VanMoof, the Dutch electric bike brand, has been forced to declare bankruptcy after the brand's co-founding brothers, Ties and Taco Carlier, failed to find investment to save it.
In an email sent to staff, published by The Verge, the brothers said: "Over the last weeks, Ties and I have tried to find a future for VanMoof. We're extremely sorry to have to report that despite our best efforts we did not succeed and we have had to file for bankruptcy."
The brand, which was founded in 2009, was entered into a preliminary 'suspension of payment' period earlier in July. This is a period in which creditors cannot collect debts in a bid to help a company avoid bankruptcy, however, this can also be a first step to bankruptcy proceedings in many cases. In the case of VanMoof, the suspension of payment has already been withdrawn, as bankruptcy was declared by the Amsterdam District Court on July 17.
The brand has a reported 700 employees, with nine brand stores and 190,000 customers worldwide. Two trustees have been assigned to manage debts and investigate the possibility of rebuilding the company.
"The trustees are currently setting up a sales process for the assets and activities of VanMoof, in order to find a party who is willing to continue the activities of VanMoof," a statement on the company website explains.
VanMoof's bikes employ various technological integrations such as app-based unlocking and GPS tracking in the case of a bike being stolen. The aforementioned statement reassures current VanMoof owners that bikes "will remain functional and rideable, as we aim to keep our app and servers online and aim to secure the ongoing services for the future."
However, in an almost immediate undoing of that prior reassurance, customers are also advised to "create a backup unlock code so you can unlock your bike through the buttons on your handlebar."
The brand also says that all outgoing deliveries have been halted, with no confirmation that existing orders will be fulfilled. "Depending on the outcome of the sales process, it will be decided if open orders can be fulfilled."
This is in relation to all orders, from full bikes down to accessories and spare parts. Given that VanMoof uses a number of proprietary components, this could leave some existing customers without a working bike until the bankruptcy proceedings are resolved, if, of course, they ever are.
The same can be said for booking repairs. Currently, customers are unable to book an appointment for repair to their bike, and VanMoof's statement is similar to the above: "Depending on the outcome of the sales process, it will be decided if repairs in the VanMoof stores are continued."
Those with pre-paid orders are instructed to file a claim in the bankruptcy proceedings. VanMoof says the trustees are "setting up specific procedures" to make that possible.
There is a sliver of positive news for owners of VanMoof bikes that are currently under repair, though. "All repaired and unrepaired bikes that are owned by riders and currently located in one of the VanMoof repair stores in the Netherlands, can be picked up by the riders," although unfortunately there's no guarantee that the bike will be repaired upon collection.
Of course, VanMoof's declaration of bankruptcy doesn't necessarily mean the company will disappear. The job of the two trustees is to attempt to sell the company, its assets, or find more capital investment.
If the latter is achieved, it will be far from the first round of investment secured by the brand. According to an earlier statement by the brand in September 2021, it had raised a staggering $182 million over the previous two years, including $128 million in a single round led by Asia-based private equity firm, Hillhouse Investment. The brand claimed to be the "most funded e-bike company in the world."
The difficulty the brand is facing is just the latest in a string of companies struggling after the pandemic. Industry behemoth Specialized was the highest profile brand to make cuts when it cut its ambassador program in December and laid off 8% of its staff in January. Prior to that, Indoor cycling specialists Wahoo and Zwift were both forced to lay off staff, while British distributor Moore Large collapsed and folded.
