Brompton woes

[in4]

Just a Brompton-specific issue?

Brompton profits plunge more than 99% amid bike industry turmoil

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/02/brompton-profits-plunge-amid-bike-industry-turmoil

[mickeg]

There is a post-covid glut of bikes out there, a lot of people bought bikes during covid.  And it appears Brompton did some expansion at the same time as the slowdown.

I read the article in FT on Brompton financials, sounds like demand is still strong in Asia, but not so much elsewhere.  From the article it sounded like the slowdown is industry wide.

I have never owned a Brompton, probably never will.  I have an Airnimal Joey, a 24 inch folding bike.  Don't need a smaller one, and if I wanted a 20 inch one, I would probably buy a Bike Friday.

[Notts0115]

Very informative. Thanks for the link.

We are big fans of this brand, and as a family have a few of them. For what it’s worth we feel they have tried to change too fast, with loads of new models/colours etc…or perhaps we are stuck in our ways…

[martinf]

I have two Bromptons and my wife also has one. They date from 2001, 2009 and 2013.

An advantage of the Brompton, which probably acts against the company's interest, is that it lasts well and is maintainable over a long period - i.e. the parts for 2024 models are mostly compatible with the old models.

I did replace my original 2 Bromptons when they introduced the longer wheel base model and the version with titanium parts, as these were worthwhile upgrades for me. Since then Brompton have introduced improvements over the years, but until recently nothing fundamentally different to the main frame and forks, so I added the improvements I considered worthwhile to our existing Bromptons.

Brompton have, however, recently added two completely different new models:

- the ultralight T-line with a titanium main frame. Despite the very high price I would have been interested, except for the fact it has several carbon fibre parts, including the front forks. As I have experienced several knocks on my folded Bromptons during transport in the 23 years I have owned this make of bike I consider carbon fibre as unsuitable for my kind of use. IMO steel and titanium resist scratches and side impacts better than carbon fibre, which can crack and then fail catastrophically later on.

- the 20 inch G-line model with fat tyres and 8-speed hub gears. Again, I would have been interested, but this model has aluminium forks, probably for ease of manufacture as this model is fairly heavy and the rest of the frame is steel. I don't trust aluminium forks on a folding bike for the same reasons as carbon fibre - on a Brompton the forks are on the outside of the folded package and I have sometimes had paint damage with scratches on the forks on my steel Brompton. With a scratched aluminium fork I would worry about metal fatigue leading to a catastrophic failure - not pleasant on a fork.

[mickeg]

...IMO steel and titanium resist scratches ...

Most titanium alloys are pretty soft and easily scratched.  My titanium bike is a Lynskey, I built it up in 2017.  At that time they had four different finishes, shown in the attached graphic.

I was lucky to get my frame when I did.  That frame had been returned to the factory from a dealer.  The frame I got was on a steep discount, I did not have any choices for other options.

And I was very lucky to get the finish that they call "industrial mill", that finish is where someone in the factory went over the entire frame with a power tool, similar to a grinder with a scouring pad that left a finish of very fine scratches over the entire frame.  Thus, scratches on mine are almost impossible to see because they blend into the finish of the rest of the frame. 

But, the matte finish and the polished finish would easily show scratches.  My point is that titanium can easily be scratched, but how it looks after it is scratched is really determined by the finish of the surrounding metal. 

[PH]

For anyone interested you can have a read through the financial report and full accounts here, they're public record.  Looking at the numbers gives a better picture than the press headlines:
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01261512/filing-history

Even full accounts never tell the full story, that rarely leaves the boardroom, there's always room for speculation and interpretation.  it looks to me like they're doing much better than the bottom line suggests - profits down 95% is a shock figure, but sales volume was only down 8% and sales value only dropped 5%.  That's year on year, following a fairly good one. The two big changes on the accounts are turnover down £4mil and the catch all Administrative Expenses up £8mil.  We can only guess what the Admin Ex's are, though we know they've just launched a new model, we also know their grand plans for a new factory failed to get planning permission, I suspect both those had a financial impact.  No manufacturer could ignore the drop in sales, but considering the state of the market and that all around them are discounting, I think they've done well to limit the drop, I think they've long held the view that discounting diminishes the brand, it takes some confidence not to do so when your main competitors are.
Another notable from the accounts - they've issued nine thousand new shares and paid of debt with the proceeds.  Another sign of confidence, and paying dividends from profits is better than loan interest regardless. They paid no div this year, so whoever invested in new shares also has confidence in the company.
Also note that these accounts are to 31st March 2024.  The press reports quote Brompton as saying they expect 2025 to be another tough year, but better than 2024, they have nine months of data to base that on.
My opinion, it is just that, I have no knowledge that isn't included in the accounts linked above, is that they're well positioned to weather this setback.