A note from Ben Serotta

[BumbleBeeDave]

This note from Ben was forwarded to me and I have received his permission to re-post it here.

BBD

------------

Dear Friend,

I apologize for the lack of personalization in this note.

Since news broke of the planned shutdown of the Serotta facility there has been an absolute deluge of calls and emails expressing concern, hope, thanks, well wishes into the future and even offers for financial backing. I can’t thank you enough for your show of support and friendship.

It has been a difficult time for sure, but all of us here gain resolve from each other to find a path for a viable continuum of building the finest bicycles, but without the complications, restrictions and frustrations that come along with ‘outside’ corporate structure.

Bill and I have been working hard to structure a management buyout of Serotta, extricating it from the current holding company and we remain hopeful. If that doesn’t work out, there’s always plan B (or was it D?).

I believe that everyone on this planet has certain special skills. My wonderful, dedicated staff, colleagues and I are fortunate enough to have discovered some time ago that we are here to make wonderful things with our hands, hearts and minds. While many details remain between now and the future, the one thing that is certain, is that we’ll continue to make fabulous bicycles, because, that’s what we do. You can count on it!

Hope to see you on the road soon,

Ben

[bluesea]

Good luck. I was going to say start up with a new name, but you must have lost the entire infrastructure.

[phcollard]

Not sure he's gonna read this thread but all I want to say is good luck Ben. Sure you and your staff are very talented and it is obvious that you have put all your passion in making, indeed, some of the world's finest bicycles. It's inconceivable that this talent could be lost anytime soon so we are waiting to hear from you and to see your next iteration of Serotta Cycles.

Tailwinds and oh yeah I almost forgot : :banana:

[slidey]

On reading the note I get the impression that Mr.Serotta is insinuating that the collapse was solely brought on by DMC's interference. However applying what little common sense I have, I reach the conclusion that nothing is farther from the truth.

Serotta is/was in no-man's land; a mid-sized manufacturing firm delivering impeccable quality to its boutique-like customer base whilst competing with the large-scale firms, fully equipped with the intransigence of moss in a pond, the economic foresight of a poor gambler in Vegas, and worst of all, the pride of an entire pride of lions.

If by some stroke of luck Serotta does manage to extricate itself from this quagmire, it needs to own up to its own contribution in its downfall rather than pat itself on its back and pass on the buck, for as far as I can work it out, Serotta in its present iteration isn't any story worth telling.

[eddief]

and your optimism lightened my happy hour.

On reading the note I get the impression that Mr.Serotta is insinuating that the collapse was solely brought on by DMC's interference. However applying what little common sense I have, I reach the conclusion that nothing is farther from the truth.

Serotta is/was in no-man's land; a mid-sized manufacturing firm delivering impeccable quality to its boutique-like customer base whilst competing with the large-scale firms, fully equipped with the intransigence of moss in a pond, the economic foresight of a poor gambler in Vegas, and worst of all, the pride of an entire pride of lions.

If by some stroke of luck Serotta does manage to extricate itself from this quagmire, it needs to own up to its own contribution in its downfall rather than pat itself on its back and pass on the buck, for as far as I can work it out, Serotta in its present iteration isn't any story worth telling.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Give it a rest. Or at least say it with a little more class and intelligence.

BBD

On reading the note I get the impression that Mr.Serotta is insinuating that the collapse was solely brought on by DMC's interference. However applying what little common sense I have, I reach the conclusion that nothing is farther from the truth.

Serotta is/was in no-man's land; a mid-sized manufacturing firm delivering impeccable quality to its boutique-like customer base whilst competing with the large-scale firms, fully equipped with the intransigence of moss in a pond, the economic foresight of a poor gambler in Vegas, and worst of all, the pride of an entire pride of lions.

If by some stroke of luck Serotta does manage to extricate itself from this quagmire, it needs to own up to its own contribution in its downfall rather than pat itself on its back and pass on the buck, for as far as I can work it out, Serotta in its present iteration isn't any story worth telling.

[tiretrax]

Give it a rest. Or at least say it with a little more class and intelligence.
BBD
+1

Save the hate for Lance/Rapha/whatever.

[firerescuefin]

If by some stroke of luck Serotta does manage to extricate itself from this quagmire, it needs to own up to its own contribution in its downfall rather than pat itself on its back and pass on the buck, for as far as I can work it out, Serotta in its present iteration isn't any story worth telling.

I don't know Ben...but I know he is truly an artisan...The people I know that do know him fall all over themselves when they speak to the quality of the man.

Ben didn't bring Bill in because he thought he was "killing it"...it was because he needed someone that had business savy that also understood the lineage of the brand. I still think it was/is a good move...jut a bit late. They were sold a bill of goods by the folks that came in....that seems factual...and who knows where it would have gone had that cash actually come.

The last thing I have seen from Serotta...especially since they brought Bill on has been them not taking responsibility...they admitted they were making mistakes...were forging a direction that looked pretty damn promising to me.....and entered into a bad business deal. I think your take is a little (actually a lot) over the top.

[EDS]

On reading the note I get the impression that Mr.Serotta is insinuating that the collapse was solely brought on by DMC's interference. However applying what little common sense I have, I reach the conclusion that nothing is farther from the truth.

Serotta is/was in no-man's land; a mid-sized manufacturing firm delivering impeccable quality to its boutique-like customer base whilst competing with the large-scale firms, fully equipped with the intransigence of moss in a pond, the economic foresight of a poor gambler in Vegas, and worst of all, the pride of an entire pride of lions.

If by some stroke of luck Serotta does manage to extricate itself from this quagmire, it needs to own up to its own contribution in its downfall rather than pat itself on its back and pass on the buck, for as far as I can work it out, Serotta in its present iteration isn't any story worth telling.

Someone has been watching too much Fox News . . .

[MattTuck]

I don't know Ben...but I know he is truly an artisan...The people I know that do know him fall all over themselves when they speak to the quality of the man.

Ben didn't bring Bill in because he thought he was "killing it"...it was because he needed someone that had business savy that also understood the lineage of the brand. I still think it was/is a good move...jut a bit late. They were sold a bill of goods by the folks that came in....that seems factual...and who knows where it would have gone had that cash actually come.

The last thing I have seen from Serotta...especially since they brought Bill on has been them not taking responsibility...they admitted they were making mistakes...were forging a direction that looked pretty damn promising to me.....and entered into a bad business deal. I think your take is a little (actually a lot) over the top.

That pretty much sums it up for me as well. If they were going to shutter the thing, they wouldn't have brought Bill on board to do that and started to make changes that won't pay off until the medium/long term. They'd have been worried about cash flow and not long term strategy. They may not have everything sorted out, and they have positioned themselves in a tough spot relative to the bicycle market... but I think, regardless of brand, that if they deliver a compelling product at a competitive price, any company can do pretty well.

I do hope they figure out what needs to be done. I think of all those employees at the Poway facility when I visited. Lots of lives affected by this.

[spdcyclist]

See article....

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/serotta-prepares-to-go-out-of-business-38029/


Very upsetting :(

[slidey]

Yeah, this I have to agree. Bill has been great on all fronts really...but as you said, it was probably too little too late. My issue with the statement above (Ben's), is just that, the statement. My reading of it reveals finger-pointing at a corporate structure. There is no doubting that DCG screwed Serotta over, with respect to this specific deal, but Serotta had been spiraling downwards from a very long time. As you yourself noted, Bill was brought in to stop that free-fall.


The last thing I have seen from Serotta...especially since they brought Bill on has been them not taking responsibility...they admitted they were making mistakes...were forging a direction that looked pretty damn promising to me.....and entered into a bad business deal.

Cool, you're entitled to whatever you please.
I think your take is a little (actually a lot) over the top.

The best thing that you ardent Serotta supporters can do is provide valuable criticism to the company on how to run the business. I don't hear anyone arguing that the reason for Serotta's downfall was their poor quality so why all the fanfare about reiterating the obvious. If anything the lesson here is that quality alone is not good enough to stay in business.

BBD's bandwagon of +1/Fox news posters: Before you decide to make me a scapegoat for your pent-up frustrations about the dissolution of the manufacturer of a bike that you ride, read and try to comprehend what I said above and if need be respond back objectively with specific issues.

BBD: (since you decided to make a personal remark, Mr.Mod)
As for the matter of class/intelligence; yours was a remarkably cheap and in any case, a totally haphazard shot. I'm being unabashedly objective and unemotional in my assessment. Are you?

[shovelhd]

Someone has been watching too much Fox News . . .

Please keep the politics out of it. I'll watch whatever news program I choose.

Thank you.

[Cat3roadracer]

I'm not sure why Bill/Ben did not hire "The Forum" to restructure the company. Surely we could have done an impeccable job and saved someone some amount of cash.

[HenryA]

Yeah, this I have to agree. Bill has been great on all fronts really...but as you said, it was probably too little too late. My issue with the statement above (Ben's), is just that, the statement. My reading of it reveals finger-pointing at a corporate structure. There is no doubting that DCG screwed Serotta over, with respect to this specific deal, but Serotta had been spiraling downwards from a very long time. As you yourself noted, Bill was brought in to stop that free-fall.




Cool, you're entitled to whatever you please.


The best thing that you ardent Serotta supporters can do is provide valuable criticism to the company on how to run the business. I don't hear anyone arguing that the reason for Serotta's downfall was their poor quality so why all the fanfare about reiterating the obvious. If anything the lesson here is that quality alone is not good enough to stay in business.

BBD's bandwagon of +1/Fox news posters: Before you decide to make me a scapegoat for your pent-up frustrations about the dissolution of the manufacturer of a bike that you ride, read and try to comprehend what I said above and if need be respond back objectively with specific issues.

BBD: (since you decided to make a personal remark, Mr.Mod)
As for the matter of class/intelligence; yours was a remarkably cheap and in any case, a totally haphazard shot. I'm being unabashedly objective and unemotional in my assessment. Are you?

Nawww...
Unless you have an inside track on the full story behind what's happening at Serotta you're just speculating. And not in a nice way, bordering on rude. There are no "specific issues" to be settled on this forum. And for a guy who claims to be "unabashedly objective and unemotional " you're pretty strident.

[SlackMan]

Please keep the politics out of it. I'll watch whatever news program I choose.

Thank you.

^^^^Ditto. Virtually all news programs on the left and right are hyper-partisan lapdogs. To denigrate one vs the others is to signal one's own inability to see that just because a program agrees with one's views doesn't mean it is neutral or objective.

[slidey]

Some of the people here certainly have the ears of the higher-ups in the company, so I don't see problems with communication. As for good ideas, I believe they can come from anywhere/anyone. All it takes is the humility to acknowledge that fact.

I'm not sure why Bill/Ben did not hire "The Forum" to restructure the company. Surely we could have done an impeccable job and saved someone some amount of cash.

[slidey]

Well, this is certainly true. I don't have the inside story, etc and am only going by what's available on the public domain.

As for being discordant, sorry about the cacophony, but I'm trying to get a forward-thinking conversation with other concerned/passionate/knowledgable people in the hope that some useful insights might find their way to the higher-ups at Serotta. I don't see how the misty-eyed eulogising of Serotta (before they're buried so to speak), carries this discussion forward in any way. Now if no one wants to discuss, then so be it.

Nawww...
Unless you have an inside track on the full story behind what's happening at Serotta you're just speculating. And not in a nice way, bordering on rude.

P.S. Since most of you seem to be quite thin-skinned about this issue I should mention that my only interest in this is from an analytical standpoint. If Serotta can really rebuild itself from here, that's just great!

[pbarry]

This winter and spring, there were several threads regarding Serotta's new direction. Bill was listening closely, and he contributed to those discussions. The Pronto was the first effort after (I'm sure), countless hours of meetings with management and staff, distilling input from many sources, and coming up with a new product that was competitively priced, and had the makings of a winner. `

[BumbleBeeDave]

BBD: (since you decided to make a personal remark, Mr.Mod)
As for the matter of class/intelligence; yours was a remarkably cheap and in any case, a totally haphazard shot. I'm being unabashedly objective and unemotional in my assessment. Are you?

I didn't say YOU lack class and intelligence, I said your REMARKS lack class and intelligence--and I stand by my statement. Kicking a guy when he's down is just poor form. Also poor form to play the "Mod Card." I'm entitled to an opinion, too.

"Serotta is/was in no-man's land; a mid-sized manufacturing firm delivering impeccable quality to its boutique-like customer base whilst competing with the large-scale firms, fully equipped with the intransigence of moss in a pond, the economic foresight of a poor gambler in Vegas, and worst of all, the pride of an entire pride of lions."

If you wish to dissect the company's business history, then go ahead. I assumed that would happen in this situation if it ever happened. Ben is a person, subject to human frailties and weaknesses just as we all are. Many mistakes have been made over the years in running the business--at least from our point of view. He made his fair share of them and he has admitted as much publicly.

But, come on . . . "the economic foresight of a poor gambler in Vegas?" . . . Sheesh. "Unabashedly objective and unemotional?" Puh-leez.

BBD

[phcollard]

You guys are amazing. BBD got a note from Ben and said he would post it here, so it's basically a note to us, which is which is rather kind. And instead of wishing him well all you're doing is speculate on why the company went down, saying they made bad business decisions, that basically they were idiots for being unable to keep the boat afloat and so on...

Maybe I'm missing something?

[BumbleBeeDave]

This winter and spring, there were several threads regarding Serotta's new direction. Bill was listening closely, and he contributed to those discussions. The Pronto was the first effort after (I'm sure), countless hours of meetings with management and staff, distilling input from many sources, and coming up with a new product that was competitively priced, and had the makings of a winner. `

. . . over the past year regarding Serotta's business direction. I can assure you that advice WAS read and WAS listened to--and followed--in a way that I have NEVER seen before in my 12 years of owning one of the bikes and following the company.

One of their mistakes over the years--among others--was to not leverage the knowledge and insight available from their own forum, full of savvy and highly educated fans of the brand eager to help. Bill corrected that in a big way.

The failure to supply operating capital lays squarely with DCG, NOT Ben and Bill. And the responsibility for the "sale" to DCG lays with the former owner, NOT Ben and Bill.

BBD

[BumbleBeeDave]

You guys are amazing. BBD got a note from Ben and said he would post it here, so it's basically a note to us, which is which is rather kind. And instead of wishing him well all you're doing is speculate on why the company went down, saying they made bad business decisions, that basically they were idiots for being unable to keep the boat afloat and so on...

Maybe I'm missing something?

You pretty well nailed it.

BBD

[weisan]

No, you did not miss anything.

All my pals are behaving very predictably as they always have in the past.

All system functioning normal.

Thanks for pasting the note.

[572cv]

of Ben, in the midst of what must be upheaval and mayhem in his world, to take a moment to reach out to friends and say a few words. Thanks to BBD for posting.

This clearly is a big deal, but for purposes of the thread, what I read is that they are trying to find a way through. Godspeed on that, guys.

[ergott]

The note has been passed and I appreciate it. My opinion is that the note should not have discussion under it. I vote lock and repost a sticky of the note with no comments.

PS - Ben and Bill, I wish you guys the best in whatever you do moving forward. You are both good guys to hang with.

[misterha]

well so much for lusting for the pronto, maybe it'll come back one day.

[djg]

I think it's a shame.

I wish Ben the best, and hope that he (and Bill) are able to find a way forward.

[oldpotatoe]

This note from Ben was forwarded to me and I have received his permission to re-post it here.

BBD

------------

Dear Friend,

I apologize for the lack of personalization in this note.

Since news broke of the planned shutdown of the Serotta facility there has been an absolute deluge of calls and emails expressing concern, hope, thanks, well wishes into the future and even offers for financial backing. I can’t thank you enough for your show of support and friendship.

It has been a difficult time for sure, but all of us here gain resolve from each other to find a path for a viable continuum of building the finest bicycles, but without the complications, restrictions and frustrations that come along with ‘outside’ corporate structure.

Bill and I have been working hard to structure a management buyout of Serotta, extricating it from the current holding company and we remain hopeful. If that doesn’t work out, there’s always plan B (or was it D?).

I believe that everyone on this planet has certain special skills. My wonderful, dedicated staff, colleagues and I are fortunate enough to have discovered some time ago that we are here to make wonderful things with our hands, hearts and minds. While many details remain between now and the future, the one thing that is certain, is that we’ll continue to make fabulous bicycles, because, that’s what we do. You can count on it!

Hope to see you on the road soon,

Ben

My employee, who works the Courage Classic as support, heard this 2 weeks ago from a relative thru marriage of Ben, who stopped at his booth. Sister in law??

She mentioned that Ben and ?? are trying to buy the company.

[PQJ]

The note has been passed and I appreciate it. My opinion is that the note should not have discussion under it. I vote lock and repost a sticky of the note with no comments.

PS - Ben and Bill, I wish you guys the best in whatever you do moving forward. You are both good guys to hang with.

This.

[Birddog]

Pissin' on the coffin at the wake is bad form. I know were living in the edgy 20teens, but still........

[William]

The note has been passed and I appreciate it. My opinion is that the note should not have discussion under it. I vote lock and repost a sticky of the note with no comments.

PS - Ben and Bill, I wish you guys the best in whatever you do moving forward. You are both good guys to hang with.


Agree.

You all are welcome to post in the other Serotta thread, or start a new one.





William