01/30/2026
Too bad they went after dealers and shut them out rather than doubling down on supporting them. They are overstocked because they lied to independent dealers while favoring large shops so when the “boom” ended later with big dealers, Trek was left to hold the bag.
Trek instead bet on online sales cutting out the network of advocates at shops across the country built over 50 yrs.
We detailed there downfall in a series on our YouTube channel at the link below. They lied, threatened, and ultimately went after the Mountain Bike Shed leading to its closure. Really nasty people run Trek, very nasty.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjFFBD49MoJmpl8fx8hB34jbW8rDO25Vl&si=zIVT6b0tZBPDRrpN
For a year and a half, Trek’s internal daily sales performance dashboards have been “all red” – down year on year every day as the tail of the bicycle industry bust proves much longer than the boom that preceded it. Then, on Monday, January 12th, those dashboards turned green; but any celebration or sense that there is light at the end of the tunnel was put on hold. Staff had already been asked to work from home on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week, with a significant round of layoffs on the way.
Read the full story on Escape Collective.
