Techs-Mechs-Gear: Cervelo Corporate Changes

There has been indications this might happen now for about a year.
The ripple effect of this announcement will be felt in many areas; including the support of race teams.

Dan Empfield does a good job in putting this into perspective.
Link: A Suitor for Cervelo

5 months ago Ryan_Liles 7 comments 0 recs |

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Why are you expecting a change in ownership

to automatically mean changes in their sponsorship/marketing strategy?

by Jens on Dec 27, 2011 5:05 AM EST reply actions

Over at

RKP, one of the commentors says something along these lines.

by swells on Dec 27, 2011 6:51 AM EST up reply actions

Athletes and sponsored teams Cervelo is supporting will experience changes.

Probably not in 2012, but maybe in 2013.

Let’s not act as if they have no over arching plan.

In a very short while, PON purchased -

Derby Cycle AG
- FOCUS // www.focus-bikes.com
- KALKHOFF // www.kalkhoff-bikes.com
- RALEIGH // www.raleigh-bikes.de
- UNIVEGA // www.univega.com
- RIXE // www.rixe.de
&
Koninklijke Gazelle N.V.

How the vision of supporting Cervelo fits into their ‘big’ plan has not entirely become clear, but i am sure they’ve got a plan; and it will impact Athletes and sponsored teams in all sorts of ways.

What would Deming do? (+8:00 GMT)

by Ryan_Liles on Dec 27, 2011 7:02 AM EST up reply actions

There have been signs for a while that something was up with the company

The sudden withdrawal from sponsoring the team (surely they’d done the sums before they started), the sidelining of Vroomen, and a few little stories that I don’t remember right now, but that were strangely head-scratching at the time. It all seems to date back to that patent spat with Canyon that they lost. I wonder how much that cost them.

by Monty. on Dec 27, 2011 7:11 AM EST up reply actions

The patent dispute ended with no money changing hands, but the swapping of access of patents both companies own.

Technically, Canyon won access to key aero frame patents; which I think was their main goal from the start of the dispute.

What would Deming do? (+8:00 GMT)

by Ryan_Liles on Dec 27, 2011 7:36 AM EST up reply actions

I'm sure there is a plan

but building a portfolio of companies/brands doesn’t necessarily mean you change the individual brands’ current strategies if you think they are successful does it?

by Jens on Dec 27, 2011 7:37 AM EST up reply actions

Smoke and mirrors

I’ve always wondered how the Cervelo house of cards was propped up.
They don’t sell enough bikes to support the (supposed) level of sponsorship they engage in.
They are widely perceived as Canadian yet the Toronto tech center has supposedly been shuttered for several years. In fact, Canadian taxpayer money heavily supported them in the early years. But I think they have been Swiss owed since roughly the same time as the Test Team was formed.
And their sales management as experienced by their dealers has been a mess. Loading them up by insisting on overly optimistic sales goals, leading inevitably to panicked dumping of expensive inventory. Not a sustainable business model.

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the Flag and carrying the Cross."
--Sinclair Lewis

by MavicMoto on Dec 30, 2011 11:01 AM EST reply actions