Bicycle manufacturer Prophete is insolvent due to cyber attack

The bicycle manufacturer Prophete is insolvent. Insolvency administrator Manuel Sack blames this primarily on a cyberattack followed by a production stop.

Cyber attack in late November

According to insolvency administrator Sack, the cyberattack on the bicycle manufacturer took place at the end of November. As a result, operations were severely disrupted. There was a production standstill of three to four weeks. The company was no longer able to compensate for the losses incurred. However, business performance had already been rather weak beforehand, so that there had been a particular vulnerability. The sales target for fiscal 2021/2022 had been missed by a wide margin.

The target was 210 million euros. However, sales of only 159 million euros were actually achieved. In addition, there were problems with the company’s supply chains. These meant that bicycles could not be fully assembled and delivered. At the same time, however, the company’s warehouses were said to be largely full.

Industry with good results

However, since the bicycle industry as a whole achieved good results and grew, Sack suspects that, in addition to external problems, faulty planning within the company was the cause behind the insolvency. However, Sack says he has no evidence of this.

In the context of the insolvency of the bicycle manufacturer, there are numerous other ambiguities. For example, it has come to light that Prophete did not report the cyberattack. How exactly the company was affected, why the problems were not communicated and to what extent law enforcement agencies were involved is not clear.

What happens next with the company and the trademark rights it owns is also unclear. Sack has stated that it intends to sell the Prophete, E-Bike-Manufaktur, VSF Fahrradmanufaktur and Kreidler brands. The brands Rabeneick as well as Swype will no longer be produced. What will happen to the corresponding rights is not yet known.