Market: Surprisingly, the Finnish sports conglomerate Amer Sports announced the purchase of the carbon specialists from Enve yesterday. Brands in the Amer Sports portfolio include Salomon, Sunnto, Arc'teryx and, in this case, particularly spicy: Mavic. Even if all sides affirm the future independence of the two wheel specialists, the purchase is likely to have an impact on the portfolios of the two manufacturers in the long term.
Mavic and Enve - the two companies could hardly be more different in perception and orientation - at least limited to the limited bicycle cosmos. While the US-American manufacturer Enve has its expertise in the field of carbon and is undoubtedly more in the high-priced sector, Mavic has probably blossomed into the manufacturer par excellence in the middle price segment in recent years - although the French now also offer a whole range on high-quality wheels with carbon rims, but the focus is still on aluminum.
Unsurprisingly, then, that the acquisition of Enve by Mavic parent company Amer Sports caused a stir - two brands that complement each other so well under one and the same roof? However, Enve fans can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being: The brand, orientation and portfolio of the carbon specialist will remain untouched for the time being. “They [Amer Sports] don't want to change what we are and represent as a brand. For us, the matter is therefore actually 'business as usual'. The two brands [Mavic and Enve] will continue to exist autonomously. Of course there will be a technical exchange in areas where it makes sense. But the long-term goal is certainly not to dilute one or the other brand in any way," says Enve's Marketing Director Jake Pantone.
Nevertheless, Pantone's statements are interesting: especially with regard to the exchange in the technical field. So it would be quite conceivable that the purchase of Enve from Amer Sports also bought the undoubtedly existing know-how in the carbon fiber area, which could be of great value for Mavic. On the other hand, it also makes little sense to 'grow' a new competitor under one roof. And aluminum rims from Enve - somehow that sounds wrong and doesn't seem particularly realistic either.
So only the future will tell where the Mavic and Enve will go.