Amer Sports, the Finland-based parent of bicycle component manufacturer Mavic, has decided against selling the business, saying that it wouldn’t be in the interest of shareholders.
In September, Amer Sports announced that it was exploring options for the business, including a possible “divesture.” But in a statement yesterday, it said that it had chosen not to go ahead with that option, and instead it would “concentrate its efforts on further developing its cycling business.”
Founded in 1889, Mavic was the first company to develop the aluminium rim, launched in 1926, and in 1973 it began providing neutral service for races such as the Tour de France, with its bright yellow vehicles now a familiar sight to cycling fans. Riders such as Greg Lemond have used Mavic-equipped to ride to victory.
In recent years, the brand, based in Annecy, France, has expanded beyond components into products such as cycling clothing and footwear, but it has experienced a difficult 2009.
At the start of the year, it announced a voluntary recall of its flagship R-SYS wheels due to concerns that the carbon tubular spokes of the front wheel “may break during use in certain circumstances”.
At the end of October, Amer Sports, whose other brands include winter sports brand Salomon and tennis and golf equipment manufacturer Wilson said that Mavic’s sales had fallen by 14% in local currency terms during the first six months of 2009. Mavic achieved full-year sales of €114.2 million in 2008.
Mavic’s problems have been widely attributes to the intense competition that has sprung up in the high-end wheelset business in recent years, with both global brands and independent companies increasingly providing stiff competition in the sector.
You sure it's the Swinton in Greater Manchester and not the one in South Yorkshire?
I do as much of my own maintenance as I can because I like to learn new stuff. Also it means I can operate independently if I need to and can get...
Is it cynical to wonder if he would've got the same punishment if he had just hit a cyclist and not hit another car immediately afterwards?
so will I be able to see the colour of a car in the dark until I see its lights?
Yup. How do other places manage this impossible thing? To get people to travel more than 500 metres 3 miles - in a major metropolitain area! -...
(Just a parking grumble - not a "paying fees" scenario) - here was one of this lunchtime's helpful drivers. Removals (?) guy parked right across a...
Josh Tarling is an excellent prospect. Had he not punctured in the Olympic TT, he would have won at least a silver medal. A possible future senior...
A good strong darning needle does the trick for me.
It's just good to see that this genius lady is diferentiating between the necessary and unnescessary accidents.
Yes there is some OK stuff on AE - how bad can an "occasional use" screwdriver be? But the vast majority of it is knock-off/cheap tat. And as for...