Bowman Cycles liquidates after "absolute clusterf**k" of supply chain issues

Bowman Cycles has liquidated following continued struggles with supply chain issues during the Covid pandemic.

BB Velo Limted, the trading name of Bowman Cycles, has appointed a voluntary liquidator, as per filings made at Companies House spotted by Cyclingindustrynews.

The Bowman Cycles website is no longer accessible and displays homepage "currently unavailable".

In November, Bowman founder and managing director Neil Webb told road.cc of his brand's supply chain woes, but stressed he was trying to "work out how to refinance" the business.

> An absolute clusterf**k: Bowman Cycles speak out on supply chain issues after unhappy customers complain

"All that has made life very difficult this year and there isn’t an end in sight to the manufacturing issues coming out of Asia [where many of their components are produced].

"For instance, we placed an order with Shimano in December last year that will only start arriving in August 2022. Usually, we’d have bought some stock from Madison [Shimano’s UK distributor] to see us through, but there’s absolutely nothing around."

Bowman launched a new frame just before the pandemic arrived, further complicating the manufacturer's predicament.

"We’d put in orders for 12-1400 frames over the course of 2020 but didn’t see the first of those arrive until May this year. There are still 600 frames from that order which haven’t been shipped.

"Then you throw in all the extra shipping costs, extra costs of materials. Everything is more expensive, delayed, or simply doesn’t turn up. It’s just an absolute clusterf**k for want of a better word, to run a manufacturing business at the moment, the delays go all the way up the supply chain."

Webb added that suppliers and distributors appeared to be prioritising their larger clients, meaning "the big players are taking all the space".

"All the smaller businesses like us that I know are experiencing this same problem in some way, shape or form and these constant delays have taken huge amounts of man power to manage."

In response to our readers' claims of unfulfilled orders, incorrect builds and a lack of communication, Webb apologised and was keen to point out any existing orders customers have with the company should be fulfilled.

 "I’m aware we haven’t been able to get in touch with people for five or six weeks, which I understand is really sh*t," he continued.

"In hindsight we should maybe have told people ‘yes, we’ve got your email but we can’t tell you an answer’, but we thought the problems we’re experiencing would have been sorted out quicker than they have been."

At the time, Webb set Bowman Cycles a 10 to 14 day deadline to restructure or find more assistance, something which now seems not to have materialised.