Last Friday, Rocky Mountain announced that it had found new buyers in Canadian entrepreneurs Jean-François Grenache, Christian Thibert, Jonathan Bourgeois and Mr. St-Denis. The latter three are also behind Maui Bikes, a Quebec-based e-bike company that is a division of Mr. Thibert’s distribution companyDARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
When Patrick St-Denis bought his first Rocky Mountain bike in the mid-90s, he never expected to one day be helping save the iconic Canadian brand from creditor protection.
Now, he’s one of four Quebec-based investors hoping to revive the revered company with roots in the mountain-biking community on Vancouver’s North Shore.
In January, Rocky Mountain Bicycles, with headquarters in Quebec, announced that it would restructure to seek protection from creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
Citing “unprecedented financial pressure,” the company’s decision took place amid an industry-wide slump after the height of COVID-19, a stagnation in new sales and a surplus of untouched inventory.
On Friday, Rocky Mountain announced that it had found new buyers in Canadian entrepreneurs Jean-François Grenache, Christian Thibert, Jonathan Bourgeois and Mr. St-Denis. The latter three are also behind Maui Bikes, a Quebec-based e-bike company that is a division of Mr. Thibert’s distribution company.
The quartet brings a diverse background to Rocky Mountain, including experience in logistics, distribution, accounting and the outdoors sports industry. Mr. St-Denis, who has previously worked with sports-related Oakley and The North Face, said they decided to go for it after hearing the news about Rocky’s troubles.
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After a long waiting period, the group was given the news about a week ago that they had been successful, and Mr. St-Denis said it’s been a whirlwind since then. To start, each of them has invested personal funds to help ensure the deal goes through. They say the company’s current funding structure is solid enough to restart operations.
Historically, Rocky has done all of its testing and R&D in North Vancouver, where it’s a well-known favourite brand among locals. When it sought creditor protection, it was forced to lay off some of its staff, as well as its sponsored athletes, many of whom are based on the West Coast.
Mr. St-Denis said he can’t yet confirm whether staff will be hired back, but considerations are being made. And while it may not be in the exact same location, the brand’s development hub will remain on the North Shore.
“We’re working on the final structure, but for sure, North Van is going to stay North Van,” he said.
That’s good news for Ken Maude, owner and president of Lynn Valley Bikes in North Vancouver. Rocky Mountain has been the biggest brand in his store for at least the past 12 years and when the company paused orders, his business felt the effects.
Typically, he relies upon them for about half-a-million dollars worth of sales. “So, $500,000 of revenue pretty much almost guaranteed gone for the year, that’s a reasonable-sized hit on our business.”
Over the past six months, Mr. Maude said he’s mostly been selling through old Rocky Mountain stock and crossing his fingers that the company pulls through.
“Losing them was really tough. It put a little bit of a scare in our business because it is really hard to replace a brand like that in our store,” he said.
Better communication within the company’s management teams, and a more streamlined offering of products are a couple items he’d like to see the new owners improve upon. He also hopes they recognize the value in bringing back any laid-off locals.
“It would be hard to just start from scratch without some of those people who’ve been around for the last 10 or 15 years running it,” Mr. Maude said.
Back in Quebec, Mr. St-Denis said the team is working full steam ahead to have new Rocky bikes again flowing into the hands of retailers and riders.
Slimming down the company’s current offerings, while also reintroducing downhill-specific bikes, are among their considerations for the future. Mr. St-Denis said they intend to stick to the trails, with their gravel bike being the closest to a road bike that they plan to get.
He also noted all warranties offered by Rocky Mountain in recent years will be honoured.
While Mr. Maude said he didn’t expect to be able to place an order for new Rocky bikes until next year, Mr. St-Denis said he plans to be ready with a lineup in about four or five weeks.
“We won’t skip a year. We can’t do that,” he said.
Chaos Sports Inc. is the company name the four investors have chosen to lead their new venture. Mr. St-Denis said it seemed apt considering how quickly the past month has moved in terms of closing the deal.
Most importantly, Mr. St-Denis said the four investors are ecstatic to be keeping the brand in Canada and the chance to visit the North Shore trails more often for work doesn’t hurt.
“My first mountain bike was a Rocky Mountain, and if the sales guy had told me I would buy the brand one day, I would have laughed at him and left.”