Perspective of someone in the bicycle industry.
First question I have is, have they have received any payments from their $1.7M liscensing deal? Other than the intial payment?
Second, the US "distributors"? Any chance these 3 guys were part of the sales figures they list for product sold? Or, better yet, what are their requirement to become a distributor? My guess, these 3 guys bought bikes and signed up to be the local sales agents for their area. Hardly a bicycle distributor.
Third, this is more about the product itself. It isn't new. Perhaps the ratcheting drive mecanism is, but the idea itself is very very old. I rode one once in the 90's at a shop I ran in CT. One big difference was that one had adjustable crank arms. Longer for the forward pump action and shorter for regular pedal motion. Actually a pretty important differance. Their 225mm(?) cranks will destroy people with bad knees..
FYI: google around for bikes from the turn of the centry... Maybe even older. I'll look around too. But if I'm not mistaken, some of the first bikes made used the -cranks forward paddle motion.. Not that that makes this product dated or irrelevant.
Fourth: Interbike. This is THE bicycle trade show. As I describe it to people, if it's related to bikes, it's at this show. It runs every Sept. and it is when shops buy their bikes for the year. If you're not here, you're not selling bikes to bike shops in this country or most likely anywhere else besides the far east. China, Japan, Korea, etc, all have they're own unique bikes and brands. That said, these countries also buy more bikes than the rest of the world combined times ???10?? I don't have exact numbers, but it's huge. Thus this company being rated 13 out of 2400(?) the 13 isn't the problem, it's the 2400 that puts it into perspective. However, Alenax was not at Interbike. They also haven't even gone into production. So they don't have bikes available if a distributor wanted to buy a container (30-50 bikes) full of them.
I read through the 10K pretty quick. There were other issues I worried about. The lawsuits for unpaid debt and their plan to move from marketing to selling were a couple also.
They need that next payment from their liscensing agreement before they can go much further.
These kinds of deals can go bad real quick. Anyone research the company they got the deal with? Do they have $1.7M? Or are they just trying to lock in a deal that they hope to fullfill? WhY happens when they back out? Can this company afford to sue them? If successfull, what are the chances they'd ever see a dime?
Next issue, future product line and markets. This will always be a niche product. No way will they ever market to the high end bike market. Pro level or even hobbyist level cyclist won't ride this. Sorry. It will do well in the elderly market. Perhaps the fitness market would work.
My advise? QVC or late night infomercials. Seriously. They could move huge volume and if they can parlay that into a Razor scooter type of hype, they could move it in to some bike shops or mass retailers. Those places will buy, if they see units being sold. But with 2400 choices, there's some serious competition.
In closing. I think they can make something happen. It's not a looser. It's going to take another year or two. They need to get some money comming in before they can go any further. Either throughsales, liscensing agreements or dillution..? And they need to figure out how to go from a cool idea with some marketing (ie, facebook page, PDF catalog, etc) to a supplier, manufacturer, distributor (sales) company.
Everthing above is my opinion only. My facts may be off slightly. Do your DD. Check my facts. Look into the company that they signed the deal with. Afterall, their revenue listed at $1.7M for the year includes the hope they do get that payment. If they do get it, where's it going? In to production? Past debt? Or saleries? Keep in mind, this is 12 people working out of a 1000sf office and a 3000sf wharehouse in (Tawain??) with an address in NJ. The phone I wrote this post with, started with a guy working in his garage too, so I'm not judging...
