Job losses at Rapha

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SVS

Original Poster:

3,824 posts

270 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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Sad to see job losses at a British company: Rapha announces redundancies in a bid to cut costs.

g7jhp

6,959 posts

237 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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Never good news for the individuals who lose their jobs.

I think they lost their way a bit. They went from being a discreate brand to being bought by rich w@n#ers and hipster types.

The type you look down their nose at you, but you get the last laugh looking at their Strava times!

Interesting to see how they take business forwards.

Edited by g7jhp on Sunday 9th September 21:10

HardtopManual

2,404 posts

165 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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g7jhp said:
They went from being a discreate brand to being bought by rich w@n#ers and hipster types.

The type you look down their nose at you, but you get the last laugh looking at their Strava times!
Yes, everyone who wears Rapha is a fat, rich w@nker. Original.

Their range got too big and quality varied too much across it. Core shorts - great. Core jerseys - awful. Pro team lightweight jersey - great. Pro team lightweight shorts - awful.

They've ended up with perpetual sales in order to shift it all and now nobody will buy any of their gear at full price, because if you wait a few months, it'll end up in the sale.

It's the classic case of a company losing its way as it expands.

E65Ross

34,946 posts

211 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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HardtopManual said:
Yes, everyone who wears Rapha is a fat, rich w@nker. Original.

Their range got too big and quality varied too much across it. Core shorts - great. Core jerseys - awful. Pro team lightweight jersey - great. Pro team lightweight shorts - awful.

They've ended up with perpetual sales in order to shift it all and now nobody will buy any of their gear at full price, because if you wait a few months, it'll end up in the sale.

It's the classic case of a company losing its way as it expands.
Interesting to read this. I've never used Rapha kit but often wanted to try some. Most of my kit is the higher end Castelli stuff (the Rosso Corsa stuff is great, IMO) and I've got a couple of Assos bits which are fantastic, I've often wondered which I'd prefer out of Assos or Rapha....Both of which are more expensive than Castelli it seems.

russy01

4,693 posts

180 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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E65Ross said:
Interesting to read this. I've never used Rapha kit but often wanted to try some. Most of my kit is the higher end Castelli stuff (the Rosso Corsa stuff is great, IMO) and I've got a couple of Assos bits which are fantastic, I've often wondered which I'd prefer out of Assos or Rapha....Both of which are more expensive than Castelli it seems.
Only Assos shorts for me and mainly Castelli tops. Tried on a lot of Rapha stuff and whilst some of it looks ok, never sold on the quality or brand.

Whilst sad for said employees losing jobs I am glad a company like that in the cycling business is having a wake up call. To post such dire financial results in a industry that we assume to be such high margin (£100 for a jersey) is a bit of a eye opener!
Id imagine the original management who have been through the good days have spent cash and hired staff for fun... the new owners are now having to trim it back and clear out the dead wood.

E65Ross

34,946 posts

211 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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russy01 said:
E65Ross said:
Interesting to read this. I've never used Rapha kit but often wanted to try some. Most of my kit is the higher end Castelli stuff (the Rosso Corsa stuff is great, IMO) and I've got a couple of Assos bits which are fantastic, I've often wondered which I'd prefer out of Assos or Rapha....Both of which are more expensive than Castelli it seems.
Only Assos shorts for me and mainly Castelli tops. Tried on a lot of Rapha stuff and whilst some of it looks ok, never sold on the quality or brand.

Whilst sad for said employees losing jobs I am glad a company like that in the cycling business is having a wake up call. To post such dire financial results in a industry that we assume to be such high margin (£100 for a jersey) is a bit of a eye opener!
Id imagine the original management who have been through the good days have spent cash and hired staff for fun... the new owners are now having to trim it back and clear out the dead wood.
I really want to try the campionissimo shorts....but they're not cheap!

Kawasicki

13,041 posts

234 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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I’m another Castelli fan...I have one piece of Rapha clothing, an Aussie themed jersey, which I bought in a sale and I really like it. Some of my friends buy Rapha stuff. Trying to scale up/grow a company like Rapha can’t be easy.

russy01

4,693 posts

180 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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E65Ross said:
I really want to try the campionissimo shorts....but they're not cheap!
Even their cheapest shorts at £100 (t.mille or something) are pretty decent. These are what I use everyday and they last very well.

Castelli shorts are good mind, my personal area just don’t get on with their pads.

It’s not easy growing any company and most have a similar reset at a similar size where they have to re-evaluate their direction.

MC Bodge

21,552 posts

174 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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I ride to work in all weathers and do longer rides on and off road.

I've a mix of Decathlon (excellent bibs), Polaris, Endura, Altura, Aldi(!) & AN Other kit -and a posh Rivelo winter top that somebody bought me for fixing their car.

I can't say that I've ever felt the need to buy anything posher, let alone Rapha, despite some people raving about it. I don't have the tattoos or the beard for it.


Wilmslowboy

4,189 posts

205 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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The consequences when a private equity party pays £200M for a niche business that made about £1.7M (EBITDA) last year.......????



untakenname

4,953 posts

191 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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I find Rapha wearers where I live (London) to be the 'all the gear, no idea' flipped stem and multiple spacer type of riders, especially when they are clearly struggling to fit into XXL.

Part of the reason people pay a premium for brands is due to percieved exclusively, when every other rider in Richmond park is wearing Rapha you know it's peaked for the company.

E65Ross

34,946 posts

211 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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untakenname said:
I find Rapha wearers where I live (London) to be the 'all the gear, no idea' flipped stem and multiple spacer type of riders, especially when they are clearly struggling to fit into XXL.

Part of the reason people pay a premium for brands is due to percieved exclusively, when every other rider in Richmond park is wearing Rapha you know it's peaked for the company.
Cliche all you like, but one of my mates wears almost only Rapha stuff, he's a 19min 10 mile TT rider and is no slouch!

Could it be that the kit is nicer, and that the people you see have the money to spend on kit they prefer using? Just because they aren't an amazing cyclist, if they can afford bikes and kits they feel more comfortable wearing, why should they not be able to use it? smile I'm not a slow coach but I'm no monster either, I'm only 55kgs but my FTP is around 255W so I'm fairly handy up the steep stuff..... Am I allowed to wear Rapha? Or do I need to at least have an FTP of 350W?

Black can man

31,816 posts

167 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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Surely losing the Sky deal is the major thing here.

Oh & also that super pompous look down on people cafe come shop thing in Piccadilly circus.

GOATever

2,651 posts

66 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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Black can man said:
Surely losing the Sky deal is the major thing here.
Bingo.

Black can man said:
Oh & also that super pompous look down on people cafe come shop thing in Piccadilly circus.
I go in there just for that experience some times. TBF, I feel it’s more of a ‘suspicious of non locals’ thing. Fair enough, it’s still entertaining.

MC Bodge

21,552 posts

174 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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"it's not about the shorts"

HardtopManual

2,404 posts

165 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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E65Ross said:
Interesting to read this. I've never used Rapha kit but often wanted to try some. Most of my kit is the higher end Castelli stuff (the Rosso Corsa stuff is great, IMO) and I've got a couple of Assos bits which are fantastic, I've often wondered which I'd prefer out of Assos or Rapha....Both of which are more expensive than Castelli it seems.
At the various price points, my arse says there’s not much in it. Rapha Core, Castelli Velocissimo and Assos Unos are all great shorts at the £80ish mark. I’ve not tried expensive Castellis, but I did used to have a pair of Assos Tiburus and, while I thought Rapha’s lightweight Pro Team shorts were poor, the standard Pro Teams are my favourite pair of shorts.

Thing is, only some of the kit being good isn’t good enough for a brand like Rapha. They need to trim the range and get back to doing the core (small c) products really well.

Seriously, go and try a Rapha Core jersey on. They’re about six inches shorter than the rest of their range, the pockets are in a weird place and the material is no better than a £20 jersey in Decathlon.

I can’t believe £200m changed hands for Rapha. Going to be a very long time before there’s a return on that money.

russy01

4,693 posts

180 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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Wilmslowboy said:
The consequences when a private equity party pays £200M for a niche business that made about £1.7M (EBITDA) last year.......????
Where does the £200m come from? I downloaded their most recent accounts and it was £67m for £1m net. Either way, it’s hardly impressive!

HardtopManual

2,404 posts

165 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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Obligatory parody website link: http://internationale.teamjva.com

idiotgap

2,112 posts

132 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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I'm a keen cyclist, not skint, but... like many of my city colleagues I like to keep hold of my hard-earned and don't like being taken for a mug. I always found the whole rapha image/price thing absolutely abhorrent if I'm honest. I don't buy "reassuringly expensive", I buy kit when I need it or when a spectacular deal comes up, I've tried everything from sportsdirect/muddy-fox to aldi/crane to planet-x/365 to decathlon/btwin to wiggle/dhb to castelli - searching for my peg on the investment/value ladder.

I did once though pick up a rapha softshell jacket on freecycle. It's absolutely fantastic, I gather, back when it was new quite a few years ago now, it cost the owner £300 but he grew/shrank out of it and it found me. I love it so much, I bought another in the classifieds on bike radar and between them, they keep me rolling in the winter. One's on my back the other in the wash. This particular product is a solid, well thought out functional item that really lasts. I could do without the baggage attached to the brand, but I guess that they have to do what they have to do to survive and if the only way to sell gear at a price that makes them money demands they cultivate that image then they need to crack on.

I suppose one day, I'll shell out for something from them, but like many other shoppers - now they've gone the sportspursuit route and have sales so frequently it'll be in a sale of some sort and won't give them the margin they are looking for.

Wilmslowboy

4,189 posts

205 months

Monday 10th September 2018
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russy01 said:
Where does the £200m come from? I downloaded their most recent accounts and it was £67m for £1m net. Either way, it’s hardly impressive!
I didnt look beyond the headlines......some of the money will have been investment in the business, as opposed to cash out for the original owners.