Time (Sport) Marches On -- The Future Of Time Sport

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EvilEuro
Posts: 333
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2009 10:03 am

by EvilEuro

Carrying on from the previous thread where fans of Time Sport fretted and worried about the potential demise of the company, I wanted to start a new thread where we can now look forward to what is in store for the company in the future.

I will use the previously quoted email from WhaTTfornow's President, Francois Guers, as the starting point of this thread. As noted by the bolded parts which KGT highlighted, there appear to be some big changes on the horizon for how Time Sport functions.
Dear TIME Partners,

The ROSSIGNOL Group has just separated from the TIME brand (pedals / frames / bikes / accessories) by selling it to the creators of WhaTTfornow, a new brand of innovative e-bikes. It is with pleasure that we introduce to you François Guers, former R&D Director at Salomon, and Pierre Tognet, both were born in the Northern French Alps. They are the new owners of TIME, supplemented by financial investors, all passionate about cycling.

Very proud of this acquisition of this emblematic brand, their primary ambition to restore TIME to nobility.
Reactivate Innovation and Technology to propose you innovative products: this will be “back to the origin” and big R&D efforts will be made for this purpose.

From September, almost all of the current team will join the team of the start-up WhaTT in Rumilly, in the former premises of the Salomon factory which produced SALOMON skis and MAVIC wheels until 2008.

Together, we will restore TIME DNA and heritage to make it grow again.

Regarding products:

> 2 launches will be made in the coming weeks: the new “Cyclo” pedal and a new XC range
A new project “Top Secret” is also in the boxes of our R&D Team.
> RTM frameworks: R&D will be reinstalled in France and production will continue in our Slovak factory which has all ISO certifications and highly skilled operators.
> Reintroduction of the 4 families of existing frame / bike products:
SCYLON / FLUIDITY / AH 01 / AH21.
> Continuation of 2020 catalog colors in 2021 and additions of new designs which will be unveiled in July.
> Start of R&D for the development of a new high-tech totally new frame that will be launched in 2022.


On after-sales service: no break in service, the person currently handling your files and repears is part of the new team. A new person will be hired.

Our goal is also to revive Time with a reactivated Marketing and Digital Communication plan.

For the whole Time Team, see you soon,

François Guers
President WhaTTfornow & TIME
Key takeaways from this:

- WhaTTfornow's plans for Time Sport are focused on R&D and getting new products to market. This makes sense considering that Time's new president is the former head of R&D for Salomon.

- WhaTTfornow values what makes Time frames special in the first place, their unique-to-the-bike-industry RTM carbon work, and plans to continue using it in the future. They also plan to continue to manufacture in Europe at their plant in Slovakia.

While I would have liked to see a return to frame production back in France, it is at least reassuring to note that Time Sport will not be, A) ditching RTM for a different/cheaper manufacturing process, and B) is not going to be farming out their frame manufacturing to the China or Taiwan.

- WhaTTfornow plans to "reactivate" Time Sport's marketing and digital communications plans. This is great to hear because Time has to have one of the worst online presence of any company I can think of. Their website is sparse and provides little information. Their Facebook account barely has any updates. And they don't do a great job at all of getting eyeballs (and therefore interest) on their products. It will be interesting to see how long this takes to implement.

- Not in the email, but mentioned in the previous thread, is a renewed emphasis on supporting their dealers and possibly expanding their dealer network. This is good to hear because there are too many areas where there is no Time dealer. Los Angeles has ONE Time frame dealer for the entire metro region of 10+ million persons. Time has been notorious in the past for providing terrible dealer support (and post-sales support if you weren't in Europe). So any improvement in dealer and customer support is most welcome.

I'm really excited to see what the new "top secret" R&D project yields as well as seeing the new frame planned for launch in 2022.

How will this all pan out? Only "Time" will tell, but at least there is something to be excited about and to look forward to with this hopefully successful rebirth of Time Sport.

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kgt
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by kgt

Nice thread ;)
So far existing dealers seem to embrace the new owners’ strategy and business plan with enthusiasm.

The competition is huge and things won’t be easy but there is optimism for a better future.

It also depends on us, buyers, to support companies like Time who insist on high quality products made in house and not mediocre, outsourced in somewhere frames which are equally expensive because of all the marketing sauce they are covered with.

Let’s hope for the best and let’s watch again what the two most important and independent engineers- reviewers have to say about the best made carbon frames in the world:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nwiVlLfqG1M

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-xb5BqtgzVI


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EvilEuro
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by EvilEuro

kgt wrote:
Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:16 pm
Nice thread ;)
So far existing dealers seem to embrace the new owners’ strategy and business plan with enthusiasm.
I've seen you mention this before and talked about having spoken with your local Time dealer. What have you heard about strategy and plans that is different or gives hope for optimism?

I like having something to look forward to.

darnellrm
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by darnellrm

"two most important and independent engineers" - HA - in their own minds......

bikeboy1tr
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by bikeboy1tr

I am actually excited because if I have to pay big $ for a frame made in Asia I would be okay with paying a little more for a Time frame knowing it has some of the existing technology with possibly some new technology added in and produced somewhere other than Asia. I paid much money for my V2R in Canada because its such big risk money wise to have one shipped from the UK (better deals) and then get totally screwed at the border with all the additional fees. So to avoid all that I purchased in Canada where there are absolutely no deals on new Colnagos. That being said I am sure there wont be much for deals on the new Time frames but hey not made in Asia.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=154188
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kgt
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by kgt

darnellrm wrote:
Thu Aug 13, 2020 12:42 am
"two most important and independent engineers" - HA - in their own minds......
I wrote "engineers-reviewers", it is a different thing.
And if you know anyone with more knowledge and experience on bike frames/parts manufacturing who also happens to provide technical advice and posts reviews online I would like you to tell me.

Omiar
Posts: 385
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:20 pm

by Omiar

Aquiring another business is great, but rebuilding a company usually demands for deep pockets. I hope they have them.

On another note, I wish they would offer tools and replacement parts for their pedals and drop this 'bearings will last forever BS'.
As for their frames, they just as expensive as any high end frame. I don't see much difference in the last few years.
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EvilEuro
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by EvilEuro

Omiar wrote:
Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:52 am
Aquiring another business is great, but rebuilding a company usually demands for deep pockets. I hope they have them.
I guess that depends upon your definition of "rebuilding a company".

I'd agree that it'd require far deeper pockets if WhaTTfornow had acquired only Time's name as part of a bankruptcy, where they would then have to rebuild all of the aspects of the company. This would probably have resulted in them farming out manufacture of parts bearing the Time name because that'd be far less expensive than rebuilding their manufacturing base and capability.

But we're not talking about a company that had ceased operations, gone bankrupt, and sold off all of their equipment and tooling in liquidation. Nor has Time had a "brain drain" (that we've heard about) where their long-term engineering and operations staff have fled the company, taking with them their institutional knowledge of the company.

WhaTTfornow has bought a still functioning company (Time) whose previous parent company was not investing in it. But the factory in Slovakia is still there. Time is still building in-house, manufacturing its own frames, pedals, handlebars, and stems.

The sounds coming from their new owners are that they feel they've bought something that is of far greater value to them than it was to Rossignol and plan to invest accordingly. Far easier to do when you're not trying to rebuild completely from the ground up.

The thing that would "help" the most is probably the most expensive thing they can do -- sponsor a Pro Tour team so they can get their product seen by the masses. You can't want what you don't know exists.

I think it's far less expensive to work on rebuilding their dealer and support network than rebuilding the company as a whole. The cost of actively engaging in social media and being more responsive to their customer base isn't that much to invest considering the potential return.

Most positive though is at least there are plans being announced that consist of more than, "We need to assess what we have bought and see what the future brings". That would cause far more worry than what we've heard so far.

Zakalwe
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Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:15 pm

by Zakalwe

I’ve always fancied a Time. I don’t really need any more bikes but I something new and great from Time would be one of the only things to sway me in the foreseeable future

otnemem
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by otnemem

These are great news.

barbaar
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by barbaar

As long as they keep selling pedals, am I ok with anything :)
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Llanberis
Posts: 297
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by Llanberis

I have heard that an opening ceremony for the new TIME facility at the old Salomon factory in Annecy is being planned and shall take place later this year / around October; probably no new model will be introduced but hopefully they may have some exicting annoucements.

Also, I really feel they should at least produce a top / staple model in France again, like what Colnago do with C64. It would be like making a storng statement to honour their tradidtion and further separate them form others.

EvilEuro
Posts: 333
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2009 10:03 am

by EvilEuro

Llanberis wrote:
Sat Aug 15, 2020 3:49 pm
I have heard that an opening ceremony for the new TIME facility at the old Salomon factory in Annecy is being planned and shall take place later this year / around October; probably no new model will be introduced but hopefully they may have some exicting annoucements.

Also, I really feel they should at least produce a top / staple model in France again, like what Colnago do with C64. It would be like making a storng statement to honour their tradidtion and further separate them form others.
While I would love a return to France for frame manufacture, even if it were only for a halo product or custom work (if they ever offered such), I don't think it's as big of a deal for Time so long as they continue to manufacture their own products and do so at a factory they own and with Time employees while still remaining in Europe.

Basically, so long as they're doing their own work and don't outsource to China or Taiwan, Time will still be true to their ethos and retain the soul of their company. Being able to buy a frame made in France would be a great bonus though and one which I too would love to see in the future.


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Llanberis
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by Llanberis

+2. European manufacturing with their own facilities is really the last line they cannot cross if they want to maintain the quality. Would also love to see Luscher cuts up thier Slovakian frames and see how it compares to the French one.

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