Since 1954, Bell Helmets has given us good lids for sound scoots – we ought to know, we’ve tested quite a few.
Unfortunately, what goes up must eventually come down. An uptick in the industry’s unavoidable operating expenses (combined with a big drop in gross profit for Bell’s parent company) has led to a plummet in Bell’s present well-being.
The result?
Bell’s helmets in full test mode. Media sourced from Bell Helmets.A “$50 million cost reduction and earnings improvement program, which includes office closures, spending cuts… and headcount reductions across [Bell] brands and corporate teams.”
Coverage from RideApart tells us that a relevant U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing was submitted at the end of March, with notice that Bell’s headquarters would be shut down by September first and all remaining employees consolidated at Fox Headquarters in Irvine, California… courtesy of Bell’s parent company, Vista Outdoor Action Sports (Vista Outdoor).
“We are accelerating the merger between Bell, Blackburn, Copilot, Fox, Giro, Krash, and Raskullz,” details Jeff McGuane, Vista Outdoor’s president.
“Plans are underway to unite our teams at the current Fox offices, which will soon be transformed into a revamped Innovation Center that unites our teams under one roof while honoring each brand’s culture and ethos, which are unique, valued, and untouchable.”
“Elevated retail inventory levels, rising interest rates, and inflation” remain factors of Vista Outdoors’ performance, so nobody’s out of the woods yet; still, the SEC filing reminds us that “the merger [won’t] impact the separate brand identities under Vista Outdoor’s umbrella” – a relief, and one that has us curious for Vista’s next move with Bell Helmets.