ChainReactionCycles is set to close its store in Belfast, which has been the flagship retail premises for the company in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The closure of the store, which opened on Boucher Road in 2012, comes as the company has faced very difficult times and is effectively in the process of coming to an end in its traditional form.
Just three months ago its parent company filed for insolvency as very difficult trading circumstances for Wiggle-ChainReactionCycles were ventilated for the first time, and continue. Now the Belfast store closes with significant job losses.
Shortly after Wiggle and ChainReactionCycles merged in 2016, Chain Reaction had four trading locations in the North. It employed between 250 and 300 people, though that had halved in the years since then and is set to fall further now.
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"We regret to inform you that our retail store located on Boucher Road, Belfast, will be closing its doors next month. We sincerely appreciate the support from all our customers over the past 12 years," the Boucher Road store management said in a statement.
"We will continue to serve all our customers through our online store, where you can shop our full range and receive support, warranty, and aftercare services from our customer service team.
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"With the store closing soon, we are offering some incredible deals as we sell through our remaining stock. Please feel free to visit us in the coming weeks."
Chain Reaction Cycles began as a bike shop in 1984 in Ballynure, Co Antrim. It initially offered goods for sale via catalogues and adverts.
It started a website in 1999 to expand and streamline that part of its business, which grew into a massive ecommerce entity, before being bought by Wiggle and the merged entity being acquired by Signa Sports United.
Last October it became clear Signa Sports United (SSU) was in financial trouble. It cited its cycling businesses as a specific problem, saying they were performing far behind expectations.
It announced a “restructuring” programme and mooted “the termination or winding down” of those assets that were not performing amid serious “liquidity and profitability” problems.
FRP, now the administrators, are still trying to sell the business, saying late last year considerable interest had been expressed by possible buyers. While no deal has yet been reached, FRP previously said the sale process was gathering pace.
