Serotta lays off 40% of workforce, planning shutdown

[Chris]

Lot's of promises. So little delivery. I've had a couple of Serotta's in my day too. Sad to see the company go through what it did and become what it became.

[yngpunk]

Originally Posted by MattTuck

After the dust settles, I may go pitch this very idea to some faculty here. I'd enjoy (sort of) writing the case study.

I think this would make a good case. Has all the things to make it interesting and useful for a bunch of classes...marketing, corporate communications, supply chain, strategy (e.g. judo strategy), operations, probably even managerial accounting.

[PQJ]

Sad indeed. I love my Serotta. But the older I get the more I tend to think that a nice bike is just a nice bike, whether it be brand x, y or z. Maybe that's where they went wrong, what with insane pricing, myriad options and all.

[LJohnny]

What a rollercoaster... I can only imagine the ups and downs. Must be so freaking emotionally draining to all involved.

I just got a late nineties CSi and could not be more appreciative of the high quality of Serotta's workmanship. Hopefully there'd be a way?

[alembical]

So sad. Sucks for me and all of us, but even more so for all the employees. I can't ever imagine getting rid of my CSi. Still the bike I ride the most.

What I wonder though is what the company will become. Hard to believe the name will completely go away. Someone will buy it, but then is it really a Serotta... and for that matter has it been for awhile? Hopefully Ben can find a way to make sure the legacy lives on, but real hard to imagine that happening at this time. Seems more likely to just find some Serotta stickers on a Taiwan mass produced carbon bike.

Oh well. Hope the employees get taken care of as well as possible.

[Joachim]

Does this mean I can buy a MeiVici SG at close out price?

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by alembical

Hopefully Ben can find a way to make sure the legacy lives on, but real hard to imagine that happening at this time.

I'm not sure what will happen to the name, but the legacy lives on. Dave Kirk, Kelly Bedford and others... All those bikes out there that people are riding.

[alembical]

Originally Posted by MattTuck

I'm not sure what will happen to the name, but the legacy lives on. Dave Kirk, Kelly Bedford and others... All those bikes out there that people are riding.

I agree Matt, but am just a little worried that the name will be bought and slapped on some lower quality frames, thus diminishing that legacy. I would rather see the name disappear. Luckily there are now many wonderful smaller frame builders, many of which got some time with the Serotta crew.

[Elefantino]

I am very sad.

I had been working with the company recently in a very limited capacity but was excited to see a way forward. Then after the merger was announced and the work stopped, I figured something was up.

Serotta has been a big part of my recent cycling life. When I broke my neck/back and was laid up for nearly a year many moons ago, I came across the old Gary (Kahuna) forum and discovered the brand. While still unable to ride, I bought my first frame (an Atlanta), built it up and fell in lust. Through the Atlanta to the CSi to the Concours to the new LaCorsa to the Atlanta again to another Atlanta again and finally a CIII for the wife, I have been a proud Serottan and will continue to be.

Ben is a legend. Bill Watkins is a class act. I wish them and all those in Saratoga Springs, Poway and elsewhere nothing but the best.

[Onno]

Whatever happens to the company, I wish the people who are and have been a part of it well. They all deserve a safe landing, and more. My Serotta has given me more happiness, pleasure, and health, than ANYTHING else I've ever spent money on.

[Louis]

RIP Serotta.

I feel sorry for the people. The brand, the reputation, the past, that's just intangible stuff. The people are way more important than any of that. I hope things work out for them in the long run.

[FlashUNC]

Personally, I wouldn't classify the news as a surprise. The company's struggles have been well-known for a long, long time. But it is still a shock.

As someone who started riding entirely too long ago, Serotta has always been one of those names synonymous with not just American racing, but American cycling. I remember seeing them on the road at group rides as a young kid and having unholy bike lust over the product, just gorgeous lugged bikes. I was lucky enough to have a lugged 753 bike from the workshop for a while that was one of the best steel bikes I'd ever ridden. This is, in many ways, the end of an era.

But the nostalgia aside, I think back to late last year and earlier this year when I was looking to get a new road frame. Serotta had discontinued steel production and moved on to other frame materials I wasn't particularly interested in buying. I get it from a business perspective -- and steel may very well have been coming back for them at some point -- but that's a lost sale.

Man, this sucks.

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by Louis

RIP Serotta.

I feel sorry for the people. The brand, the reputation, the past, that's just intangible stuff. The people are way more important than any of that. I hope things work out for them in the long run.

So true.

[phcollard]

Man that's terrible, terrible news

We all knew the company wasn't doing too well in the recent years but personally I was hoping that Bill Watkins as captain would be able to give the boat a whole new direction. I think he was heading the right way, perhaps not enough time.

That's so sad to see such a brand disappear, especially since they were making some of the best bikes in the industry. I hope all the laid off employees will find a new and exciting position soon. Bless you all.

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by alembical

I agree Matt, but am just a little worried that the name will be bought and slapped on some lower quality frames, thus diminishing that legacy. I would rather see the name disappear. Luckily there are now many wonderful smaller frame builders, many of which got some time with the Serotta crew.

I think one of the reasons for the ultimate failure is that the "name" only had value to a discerning few. There was no big marketing/advertising program so name recognition is nil to most bicycle buyers.