Bike industry turmoil continues as UK cycle distributor 2pure enters administration

The British bike industry was dealt another blow this week with the news that Livingston-based distributor 2pure has entered administration, according to documents filed at Companies House yesterday.

Founded in 2006 by George and Alison Bowie, 2pure supplied a number of brands in the cycling, running, and outdoor industry, such as Chamois Butt’r, Feedback Sports, and Ibis.

Earlier this year, the company announced that it was restructuring to focus solely on the cycling industry, following what it described as a “highly volatile” 2022 caused by macro-economic events in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Despite adding eco-cleaning products company Kingud and tubeless tyre sealant manufacturer MilKit to its portfolio in recent months, dark clouds continued to hang over the company, with managing director George Bowie leaving his position earlier this month.

And yesterday, 2pure announced through an update at Companies House that an administrator had been appointed.

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The news comes just over two months after Moore Large, the leading UK distributor for well-known brands such as Tern Bicycles, Lake, Forme, ETC, Emmelle, and MeThree, entered liquidation, leading to its £35 million product inventory being auctioned off.

Formed from the bike shop opened by John Moore in 1947, the Derby-based distributor was founded 30 years later and owned by the Moore family up until last year when, following growth since the pandemic, the board’s directors bought ownership from the family.

Dale Vanderplank, Adam Garner, Adam Biggs, and Andrew Walker acquired the business on 19 April 2022, with retiring chairman Nigel Moore at the time saying that the “last few years have been particularly successful and it is now the right time for me to hand over the company to the existing management team”.

However, in March this year the company confirmed its closure, adding to an increasingly bleak time for a UK cycle industry beset by inflation, changing consumer habits, overstock, and a challenging economic climate.

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In February, the Bicycle Association’s Annual Market Data Report for 2022 showed that UK bike sales have fallen to their lowest level in 20 years.

Combining sales figures and other data the Association’s research suggests that mechanical bike sales fell by 22 percent in 2022, down to 1.8 million units and 27 percent below pre-Covid levels.

Those figures backed up Halfords’ trading statement for the third quarter of its 2022/23 financial year, in which the UK’s largest retailer of bicycles and accessories said that the cycling market is down 20 percent year on year, with the cost-of-living crisis hitting consumers’ demand for high-ticket, discretionary purchases.

> End of the road for Milltag as cycling clothing brand enters voluntary liquidation

Those challenges have led to the collapse of a number of UK cycling brands. London-based cycle clothing firm Milltag, known for its striking use of graphics and collaborations with figures from the world of music, the arts, and beyond, entered voluntary liquidation in January, while a month later women’s clothing brand VeloVixen was rescued from liquidation by British brand Stolen Goat.