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news
Wiggle website shuts down, March 2024Wiggle and Chain Reaction websites to be relaunched next week, as Frasers Group aims to become the “no.1 sporting goods retailer in Europe”
The curtains on WiggleCRC’s months of doom and gloom have finally been drawn, as the beleaguered online bikes and cycling kit retailer, once the mainstay of many British cyclists, looks set for a new lease of life under the Frasers Group.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has told road.cc that the Wiggle and Chain Reaction websites, which went down and were replaced with holding pages earlier this week, will be relaunched next week, as the sports conglomerate, also behind the retail chains of Sports Direct and Evans Cycles, aims to become the “no.1 sporting goods retailer in Europe”.
Wiggle’s tough times began during last year’s autumn after its parent company SSU reported “severe liquidity and profitability challenges” and delisted its shares. The retailer was put under administration last October, with 105 employees being laid off. Administrators, however, confirmed that there was “considerable interest” from potential buyers in December.
One of those potential buyers was Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, as road.cc first reported last month, with the purchase confirmed a few days later.
Now, Frasers Group has announced that the website, which shut down after scores of extreme discounts on the page due to its clearance sale — including cycle computers worth £99 priced at 99p — will reappear next week.
And as reported by road.cc earlier, the group has also secured the brand rights for Wiggle’s in-house ranges which include Nukeproof, Vitus Bikes, and DhB. These line-ups are set to join many other sporting brands under former Newcastle-owner Mike Ashley’s umbrella, including Everlast, Lonsdale, Slazenger and Karrimor.
Frasers Group said in a statement: “Alongside the ecommerce relaunch, which is due to take place next week, Frasers Group is looking to create commercial partnerships to enhance and expand these own-brand lines through development, sales, licensing, and international distribution opportunities.”
Russell Merry, Managing Director of Wheels for Frasers Group, formerly the managing director of Cyclin Sports Group and director of Pacific Cycles, added: “Wiggle and Chain Reaction are well established names among riders in the UK and across Europe and the acquisition of both brands is consistent with our ambition to become the no.1 Sporting Goods retailer in Europe.
“It also brings with it the opportunity to work with respected partners through the highly admired, award-winning product lines that Wiggle and Chain Reaction had built. We are excited to explore partnerships with suppliers or distributors looking to expand their offering or an organisation looking to get a foothold in the market by leveraging some established names.”
The full-list of intellectual properties acquired include Vitus Bikes and Ragley, Prime’s components range, DhB clothing, Lifeline Tools, Mobi bike pressure washers and outdoor clothing range, Fohn. However, it isn’t confirmed yet whether if any of the personnel involved in developing and running these in-house brands have been retained, leading to uncertainty over their future development.
Before the imminent purchase of Wiggle by Mike Ashley, it was reported that almost everyone in the company was made redundant in a second wave of job cuts, with several employees confirming the news on LinkedIn.
“Unfortunately, my time is up, along with everyone else within the organisation,” one employee posted on the website, while another wrote: “After almost having made it to 10 years at Chain Reaction Cycles and then WiggleCRC, it’s now time to say goodbye… Very sad day saying goodbye to colleagues and the business as a whole.”
Last May, Frasers Group also bought the stock and intellectual property assets of online retailer ProBikeKit (PBK), which had previously shut down its lifestyle division citing “lossmaking”.
The acquisition of PBK was also handled through Frasers’ Evans Cycles subsidiary, which itself was bought by retail entrepreneur Ashley in 2018 for £8 million in a similar move that saw over 300 staff members made redundant and the rest added to zero-hour contracts.
Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.
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https://www.galibier.cc/
Generally better than DHB though a smaller range.
(edit Steve K beat me to it)
However galibier kit is so good its worth posting twice
I've got a few bits of Galibier kit and all has been good but they need to sort out their styling! DHB had the simple classic designs that could be paired with anything nailed (which you might call boring). Most things Galibier do have an oversized logo on the back or white and red chevrons or some other styling weirdness that just ruins it for me.
I think Galibier styling has improved over the past few years. (New designers?) I have bought their new Grand Tour range and it is great performance. https://www.galibier.cc/product/foulweatherjersey/
Exactly my reply to Steve when he suggested Galibier. Can't stand all that styling stuff they do so have never bought anything (although I agree their value for money and quality seems good from what I've heard and read).
Muddy Fox here we come 🤣
Depending on what you are after, I find Rule 28 very good, although the range is quite limited.
I'd not heard of them before, but at a very quick glance - whilst I'm sure they may be very good - it looks like a very different target market to DHB.
I'd probably also suggest Endura, Lusso and the nicer stuff at Decathlon (probably Van Rysel branded for road cycling) for decent kit at sensible prices.
+1 for Lusso - superb kit.
I used to use Endura way back when but it got increasingly expensive and DHB grew into a brand with a wide range of good kit.
You understand correct. I very much doubt DHB (or any of the other brands) will be as good without the fantastic teams that were involved with them at WiggleCRC. Time will tell.
If they've been taken over by Frasers, surely their teams will all be (hyperbole) slave labour in Shirebrook, carrying around a bottle of wee.
Agreed. Since losing the weight, I've become a Castelli tart and sold most of my Dhb kit but I've kept the Merino baselayers as they are so nice. Lovely feel and no big logos, so I wear them for winter walking and as jumpers.
Yeah, the merino gear is the biggest loss. It's very hard to find good merino gear (much out there is "merino blend", so lots of plastic typically - which ends up stinking v quickly; DHB bases were 100% merino). Even harder to find good merino that isn't an eye-bleeding price.
Going to miss the merino DHB gear. That was a staple of mine.
(The one weakness of merino is... it's weakness. It'll only last 3 or 4 seasons at best for me, before it tears up - but 3 or 4 years of lovely merino beats any number of years of polyester perma-stink).
Not all merino blend is plastic. For example, Endura base layers are 20% merino, 80% lyocell. Lyocell is made by extracting cellulose from wood pulp. For 100% merino though, in the absence of dhb, have a look at Chapeau, they're 100% merino and quite reasonable during their many discount sales.
To be honest, although I have some great DHB stuff, I always found their sizing massively weird and variable, so I gave up on it.
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