On the thirtieth anniversary of Ghost, some not-so-brilliant news arrives. The German brand, in fact, will close its factory in Waldsassen, Germany, one of its historical symbols and the usual venue for its presentations. Structure that employs 120 people, 83 of whom will lose their jobs. Ghost is part of Accell Group, a company that has made profound changes to its structure in recent months.
GHOST STORY
The Ghost brand was born in 1993 by two cycling enthusiasts, Uwe Kalliwoda and Klaus Möhwald. At that time they started from the backyard of a house in Waldsassen. These were the beginnings of a company that grew year after year until, in 2008, it aroused the interest of the Dutch group Accell Group, which purchased the company and included it in its portfolio of cycling brands. Together with Lapierre, Haibike and Winora.
The Accell group was on the verge of being purchased by the PON group (owner of Cervélo, Santa Cruz, Cannondale, Focus) but no deal was concluded. Then another investor was found and it was purchased (2022) by the American multinational investment fund (private equity) KKR & Co.
Now comes the closure of the historic Ghost factory in Germany, although this does not mean the closure of the brand, but only a shift in production, which will now be in Turkey and Hungary.
On a financial level, the Accell Group is not going through its best moment like other large business groups in the sector. The main example is how the ratings agencies S&P and Fitch lowered their ratings last summer. Largely due to existing inventory levels, which they described as 70% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The Accell Group has also made a splash in the world of sports, as its sponsorship with Lapierre of the professional team Groupama-FDJ was ended after 22 years of union.
