Longstanding US brand closes, another company makes layoffs

The challenges faced by the bike industry continue, with two US brands becoming among the first casualties of the new year.

Genuine Innovations, which makes CO2 canisters, has been closed down by its parent company Illinois Tool Works, while Bloomington, Minnesota cycle parts distributor Quality Bicycle Parts has added a third round of redundancies to those it made in 2023 and 2022.

Both developments were reported on the Bicycle Retailer website.

The closure of Genuine Innovations was put down to a rise in competition.

"Genuine Innovations faced increasing challenges as the market became more commoditized," said a spokesman from ITW distributor JBI.

"With the rise of low-cost and private-label competitors, the brand was ultimately squeezed out. It's bittersweet for us to say goodbye, as we've been proud to support riders for so many years."

ITW, which also owns the Slime brand of tyre sealants, would concentrate on its automotive offerings, the spokesman said, but it was still planning to release a new Slime Bike sealant in the coming months.

QBP distributes numerous major brands, including Continental tyres, Met, SRAM and Shimano. On Wednesday it reduced its workforce by 2%, BRAIN reported, and cited the bike industry's economic challenges.

The measure was taken "to ensure our long-term sustainability and success as we continue to navigate the powerful, unpredictable economic pressures and unsteady shifts confronting the bicycle industry," said a spokesperson for the company.

QBP had previously laid off 50 members of its US workforce in 2022, and another 5% in 2023, as well as closing its bicycle mechanics school in 2023.

The company did have around 800 workers spread across the USA and Taiwan, which has slowly been reduced.

Last week Cycling Weekly ran a story looking at the industry's prospects for this year. Many companies – and not just within the bike industry – had been told to 'survive to 25', but it is clear that the industry is not out of the woods.

The post-Covid surplus appears to be slowly resolving itself, but many companies are braced to see what the effect of trade tariffs imposed by new US president Donald Trump will be on the industry.