[caption id="attachment_54215" align="aligncenter" width="666"] Image|STRAVA[/caption] Strava: Resignations and reading between the lines After rejoining the company in 2019, Strava's CEO has just resigned his role. This undoubtedly signals that Strava is far from immune to the bike industry's current financial woes and needs a change of direction. For a great recap of some of the factors leading up to the resignation, check out dcrainmaker's in-depth analysis here (links to dcrainmaker.com) or Strava's announcement here (links to strava.com). Opinion Strava is just not worth the money but most cyclists want, and almost need, to use it. In my opinion, Strava is not worth the money for most cyclists, despite their desire and almost necessity to use it. The annual subscription fee has nearly doubled to around $/£/€100, but if your sole purpose is to use Strava as a data hub or to track progress on your favourite segments, then it is probably not worth more than $5-$20 per year. On the other hand, if you regularly utilize Strava's performance features, route creation, heatmaps, and training plans, it adds considerable value or at least it would if Strava had a more usable and intuitive interface. Strava has gone to great lengths to buddy up with cycling's leading company...Garmin. Yet Strava has failed to realise that Garmin Connect pretty much does everything that Strava does, for 'free'. Its only truly unique features of any importance are activity-based social interactions, its segments and the leaderboards around them - Garmin does that too. Still, we all have friends who use other platforms and Stava is the place where all our friends can play together nicely. Most of us are doing Strava a favour by using its app and giving it our data. Reading between the lines I've heard some pretty dire stories from companies in the cycling industry in the USA & UK and you have, no doubt read publically about the numerous layoffs at Wahoo, Zwift and elsewhere. Most likely, Strava's regular install base is still growing, but the number of active users decreasing in line with global trends. More significantly, I believe that the subscription fee's doubling has led to a significant number of cancellations and set off alarm bells for those monitoring Strava's primary revenue stream. Worse still, manay people will renew their subscription this year without realising the magnitude of the price increase until they've already paid...those people won't be seen in the cancellations until the subsequent year. It almost seems that only Garmin is hiring but maybe they have some tactical business opportunities as well as the need to replace normal staff churn. We will shortly see how bad things are in the industry when Garmin's last quarter results are released. Take the degree of decline in its gross margin as bell-weather to what is truly going on elsewhere. [caption id="attachment_79309" align="aligncenter" width="970"] strava via @DCR[/caption] The Change of Direction Strava has various strategies to expand its business, including targeting new markets, adding features, offering premium services, partnering with other companies, and expanding into new areas. However, these options have uncertain returns, and Strava needs to generate tens of millions of dollars more annually. The most straightforward option for growth is through hosting ads, which could bring in millions but that's probably not enough. Strava could also consider reducing staff and development to a bare maintenance level and becoming a cash cow, but this conflicts with the desires of its VCs for growth and a high return on investment. Take Out The cycling industry is currently undergoing seismic structural changes, and Strava is likely feeling the effects as well. For many athletes, the cost of Strava's subscription does not provide enough value to justify the expense. While Strava could explore alternative revenue streams, the only untapped option is generic advertising, which has suffered a significant decline in revenue in the wider market this year. I hate to say it, but if I were in Strava's shoes, I would re-introduce an additional tier of subscription that offers an ad-free experience. Of course, this would require Strava to also become a complete ad-serving platform, which is not a change that can happen overnight, plus it would be a change that Strava is adamant it will not make (even in 2023). An advertising-based revenue model, along with a basic subscription level, would be a fair solution that allows us to support Strava through either ads or membership fees. If you enjoy a product or website, like this one or others you frequent then you need to support it or, as we've seen with Strava, you run the risk of losing it entirely. Would you then rather have Garmin fill the space? You pay for what you get. It's all down to you.
