The founder and returning chief executive of German premium bike maker Canyon says he can raise annual revenue by a third to about €1 billion within three years, claiming that the company has lost direction because of changes in its culture.
Roman Arnold (62), who turned his father’s local bike shop in Koblenz into one of Europe’s largest bicycle brands, teamed up with investment group GBL in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic cycling boom. The Belgian group acquired a majority stake at an €800 million valuation.
Former Nike executive Nicolas de Ros Wallace was appointed chief executive but in September Arnold, who still owns a 35 per cent stake in the business, replaced him. He is returning after GBL cut the value of its stake by 43 per cent, sales stagnated and a recall of faulty e-bikes cost Canyon millions and hit customer trust.
In an interview, Arnold disputed that the company was “in crisis”. Despite an expected 5 per cent decline in 2025, Canyon’s annual sales remain close to €750 million, still almost twice the level of before the pandemic cycling boom.
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He said the company was aiming to increase this to about €1 billion a year by 2028. “I do think that we can reach €1 billion in sales,” he said, adding that the figure was not a fixed target and that the main focus was “profitable growth”.
He noted that Canyon’s culture had changed in the past few years: “Here and there, internal silos have ... developed, and we’ve become a bit bureaucratic.”
“I am returning as a rider, and my main role is to be the riders’ advocate,” he said.
Arnold, known for his deep knowledge and attention to detail down to the tiny bolts on Canyon bike handlebars, wants to cut internal red tape as he refocuses the direct-to-consumer brand on its long-standing strength of premium bikes at competitive prices.
Soon after his return, he cut the price of Canyon’s latest top-end gravel bike by €400 to €3,999. He acknowledges the hit to profit margins but argues that lower list prices will result in fewer discounts and enhance customer loyalty.
“The direct-to-consumer model gives us a price advantage, and it matters a lot that Canyon is seen in that light,” he said, adding that the brand will soon launch a new series of lightweight top-end e-bikes at competitive prices.
He has also scaled back some of Canyon’s noncore activities, axing a streetwear brand he frequently wore himself and halving the number of models in the company’s urban cycling range.
While the business has its roots in competitive cycling, and backs star cyclists Mathieu van der Poel and Kasia Niewiadoma, Arnold is convinced there is room in its range for lightweight, durable city bikes.
The company also recently began selling in China. While most of the world’s cycling gear is made in Asia, Canyon – which sponsored four Tour de France teams and nine world champions last year – is betting that its professional racing credentials will appeal to consumers in the region. In Germany, it is expanding its physical retail presence, opening stores in Munich and soon Frankfurt.
Arnold insists he is focused on a medium-term vision that “spans several years” rather than chasing short-term success. But he concedes the company cannot ignore quarterly performance, to satisfy its main shareholder GBL.
In 2023, Canyon swung to a net loss of €14.4 million which widened to €37.8 million in 2024 because of the costs of the e-bike recall. Over the first six months of 2025, the brand’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell a further 30 per cent, according to GBL’s half-year report, which blamed “oversupply” and “aggressive discounting” as well as one-off quality issues. The company told the FT that both its Ebitda adjusted for one-offs and its free cash flow topped €50 million in 2024.
Arnold is confident he can increase Canyon’s Ebitda to 10 per cent of sales. “That’s what we’ve made before the pandemic and given that the average margin in the cycling industry sector is around 8 per cent, we would have done a decent job.”
In 2021, just after GBL acquired its stake, Canyon reported €63 million of Ebitda on €475 million of revenue.
Arnold said he did not regret his decision to sell a majority stake in the company he called his “life’s work” while maintaining a 35 per cent stake. “My money is in the company and I am glad about this: the best is still ahead of us.” – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
