used by WorldTour teams like Visma-Lease a Bike (then LottoNL-Jumbo), with the lineup’s premium Windresistant Jersey even receiving a high-end 9/10 score in our review.
> Shimano S-Phyre Windresistant Jersey
Shimano added: “The production and shipment of the Shimano Autumn-Winter 2025 collection will proceed as planned, while Milremo customers will have the opportunity to place one final order for their custom clothing before operations cease.
“Unfortunately, this decision directly affects the jobs of 13 of our colleagues. We recognise that this is a challenging and uncertain time for them and their families. We are fully committed to being there for them and offering support wherever possible during this difficult period. We deeply appreciate their dedication and contributions to Shimano, and we are sincerely grateful for everything they have done.
“With this impactful and difficult decision, we remain dedicated to advancing the cycling industry with innovative and high-quality products.”
The restructuring comes despite recent signs of financial recovery for the company. After a difficult 2024, in which net sales fell by 4.9 per cent and operating income dropped significantly — largely due to weak global demand and costs linked to the Hollowtech II crankset recall — Shimano posted a 15.6 per cent increase in bike components sales in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period last year.
Much of that growth was driven by the popularity of the latest 105 and GRX groupsets and stabilising demand for complete bikes in Europe. However, Shimano has warned that retail conditions remain uneven, with high market inventories in China and ongoing uncertainty in North America due to US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
“While the strong interest in bicycles continued as a long-term trend, market inventories remained high despite gradual adjustments,” the company said in a statement.
“Overseas, in the European market, market inventories remained at a somewhat high level, while signs of recovery started to appear in retail sales of completed bicycles as demand stabilised.”
Meanwhile, in the wider cycling and tech landscape, industry instability continues to mount. Just last month, route planning platform Komoot was acquired by Italian tech firm Bending Spoons — a company known for mass redundancies following acquisitions. Sources close to Komoot say staff were “totally blindsided” by the sale, with most of the company’s 150 jobs believed to be at risk.
Meanwhile, in March, Giant, the world’s largest bike manufacturer, also posted a 62.8 per cent drop in profits for 2024. While overall sales were only down 7.4 per cent compared to the previous year — still above pre-pandemic levels — the company’s post-tax profit fell to NT$1.26bn (£29.4m).
The brand attributed the sharp decline to a combination of reduced demand in Europe and North America, more aggressive discounting, and a significant inventory loss provision of NT$1.9bn (£44.4m), which cut into margins and weighed heavily on the bottom line.
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Whomever sold Kamoot needs a
Whomever sold Kamoot needs a slap…