E-bikes have become very popular in recent years. Nevertheless, a well-known company now has to file for bankruptcy. It sells very different brands, one of which can be found primarily at Aldi and Lidl.
E-bikes are more popular than ever. According to Poll by Statista the proportion of people in Germany who own an e-bike or pedelec has almost tripled since 2017. But the high demand could especially in 2021 hard to be satisfied. Like many other companies, the manufacturers of bicycles and e-bikes had to struggle with global delivery problems and the high inflation rate. Among other things, these could be reasons why the well-known e-bike manufacturer Prophete had to file for bankruptcy. The message reached the affected employees shortly before Christmas.
Prophete files for bankruptcy after 114 years
Prophete not only sells e-bikes under its own name, but also through the subsidiary Cycle Union GmbH, founded in 2004, which also owns brands such as ebm e-bike manufaktur, vsf Fahrradmanufaktur, Kreidler and Rabeneick. While some of the latter are in the higher-priced segment, Prophete e-bikes and pedelecs can often be found at Lidl, Aldi or in hardware stores. TECHBOOK also repeatedly reported on cheap e-bike offers from discounters.
Like the website “The bell“ reported, the bankruptcy application was filed on December 21 at the District Court of Bielefeld. Now it is up to the provisional insolvency administrator, lawyer Manuel Sack from the law firm Brinkmann und Partner, to determine the reasons for the insolvency of Prophete and to clarify how to proceed.
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With the bankruptcy, the company Prophete, which was founded in 1908, faces difficult times. In 2018, the manufacturer itself employed around 280 people. Together with the subsidiary Cycle Union, there are around 450 employees across all locations. It is unclear what will happen to them now. According to Manuel Sack, wages are secured at least for December, January and February through pre-financing of insolvency money. In general, according to Sack, they want to try to keep the Prophete brand with all its offshoots. However, further details still have to be clarified. “We are currently at the very beginning,” said Sack last Thursday.
The news of Prophete’s insolvency came as a surprise to many outsiders, as it was not foreseeable. Most recently, production in Germany was abandoned and the bicycles, e-bikes and pedelecs were instead produced in Romania and India. This enabled the manufacturer to cut costs and sell e-bikes at Aldi and Lidl for well under 1000 euros. However, the Group continues to produce the more expensive models, which are offered by other brands such as , via its subsidiaries at the Oldenburg site in Germany.
Also read: The best e-bikes for everyday cyclists
Will there soon be no more Prophete bikes at Lidl and Aldi?
At Lidl and Aldi, the e-bikes from Prophete are and were very popular, mainly because of their low price. Some bikes are even in the online shops of the sellers out of stock. Nevertheless, individual models can still be found here. However, there is no indication of the insolvency of Prophete in the shops. The information is definitely relevant for buyers, because the obligation to provide a warranty changes in the event of insolvency. If the purchased e-bike is defective and needs to be replaced or repaired, the buyer must assert their claims for supplementary performance against the insolvency administrator. If the latter refuses, those affected only have the option of claiming damages. Then the claim ends up on the list of claims of the other creditors – and at the bottom. Whether and when those affected will receive money in the event of a dispute is completely open. For more information about repairs, guarantees and warranties in the event of bankruptcy, the Consumer Protection Agency published an information page.