Not sure what happened there. Maybe the improved quality of some OEM products ate into their market. Maybe backlash from stores refusing to carry RaceFace since they signed that supplier deal with MEC? Too bad, I like my deus crankset.
With UCIless starting to muscle into the Equipment & frame market it will become a nightmare for manufacturers !
Can you imagine the amount of capital needed to keep a business afloat these days ? Every little town in the Valley from Innsbruck to Kufstein in Austria seems to have several retail bike outlets all vying to be the smartest and carry the newest stock . One owner i know works the shop mornings and then goes to work elsewhere 8hrs a day to support the bank repayments as well as feed the family .
All the time prices rise faster than inflation and so the "punter" takes longer to make a discision if he can afford to buy !