- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
TECH NEWS
Mosaic RT-1 - Campagnolo Record 11 ChainsetCampagnolo strike threat as 1 in 5 jobs cut at Vicenza HQ
Campagnolo, one of the most famous names in Italian cycling, could be facing strike action after it revealed plans to make almost one in five of the employees at its Vicenza factory redundant.
The company says the redundancies are necessary due to tougher competition squeezing its margins and causing it to lose market share, but unions claim production will shift to Romania, diluting the firm’s ‘Made In Italy’ cachet.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the business said the Vicenza facility (which road.cc visited in 2011) is becoming increasingly uncompetitive and the company could no longer rely on its brand strength or high-performance products alone.
The firm, founded in 1933 by Tullio Campagnolo and still family-owned, plans to focus on innovation and new product development in Vicenza, with production shifting elsewhere. Its statement made no specific reference to Romania.
But in a joint statement, the trade unions FIM-CISL and FIOM-CGIL said that the company had confirmed in a meeting last week that it planned undertake a heavy restructuring, including relocating production to the eastern European country, reports Il Gazzettino.
Campagnolo already has two factories there, with a November 2011 Bicycle Retailer article noting that production, including more labour-intensive processes, has been gradually switched to that country, where labour costs are three and a half times less costly than in Italy and in line with those in Taiwan.
That meant Campagnolo could keep production in the European Union without having to outsource to the Far East, which also has advantages for protecting its intellectual property against counterfeiting or copying.
But union leaders have objected to the company’s new restructuring plan, and the relocation of production in particular, condemnng it as a “shortcut that leads nowhere.”
They say it should instead invest in making the Vicenza facilities more efficient and competitive to meet “the new challenges of the global market.”
“Moreover," they addeed, we are talking about a firm with positive financial statements and a prestigious ‘Made In Italy’ brand that makes a distinction of its quality in both the professional and amateur sports markets.
“We wouldn’t want it to become, in more or less the short term, substantially ‘Made in Romania’,” they added.
While Campagnolo continues to be respected for its technical innovation and the build quality and performance of its products, in recent years the cycling components market has become a much more competitive place.
Besides rival Shimano, SRAM has become a major player, particularly in the original equipment market for new bikes, from which Campagnolo has been all but ousted.
The Italian company has also seen its position as the once dominant player in the pro peloton significantly eroded in recent years with Shimano now the dominant player by number of teams. For the 2015 season three WorldTour teams out of 17 will line up using their groupset - Europcar who lost WorldTour status just before the season began will also continue to ride Campagnolo. Shimano account for 13 of the rest, while SRAM's sole representative amongst road cycling's elite teams for 2015 is AG2R.
That’s reflected by the fact that in the three decades to 1998, cyclists including Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain won a combined 25 editions of the Tour de France riding Campagnolo-equipped bikes.
By contrast, only two of the 16 editions of the race since then have gone to riders using Campagnolo – Oscar Pereiro in 2006, and Vincenzo Nibali last year; not good when victory in cycling’s biggest race can be used by your rivals in their marketing materials.
While the performance of its 11-speed mechanical groupsets is much admired, Campagnolo’s EPS electronic groupset has probably not been the hit it hoped it would be, partly because Shimano’s Di2 has proved so resolutely dependable and the Japanese company seems set on a process of continuous innovation coupled with competitive pricing.
Quietly over the past decade Shimano has replaced Campagnolo as the benchmark against which other company's groupsets and components are measured against.
The Italians have also been late to the party when it comes to road disc brakes - their offering should launch later this year, by then both Shimano and SRAM will have had many years head start - even allowing for last year's calamitous hydraulic brake recall by the latter.
Translation of Campagnolo statement dated 27 January 2015
The Campagnolo business, manufacturer of high-end components for racing bicycles, has decided to open a redundancy procedure for 68 of the 399 staff at the production site in Vicenza.
This decision results from necessity to put in place a business plan presented to the trades unions and staff organisations, necessary to ensure the continued production at that site, which also houses group functions and activities related to new products and new technologies.
The business plan aims to recover market share and margin which have been eroded in recent years due to the decline in competitiveness of the manufacturing carried out at the Vicenza site.
Changed market conditions on the one hand and ever more intense competition on the other risk forcing the business out of the market, since it cannot rely alone on the strength of its brand and high performance products.
It is now necessary to regain competitiveness by restructuring the Vicenza site, giving it a mission focused on innovation and product development, on which the business has the firm intention of implementing and concentrating all necessary investment.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- ktache 5 hours 59 min ago
The batteries were not the easiest to find, and the brackets broke easily. The switch was far better than the D cell quick release ever readys that...
- ktache 6 hours 26 min ago
There are people out there who will make you the belt out of your old tyre.
- chrisonabike 6 hours 27 min ago
Furry dice and an air freshener for your helmet.
- AidanR 6 hours 39 min ago
Looking at the pictures in the linked article, the bikes aren't actually inconsiderately parked. The only issue is that they're on private property...
- Simon E 7 hours 15 min ago
Ah yes, those are hopefully not the 'master craftsmen' that has constructed a wide range of shoddy Italian cars and motorbikes over the years with...
- Simon E 7 hours 37 min ago
A SuperSix is definitely not an all-rounder....
- JLasTSR 7 hours 43 min ago
Since most of.my clothes come.from.charity shops.or the eBay nearly for.nothing clothing section I don't tend.to.worry if they wear out, I am also...
- chrisonabike 8 hours 29 min ago
Just get them to walk a treadmill - or better, ride exercise bikes to power path lighting.
- AidanR 9 hours 5 min ago
So his advisers were trying to move funds around to cover losses, but in a way that needlessly created additional liabilities? It would have been...
Add new comment
68 comments
Mmmmm, hook, line you can guess the rest.
Look?
Did you try walking in Look cleats? Even the ill fated mountain bike style ones?
SPDs were a revelation; I was racing 'cross with clips and straps at the time.
EPS was in development long before.... but they didn't manage to get it to the market did they?
Road discs, like it or not (and I'm not that keen...) are a sign of a company leading in tech terms, and that company isn't Campag.
MTB on a road forum is an important and underestimated thing; I started riding mountain bikes, then bought a Shimano equipped road bike because the tech was the same. What's happening now with mountain bikers becoming roadies? They will opt for familiar tech...
I'm not gloating.
I'm responding to the silliness exhibited by people who think Campag is superior. It's not. It's just another option and one that can be bought.
Campagnolo is important for the bike industry and for the sport for reasons of history and to provide a high end, well made, beautiful product to keep Shimano on top of their game, but it's not intrinsically better because it's made in Italy.
Campagnolo tend to wait until they're happy with the way things work before they put them to market, this is why they don't tend to need recalls or fudging a-la Sram and Shimano.
Cleats aren't for walking in, they're for clipping in.
I believe the earlier comment was Shimano being miles ahead of Campy 'today', rather than past innovations?
Didn't suggest you were gloating - sorry if it came across that way. Some other comments have been far more crass.
I'm not sure first to market is necessarily best - again compare SRAM's nightmare of hydro brakes with the present road hydraulic market leader!
All of the big threes have their pros and cons. The best front shifting is going to be Shimano for me. The most comfortable hoods and shift feel will be Campy. I like the look of SRAM, and love the yaw on 22, but those cranksets are not the best! I have bikes with all three btw.
The tribalism within the road cycling community does make me despair. Brand loyalties, snobbery and reverse snobbery...
Not true I'm afraid, I'm a roadie convert and all three of my mtb's are fully equipped with XT/XTR. My road bike is Campag.
Yes it meant that I had to buy a few new tools, but well worth it in my opinion.
To be honest, I'm really surprised at the attitude of people on here. Why the f**k are people arguing about which is best? Just make your own mind up, buy it and enjoy it. Who cares what other people think...
... Especially the knobs who think Shimano is better than Campag!
Crikey? Are you being serious? SPDs Shimano? Er... Heard of look?
Why are patents so good eh? You do realise that shimanos aggressive pursuit of protection of IP has been a needless hindernce on innovation in the industry.
And you are bringing up mtb on a roadie forum.... Ehhhhh?
As noted, EPS was in development long before Di2. The brake release thing is just different - not better.
Oh yeah, road discs. Got to love that rear wheel locking up, maybe if benefit for bigger lads, but seriously see no need over decent rim brakes on summer bikes. And havnt TRP, Avid Et al offered disc brakes for years and years...?
There seems to be a lot of gloating here. Whatever you ride, you want to see manufacturers constantly innovating and greater competition will always drive that forward.
A patent doesn't always mean a product on the market as well, you can come up with a far fetched concept that a ball ache to engineer, but patent it too.
Doesn't mean you have to make it work.
This is the problem - a smaller SME may actually make a brilliant break through and look to bring a product to market only to find Shimano's patents block the way.
My currant road bike has Ultegra, the new one has Chorus. Chorus feels much better and you can tell you've actually changed gear. Campag has some neat features and cosmetic touches that Shimano haven't got. Ultegra has been like my XT groupset, disappointing.
I wouldn't feel any loyalty to a brand of chainset, it doesn't really bother me where it's made or whose name is on it. The curly lettering is attractive and very evocative and but that doesn't get me from A to B any quicker.
The snobby guff about 'fishing tackle' is reminiscent of British motorbike manufacturers and their fans laughing at Honda at the TT in the 1960s. It wasn't long before Honda kicked Triumph's smug, complacent arse good and proper.
Why must an Italian bike have Italian drivetrain? Plenty of Italian branded frames are already made in Taiwan, partly because they do it better.
...and moving lots of gears at once?
Just look a bit further down the road...
As noted on another thread today, Campag users are like Zulus; they don't like it up 'em....
1.) Index shifting.
2.) Freehubs.
3.) Dual Pivot brakes.
4.) Combined brake and shift levers.
5.) Return springs in brake levers.
6.) SPD pedals.
7.) Electronic groupsets.
8.) Mountain bike groupsets in general; Campag do not have a great track record in this instance...
9.) Road disc brakes.
Campagnolo managed the the quick release... Which has been redesigned and made better by.... Shimano.
Shimano have 477 patents on bike kit, Campag have 45...
I don't indulge in shimano vs campag arguments as a rule because it's like arguing about android vs apple phones; it simply isn't important.
I do like puncturing wind bags though.
Few corrections.
2 -Sachs were first to make freehubs.
3 - Dual pivot brakes were first done by Altenburger.
4 - STI and Ergopower came out around the same time actually.
6 - Cinelli made the first clipless pedal, but look made them as we know now.
7 - Mavic had an electronic gruppo on the market in the 90's, I'm sure Boardman road it in the TdF, and Campag had one in the pro ranks for a good while.
8 - who cares about those anyway.
9 - is just a disc brake in general, pioneered by someone else.
To my mind campag is the only brand to hang on your Italian bike, otherwise it's shimano. Yes I've ridden both and to be honest not really a huge difference in performance but the lack of freehub comparability between camp and shim is always a put off, love my Fulkrum zeros though (shimano compatable made by campag) I suspect the equivalent Shimano wheels are as good.
I think it is important they keep going, first deralieur and all that.
my mtb has Shimano, road Campagnolo, i would have no issue with a bike featuring either, i personally prefer campags levers, Both work and both are pretty reliable.
I know when shimano release disc brakes they'll work, Campag again i would expect them to work, even if it means them being late to market.
Shimano might make the odd "mistake" but it will work, just not meet market expectations.
I would suggest one issue is Italy being along way from Taiwan
Sram, forget it, if you want over priced and unreliable that is where its at.
Campag do need to get on the front foot, wheel rims are narrow but the market is going wide, there is a move to discs, but they haven't shown anything yet etc.
I’m not anti-Campag, I just don’t think they’ve made many good management decisions and now they’re backed into a bit of a corner so I’m not surprised to see cost-cutting like this.
Their options seem to be:
Offer themselves as OEM to bike brands:
Loses your “exclusivity and uniqueness” appeal in the short term but might help claw back some ground long term. As mentioned, people tend to buy into what they know. Chances are, your first bike is going to have Shimano so you upgrade with Shimano, your next bike has Shimano to maintain cross-compatibility and it goes from there.
Also, from experience of working in bike shops, the brands with Campag (usually only Bianchi although we might have had one or two others at various times) were very poor sellers.
Raise the price (again, as mentioned above)
Keeps the exclusivity part of it but when electronic rear mechs are already retailing at prices north of £500, is there really an argument to say that it would be better if it cost £600? I’d look at that and go “nope, not going to crit race on that!”
Sponsorship of more pro teams
Costs a shed load of money and is of limited use if the brand is not readily available in the shops and on OEM bikes (which it isn’t). And in reference to the comment “is it all about the Tour?” the answer is yes. To a new bike buyer, someone inspired by watching it on TV they’re going to have seen the Olympics or the Tour. That’s it.
So sadly they’re in a bit of a catch-22. A bit lost from general view – very limited presence in the peloton and on the shop floor, not in the limelight when it comes to snazzy new kit (ooh disc brakes, ooh wireless shifting) and therefore not really in the media and there reaches a point where your market of rich people buying Pinarellos doesn’t cover the cost of all that carbon and those expensive people with “soul” in Italy...
Who won this year's Tour and how many stages were won on Campagnolo?
When a bike brand (big or small) brings out a new top end frame how many of said frames are kitted out in Super Record and plastered all over the press?
Canyon and Rose push Campagnolo on their bikes at a more than reasonable price and now Planet X has ditched SRAM in favour of value bikes with Campagnolo.
Every time this debate rears it's head the cut-and paste responses are out in force.
Bring on the day Rapha team up with Campagnolo - the internet will impode.
http://www.bicycling.com/news/featured-stories/italian-job
This is the beginning of a move away from Italian production that will have to occur if Campagnolo are to survive. Crazy-legs gets it spot on; Campag are over-romanticised by many people and technologically in the shadow of Shimano.
Give me three examples of how Shimano are technologically ahead of Campagnolo?
It is crap, Dura Ace is hardly miles in front of Record UNLESS you include Di2 Ant+ but not sure I need gearing information !!
I'd love to hear this too! Last time I checked you could only downshift one cog at a time on Shimano.
This statement is rubbished based on ill imformed personal basis. I like Campagnolo but that mean to hate Shimano or Sram. I prefer the way Campag ergo shifters work. Especially being able to change down with your hands on the centre or the bars and gear dump which is really usual in race situations.
I have never like the idea that the brake lever also work the gear shift on Shimano.
The trouble is that getting an off the shelf the bike built up with campag for a reasonable price is getting harder and harder, and let's face it once somebody has settled on a groupset it's very hard to get them to change specially if said groupset is more expensive. Quite honestly i'm surprised that campy haven't relocated all production to china so they can get back into the original equipment market. I love there stuff and have always bought it. But the amount of tools needed ( thinking about there chains here) and there famous silent videos hardly endears them to a wider public .
The trouble is that getting an off the shelf the bike built up with campag for a reasonable price is getting harder and harder, and let's face it once somebody has settled on a groupset it's very hard to get them to change specially if said groupset is more expensive. Quite honestly i'm surprised that campy haven't relocated all production to china so they can get back into the original equipment market. I love there stuff and have always bought it. But the amount of tools needed ( thinking about there chains here) and there famous silent videos hardly endears them to a wider public .
Burberry, Aston-Martin, Morgan, Chanel, Rolex, all the big champagne brands, any Savile Row tailor, Jimmy Choo, Ferrari, McLaren and a hundred more luxury names all trade on exclusivity rather than competitive pricing.
There is a school of thought that says Campag' should increase prices, concentrate on quality above all else and push the products further up-market. I'm sure trying to outsell Shimano is simply pissing into the wind and if they go to the wall in a few year's time it will be the fault of the family management.
I shall light a candle for them for I love their stuff.
Not really in terms of products. EPS development started long before Di2 and they were the first to market with 11speed. They also pushed Everyman gear ranges like 11-28 coupled with compacts too.
Unfortunately they have focussed on the higher end low volume market where costs are higher and margins lower. Skilled manufacturing is expensive indeed when it comes to wages.
Shimano gets a consumer buy in. The newbie gets El cheapo bike that comes with sora or tiara, then gets a decent bike and will most likely go for 105/ultegra...
Campag clearly need to own their market, while ensuring that they remain competitive. The Campag model is certainly interesting. Trading on high end made in Italy tradition may not be working so well though!
Campag lost the plot a long long time ago. They've been trading on heritage and brand and looks for years while Shimano have quietly gotten on with being the best and SRAM have developed an entire new line of groupsets to compete with them.
Eventually, the mind-numbing tedious bollocks of "Campag wears in, Shimano wears out" that gets trotted out by the fanboys (or fan bores more usually) has worn off, they've pretty much lost the OEM market, they've got a limited dealer network, the custom built market is simply not a sustainable option and they're way behind the curve on technology like electronic gears and hydraulic disc brakes.
People no longer care if it's made in Italy by someone who has a "soul" (whatever that means) and loves cycling. They want it to work. Shimano works. And you can buy it everywhere.
I've got low end campy and high end SRAM 11speed. They shift just as well, but campy is more reliable. Have you actually ridden Campag? There is a lot of insufferable guff, and for many it is a religion. But hey the shifting feels nice to me and I find them the most comfortable. I do find it interesting that most racers I know are much more balanced and appreciate Shimano and Campag. Seems to be the casual, sportive rider who is anti campy for no good reason... But that's my experience.
Also... Yeah SRAM - you do remember the hydraulics recall. Sounds more like rushed to market rather than quietly working away.
You are talking b******s. Typical of many people on here making sweeping statements not based on experience but personal basis.
Dura Ace is that good that it has a plactic cap blanking of the left hand end of the crank axle and nearly any one that rides it has a rub mark on chain set arm from contact with the inside of their shoe.
Also Campagnolo 11 speed is fully back compatiable existing wheels. Unlike Shimano who made all its customer buy new wheel to run 11 speed.
So you keep following all the other sheep.
As when someone asked Cadel which is best Shimano or Campagnolo? His reply was which ever I get free.
You are talking b******s. Typical of many people on here making sweeping statements not based on experience but personal basis.
Dura Ace is that good that it has a plactic cap blanking of the left hand end of the crank axle and nearly any one that rides it has a rub mark on chain set arm from contact with the inside of their shoe.
Also Campagnolo 11 speed is fully back compatiable existing wheels. Unlike Shimano who made all its customer buy new wheel to run 11 speed.
So you keep following all the other sheep.
As when someone asked Cadel which is best Shimano or Campagnolo? His reply was which ever I get free.
I think you read me wrong. When I started club cycling in 1973 Campy was THE thing to have. I was 13 and I didn't have it. I've never had it. By the time I could afford it I didn't want to pay for it.
I've always run Shimano. My son uses both SRAM and Shimano. My point about Campy was that the only reason to buy Campy at a premium is the heritage if that's what you like. If it's made in Romania then one of the key reasons why people buy Campy will have gone.
perhaps a little defensive eh?
Pages