Cake, a bankrupt electric motorcycle firm, is selling most of its U.S. inventory to a Florida man.
According to Michael Joyce, owner of Emoto in St. Petersburg, he purchased all Cake Makka and Ösa motorcycles delivered to the US, including accessories and replacement parts. Cake Kalk electric bikes have been recalled for battery fire danger and steering column issues, so Joyce didn’t purchase any.
Joyce intends to preserve the Swedish brand with the acquisition. Recent interview: “The last thing I want as a dealer is the consumer left alone and not having confidence in the brand,” he told Eltrys. Joyce isn’t really alone, either. He’s partnering with Bloom, a Detroit firm that will hold all the goods and distribute the motorcycles nationwide, showing how the electric car business is evolving.
After more than a year seeking a Series C investment, Cake filed for bankruptcy in early February. After venture money dried up, founder and CEO Stefan Ytterborn told Eltrys that the business sought to recruit Harley-Davidson and established automakers but failed.
Since Cake is his lone brand at Emoto, Joyce was surprised and worried about its bankruptcy. He will have “six to 12” months to negotiate electric motorcycle sales with other firms after buying the inventory.
Joyce is certain he can sell the Cake inventory after spending much of last year perfecting his sales and marketing approach. He began last year as a simple dealer partner and had a “tough time” selling Cake’s expensive items. Joyce says he ultimately agreed to take the company’s items on consignment, which filled up the Emoto store area and enabled prospective buyers to engage with Cake’s bikes, pushing monthly sales into the double digits.
He thinks having the motorcycles completely constructed with extras in front of them makes a tremendous impact. Pointing at it and saying, ‘this can be yours’ was helpful.”
How to handle all the stuff he acquired was his main worry. Joyce was touring Florida warehouses over the last few weeks trying to figure out how to fulfill motorbike orders when he met Bloom, a Detroit mobility innovation district company founded last year by the founders of Propel and Vela.
Bloom offers contract manufacturing, distribution, support, and logistics to help entrepreneurs offload some of the toughest labor. Co-founder Chris Nolte believes it will resonate more when firms like Cake and VanMoof try to do it all themselves.
“With these brands, there was a big push to vertically integrate, as some of the bigger automotive players have done,” Nolte told Eltrys last month. However, nobody has the right size, and the market is too volatile.
The merchandise is being trucked from Los Angeles to Bloom’s Detroit warehouse, so Joyce and Bloom can’t take new orders yet. The arrival of everything will challenge this new hybrid business model. Joyce wants to make Emoto a one-stop shop for electric motorcycles, like the nation’s leading powersports dealers.
Joyce wants to remain a partner if Cake can reorganize and continue.
One Florida guy buys Cake’s last US electric motorcycles.
