Signa Sport United (SSU), the parent company of Wiggle, Chain Reaction Cycles, and Vitus bikes (not to be confused with Sigma Sports), has announced its intention to restructure its business and delist from the New York Stock Exchange, citing "serious liquidity and profitability challenges" following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In what is described as an "accelerated strategic restructuring and restructuring program," the Berlin-based company, which owns Nukeproof bikes and more than 80 e-commerce stores across multiple sports, says it is implementing a "performance enhancement and downsizing program.""

In the company's statement to investors, The SSU explained that the move occurred "after experiencing difficulties in 2022 and 2023, plagued by "material disruption" amid demand for products that remain well below pre-pandemic levels."

This is alongside the ongoing problem of rising inventory levels affecting the bicycle industry.

The delisting decision from the New York Stock Exchange is said to correspond to "limited liquidity and trading volume of the Company's listed shares" following a business combination or merger with Yucaipa Acquisition Corporation in 2021/12.

This was around the same time that Wiggle CRC, the cycling e-commerce giant, also acquired it.

"The Company's Board of Directors has concluded that the profits associated with being listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") do not justify the cost and demands of management time required to meet the company's U.S. regulatory commitments."

The SSU predicts that the completion of this delisting will be completed later this month, and the complete suspension of reporting obligations will be completed by the end of 2023.

Since its merger, the company's share price has steadily fallen from22021-12 at the start of 2023 toわ9.12 at the start of 2023-8 toわ2.24, plunging to just00.09 this week.

As part of the reorganization, the statement has been confirmed to include "an assessment of the entitlement of underperforming business units and the disposal of non-core assets.""

Perhaps worrisome for the WiggleCRC brand, this statement specifically highlights the bike segment as an underperformer, It says that "continued to delay management expectations."

This is alleged to be due to "weak consumer demand and increased promotional activity [aka discounts] to right-size inventory levels."

Sister site Cycling Weekly reported that WiggleCRC recorded a pre-tax loss of more than £2022 in the year up to 9.30 PM 9700.

It is currently unclear which brand SSU plans to "right-size" or off-road, but going forward, this statement suggests that we expect difficulties to continue in 2024 as well.

"As we enter fiscal year 24, the market turmoil associated with excess inventory in the market is likely to persist in the second half of fiscal year 24, which will adversely affect our ability to meet short-term growth and profitability targets, SSU management believes."

Of course, this brand is not the first brand in the bicycle industry to experience difficulties in the post-pandemic era. For example, Shimano, a leading manufacturer of bicycle parts, reports that sales in the first half of 2023 decreased by 17.7% year-on-year. Sales in the bicycle division of the brand totaled 205.0 billion yen (approximately 1.1 billion yen), and operating income also fell 39.5% to 42.0 billion yen (approximately 230 million yen).

Elsewhere, Wahoo, a leading producer of cycling technology, also suffered multiple job cuts to navigate the challenges posed by the pandemic and the changing market.

The market-leading bicycle brand laid off about 125 employees a month as part of its own cost-cutting measures, while Parlee Cycles filed for bankruptcy, but it appears to have been saved since.