Kitsbow is Closing

[Lovetoclimb]

Sad news to wake up to. This was always a tough business model but they sure did give it a go. And it seemed like they had some momentum for a while. I hope all of the employees find something equally rewarding and that Old Fort does not return to the state of decline it was previously in.

Details

[cequip]

I always would read the great reviews and then head over to their website. The prices seemed insane. I could catch something on sale that seemed close enough at LLBean for about 20-25%. Hard to justify a $200-250 flannel shirt. Sad day for the town. These small towns just cannot seem to hang on.

[KonaSS]

Originally Posted by cequip

I always would read the great reviews and then head over to their website. The prices seemed insane. I could catch something on sale that seemed close enough at LLBean for about 20-25%. Hard to justify a $200-250 flannel shirt. Sad day for the town. These small towns just cannot seem to hang on.

This was my thoughts/experience exactly. I wanted to be a customer. I like to be a buy quality/buy once cry once consumer. But also have to pay college tuition for my daughter every semester. I just couldn't swallow the prices, even on sale.

[Michael Maddox]

I am terribly disappointed about this. I received the email, yesterday.

I have three pairs of shorts, some pants, and some t-shirts from them. They are easily my favorite clothes.

I was rooting for this company to make it.

[lorenbike]

Originally Posted by cequip

I always would read the great reviews and then head over to their website. The prices seemed insane. I could catch something on sale that seemed close enough at LLBean for about 20-25%. Hard to justify a $200-250 flannel shirt. Sad day for the town. These small towns just cannot seem to hang on.

And if you want made in USA LLBean you can still find endless used 'vintage' flannels on ebay for $15-25 in perfectly good condition.

[trener1]

I got that email as well and was truly stunned. real bummer.

[nmrt]

I am saddenned to hear this news as well. I would like the US to begin manufacturing again.

In my mind what is even sadder is that if the prices Kitsbow charged for their goods was not enough to sustain them, those prices, while really high (for me) is not sufficient to sustain US apparel manufacturing.

Then, this begs the question: if the vast majority of cyclists cannot afford Kitsbow, then are american only paid enough to afford goods made overseas with cheap labor?

[lorenbike]

Originally Posted by nmrt

I am saddenned to hear this news as well. I would like the US to begin manufacturing again.

In my mind what is even sadder is that if the prices Kitsbow charged for their goods was not enough to sustain them, those prices, while really high (for me) is not sufficient to sustain US apparel manufacturing.

Then, this begs the question: if the vast majority of cyclists cannot afford Kitsbow, then are american only paid enough to afford goods made overseas with cheap labor?

.

[nmrt]

How would you compare the quality of Kitsbow to Swerve and LA apparel? I'm just curious.

Originally Posted by lorenbike

Los angeles apparel makes good quality t-shirts for $24 each made in the U.S. I use a few neon green/yellow shirts for road riding.

Swrve makes some of their shorts in the U.S. for ~$100-125, and while not cheap, they certainly aren't at the high end of the price spectrum for bike shorts.

[CAAD]

Originally Posted by nmrt

I am saddenned to hear this news as well. I would like the US to begin manufacturing again.

In my mind what is even sadder is that if the prices Kitsbow charged for their goods was not enough to sustain them, those prices, while really high (for me) is not sufficient to sustain US apparel manufacturing.

Then, this begs the question: if the vast majority of cyclists cannot afford Kitsbow, then are american only paid enough to afford goods made overseas with cheap labor?

For me, a bit of fabric isn't worth $265. I was in their store not long ago and no way I'm paying that much for bib shorts. I can get a pair of made-in-USA Orgin denim for $128, ill go for that.

[mstateglfr]

It was disappointing to see this yesterday, even though I have never purchased from them.
Kitsbow's president/ceo was part of a Nerd Alert podcast last year and it was really neat to hear his take on manufacturing, repairability, sustainability, etc.

With that said, I have never purchased from them and even with this 20% off going out of business sale, the prices arent close to in line with what I would pay to find value in the clothing.
Current prices with discount- $185 for some Haskell MTB shorts, $108 for a short sleeve plaid button down, $175 for a hoodie(it is merino), $68 for a quick dry t-shirt.


It does suck that there is now one less domestic cycling clothing manufacturer.
Voler seems to be going strong- introducing new product, updating current designs, etc.
And Ornot also seems to be on solid ground.

[AngryScientist]

it's all just depressing.

This country really became a great place post WWII because there were lots of good jobs doing stuff and making stuff. I live very near to Paterson NJ which was known as silk city with tons of textile and clothing manufacturing. There are still plenty of reminders of the city's history around.

What a sad state of affairs with how much of our normal day-to-day essentials are produced offshore.

I've never run a small business, but I'm leery of small business models that rely heavily on outside investors, crowd funding, etc. In my mind a small business should be sustainable on profit alone. A widget company should pay for it's operating expenses and profit from widget sales, and not need outside investment to survive.

[charliedid]

I'm not surprised, the market for bike apparel at this price point and design style must be very challenging to make a go of it.

[R3awak3n]

I will admit I never even heard of them and yes sure the prices are high but so are is prices for other cycling high end stuff, assos, rapha, q (some numbers whatever its called, horrible brand name), etc...) But the difference is this stuff is actually made in the US.

This kind of goes with the tshirt thread where a lot of people don't want to pay more than $10 for a tshirt.

I think the cycling industry is just too small, not enough people that are ok paying big prices for quality stuff made in the USA.

Its interesting though to see people that have 5 bikes, all well over $3000 and more but then are rocking some cheap jersey and bibs. I don't quite understand the difference, actually i feel like you get a lot more with nicer end clothing than with higher end bike frames. I don't have much gear but most if not all of it is very nice. I do wish more of it was made here though.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by charliedid

I'm not surprised, the market for bike apparel at this price point and design style must be very challenging to make a go of it.

this is a very good point but like I mentioned, brands like rapha, assos, etc seem to be doing ok?