Bike Republic (Colruyt Group) deep in the red

Colruyt Group is exploring several options for Bike Republic, the bike shop chain that has been posting loss figures for years. The retailer does say it continues to believe in the subsidiary: a sale would not be on the agenda.

“Promising results”

In the fiscal year that ended last March, Bike Republic’s operating loss doubled to 6.9 million euros on 51.7 million euros in sales, while its net loss increased from 1.9 to 5.3 million euros, writes business newspaper De Tijd. The chain, which has 32 stores in Belgium, has been posting loss figures for four years.

Yet there would be improvement. The results in the current financial year are “promising,” spokesperson Hanne Poppe responds to the newspaper. Colruyt Group continues to believe in the bicycle shop chain and is investing in additional stores. At the same time, the company is looking at other avenues, “possibly with other players in the market.” But “there are no concrete plans today to sell Bike Republic,” Poppe added.