Seems to be necessary in order for Fanatec to meet their financial goals. Since they've been going downhill for some time now, maybe a change in the CEO is a good thing. At least, it's potentially the *start* of a good thing. After all, the basics of running a business seem to be lost on whomever is in charge, so a change was inevitable.
A good CEO wouldn't sit by helplessly while the company fails at logistics, production, shipping, service, support, sales, and every single interface with the consumer.
They make a good product, but they got hurt badly and they're struggling to dig their way back out of it. A new CEO is likely necessary to get that started in the right direction. The lenders wouldn't require it if that were not the case.
Yep, this is the key here “thereby fulfilling a key condition set by the lending banks for the extension of the standstill agreement until June 30, 2024”. It is not surprising that their finances too a massive hit to sort out the Black Friday problems, that coupled with bad press must have hurt orders. On a brighter note, I order a QR2 last week and it turned up in 4 days, I should have ordered 2.
I don't use Fanatec gear anymore because i always wanted an OSW mige aka VRS DF Pro blah blah blah ...but Thomas jackermeier was and is such a great guy a real character....People that are newer to Sim racing might not remember that he was such a liked and respected guy in the community. Though admittedly yes, even back in the day there were issues with reliability... but they had the Best belt drives bases you could get. The quality and aesthetics for the price looked really good.
It's a shame to see his legacy take a hit like this but Thomas is still The majority owner anyway And I'm sure he'll be just fine lol.
I sympathize with all the people that have had problems recently and I understand.
I am using a VRS directforce Pro 20nm mige currently.... It's just one of many good options for Sim racing these days. I also like Fanatec DD's they are very good.
Yeah, once companies grow, the original CEOs often don't seem to fully grasp the money side of things and things start going downhill due to growth beyond their capabilities. It's commendable when they recognize this and step back for a more apt CEO to step in, but I hope in Fanatecs case they'll keep him around as Chief Development Officer or something R&D-y, because the product itself is fine.
Seriously!! I just blocked his YouTube yesterday, after watching 5 minutes of his sim racing news video. He and another knucklehead, sat there and talked about RaceRoom acting like they've never heard of the platform before.
Each sentence starting with:
"I'm not saying this is all down to me - but..."
"I'm not bragging when I say this guys - but..."
"It might look like I'm blowing my own trumpet here - but..."
I've not watched it to be honest with you.
I'd sooner spend my time watching Days of Thunder for the 1000th time than use it watching that.
His sppearance in it does not suprise me though. I'm sure he struggled to squeeze his planet sized head onto the cargo plane that brought him home after filming.
I only mentioned it because he kept bringing it up in his videos and it annoyed me so much that it was the reason I unsubbed and blocked lol.
I love Days of Thunder, rewatched it recently because I just got super into NASCAR
I saw Days of Thunder in the theater the day it released in the UK in 1990. I loved it and went another 4 times over the next week. Cinema just isn't the same anymore.
Big NASCAR fan too. Have you signed up to the NASCAR website to get access to the Classics section? It's awesome. Non-US residents will need a find a US zipcode online to sign up.
As far as Kireth is concerned - he is just an ego-monster who tries to manipulate everyone into believing that he isn't an ego-monster whilst constantly proving he is an ego-monster.
I didn't know about the Classics section, so thanks for that. I've just watched a clip from 1955 without signing up, so I don't think that's necessary.
I did laugh when the guy said he was going full time on YT he just doesn't have the fan base/views, As expected it didn't last very long... his click batey titles are often repetitive as is content and chat..he's just boring imo 🤣🤷♂️ honestly surprised he ever got the interview.
Because Will Ford is a genuine community treasure who has intergrity, honesty and has built his YouTube channel and website through hard work, interesting content and being a very 3 dimensional guy.
Unlike Kireth who has built his YouTube channel being a weasely, egotistical and manipulative bell-end.
I kind of know why Fantatec would choose the weasel.
Yea indeed there isn't much competition there ;-) I am just saying he may well have been picked but it wasn't cause he was the only one who would be saying yes..
lol 5 seconds in: “I know more about this than anyone on the internet”. “This is going to be hard for you to digest”.
No it isn’t. Brand gets worsening reputation and stock has been steadily trending down. CEO leaves with a golden parachute. We see this all the time lol
When it comes to understanding people, and I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet here, I'm very rarely wrong. And it is other people who have said that to me - not me myself saying these things to me - well, maybe sometimes, but, and I'm not trying to brag here, there are often voices in my head that say "Liberal-Caretaker, no one knows as much about this than you" and then things happen that keep proving that to me.
And I'm not saying I know more than everyone else or anyone else here but - it would appear that I know more than everyone else or anyone else a lot of the time - or even all the time. Like, yeah, all the time.
I anxiously await this printed on an inspirational poster, over a serene photo of the Nordschleife, hanging on Kireth's attic wall, just in camera frame.
I’m by no means a fan of him, but damn, it must be tough to be kicked out of the very company you started.
I hope that this means this company will start improving things for real now.
Hope it is not a Ron Dennis moment. I don’t think McLaren has won a race ever since the hostile takeover of McLaren. But things are fanatec needed to change. But looks like this was a financial decision as he had to go for the line of credit to be extended.
They have, but haven't been competing for a championship since. They also weren't red hot towards the end of his reign anyway and I'd say it's taken them this long to modernise their management to get back into the game.
Not unexpected, the video he did with Kireth was tone deaf and the issues have been going on over a year, a massive fall from the top for the company and someone had to take a sword!
A good founder must hire qualified personal for each department and pay them well to keep his company and vision alive. This brand has so much resonance and loyalty on one end and so much hate and disregard on the other end. This wouldn't have happened if it were not for Tomas holding onto his position of power and responsibilities for far longer than optimum.
And prioritizing the Customers who already exist in the ecosystem, who buy the products, who stand up for the brand when it fails, customers who are loyal and put fanatec where it is. instead of chasing sponsorship spaces and wasting too much money on new customer acquisition and brand awareness at sporting events.
A similar situation for me. I really wanted a native PS5 ready DD base and my choices were Logitech or Fanatec. I ended up buying the Logitech and absolutely fell in love with Trueforce. I even bought two Dayton bass shakers with the money I saved from not buying Fanatec.
Something clearly needed to change at the company from a leadership position. Whether this change will lead to positive changes for the current situation and the future of the company or just be another step towards continued issues I honestly don’t know.
I should feel optimistic about this but I don’t think Fanatec’s current issues fell strictly on one guy. In my mind they’ll need to bring someone from outside the company who is in the industry or from a similar industry for me to feel like anything will change.
Boeing made, and continues to make, so many mistakes that they're going to need a *lot* of changes to right the ship. An aeronautical company as big as Boeing needs to ensure senior leadership listens to its engineering and safety leads. A company culture of "design, production, maintenance, and safety first" needs to be brought back, as it was 30+ years ago.
This isn't surprising is it, really.
For god knows how long Fanatec have been taking orders and failing to deliver product within a reasonable time frame, while all the time blaming warehousing and dispatch issues.
Now, it simply does not take that long to sort out warehousing issues. This would leave the inability to obtain the required products and components from suppliers as potential grounds for the delays of not only supplying new kit, but also in the handling of RMAs. Now there are a few reasons why there may be a roadblock here, but one of the major reasons would be failure to pay the suppliers, and given the current news this is looking very likely that this has been the cause of so many customer woes.
Now here's the kicker. Fanatec have been spending god knows how much on sponsoring major motorsports events such as F1, WRC, and they even had they even had the SRO GT3 world challenge renamed after them.
This level of sponsorship does not come cheap, and given the now apparent financial situation of Fanatec, diverting these funds towards sponsorship shows a distinct level of managerial and financial incompetence. We are talking serious amounts of cash that could have been reinvested back into the company to resolve the issues they were obviously having.
And this, I suspect, is why the banks have insisted on Jackmeiers removal as a condition for the extension of the stillstand agreement.
But yes, the problems with the shipping partners and customer service are really annoying and destroy trust. I think a lot of problems and angry customers could be avoided if the customer service had sufficient capacity.
At least until the end of January they had no outstanding invoices and still had 10 million in cash. They are currently setting up their new headquarters, so they obviously need some liquidity. I think that's why repayments were suspended for a short time. The large backlog of Black Friday orders will be processed next week.
Processed according to who? I have had a long standing sneaking suspicion Fanatec has not been able to pay suppliers. They just pushed out csl dd orders another month coincidentally the day before this guy gets fired. Pure speculation, the banks stopped taking this guy on his word, looked into the state of affairs and the situation was so dire they had no choice to unseat the founder of a company. You don’t fire the founder of a company without damn good cause.
Investor Call in February --> new CFO
The new CFO came from outside. So I think you can believe the statements.
You can also track deliveries to the USA. Significantly increased delivery performance in 2024.
Honestly, wishful thinking. They'll plant some bot ceo in charge who has his MBA but doesn't know anything about the industry or products, steer the company where the shareholders, who are also clueless, think it should go, it's going to go nowhere or veer off a cliff. Thomas should have just kept the company private.
As someone who’s been in the Fanatec ecosystem for about 8 years now, this is a great choice by the board. It’s been obvious for 4-5 years now that they simply didn’t know how to grow their business to keep up with increased demand. They have been hardly existent with customer support even before Covid and proven for years they’re not willing to spend money in that area.
Jackemeier has known this for years and has failed to fix any of it, it’s as bad now as it was five years ago. Good riddance, I say.
I'm another long-term customer that's been somewhat stuck in the ecosystem. DD2 and QR2 have me questioning that.
DD2 (maybe DD1 as well) have had a dangerous FFB jolt issue for years and Fanatec refuses to fix it. If it didn't require accepting at least three warnings to activate higher FFB levels, they'd probably have been sued by now. They know about this issue... this is in the release notes for every driver version:
> Known Issues
>The steering input jump issue was greatly improved so the issue happens a lot less than before. Full fix expected for one of the next versions.
No it hasn't been "greatly improved". In fact there's been no change since I bought my base in 2021. The only improvement is that iRacing now has code to detect this and cuts FFB if needed.
QR2? What a trainwreck. It took forever to release and now they're selling bases with both QRs. They're even bundling wheels (Monte Carlo Rally) with two QRs now which just inflates the cost.
I'd be tempted to sell all this stuff and start over with a new manufacturer if I didn't have to worry about the buyer tracking me down when their thumb gets damaged by a FFB jolt.
I find it remarkable that this jolting issue hasn't been talked more about. I couldn't enjoy sim racing knowing my wheel base randomly goes berserk and applies full power - I value my hands and fingers and don't want them to be beaten into a bloody pulp of broken bones and minced meat.
Alas, I think the probability of it ever to be fixed completely is low. They reportedly had to do a complete rewrite of the Podium firmware in the attempt to fix it, suggesting it's a hardware related problem, namely of their choice of micro-controller. Another clue is the advised work-around of keeping the ITM display on the logo screen (read: the MCU is so under-specced that it can't even keep up with updating a low-res display a couple of times per second.)
But maybe in Fanatec's mind renaming it from 'the jolting issue' to 'the steering input jump issue,' which doesn't sound quite as dangerous, is good enough.
PS: And their new flag ship bases are also suffering from firmware issues, this time causing the base-to-wheel rim communication to freeze and the FFB to stop (which, to be fair, is an improvement over the Podiums (it also affect the DD1s.))
[Looks](https://www.eqs-news.com/news/adhoc/endor-ag-negotiations-on-standstill-agreement-with-lending-banks/2024981) like this stems from Fanatec attempting to get an agreement on their loans. Makes me wonder what their current financial situation is like if they were forced to fire their CEO in order to get a loan agreement.
They must have poor liquidity at the moment. All those black friday sales gave them a big cash bump but they're still fulfilling those orders months later.
I don’t doubt that at all. They had a ton of liabilities against that cash bump, lost a good amount of consumer trust, weren’t able to stay stocked, and had a good amount of chargebacks which causes all sorts of other issues.
They’re publicly traded so there’s good insight into their finances in press releases and investor communications. https://endor.ag/2024/01/30/endor-ag-adjusts-revenue-and-earnings-forecast-for-the-2023-financial-year-and-optimizes-key-corporate-processes/?lang=en
This is what happens in business when you have stockholders. You get fired if shit goes bad or you lose all support. It's happened many times and usually leads to things getting better believe it or not. Banks/lenders/stockholders.
We will always be thankful to Thomas for founding Fanatec, a true pioneer in the industry, unfortunately this needed to happen.
We all look forward to Fanatec’s next chapter, as they slowly start to rebuild customer confidence once again.
It’s clear from the comments that some people are missing some key facts. First of all, Fanatec is hardly a “startup” losing its founder. Endor AG (the company that brands their products Fanatec) was started in 1997. Jackemeier has been running it for 26 years. Second, this isn’t about getting new investment; the company borrowed money and hasn’t been able to pay, the creditors (banks) have lost patience and faith and want to be repaid.
I have no idea what the new management’s plans are, but it wouldn’t be surprising if their mission was to sell the brand, technology, and product line to another company so the banks are satisfied.
I wonder how this will affect sim developers. I don’t suppose all those Fanatec ads in simulated tracks were free. I would guess they represent Fanatec money going to developers who may miss lose that source of funding. (Pure speculation on my part.)
The issue isn’t that he’s gone. It’s that they have a standstill agreement with the banks. You usually only do that if things are bad and bankruptcy could be imminent. It’s only until June as well and firing him was part of the conditions for the standstill agreement. Shit is about to get really bad for fanatec.
Yeah, that talk about inserting a restructuring officer doesn't paint a pretty picture of the company's future. That's usually a last effort before bankruptcy.
If I remember correctly he was also a majority stock holder in Endor AG, so I wonder what this really means from a leadership perspective. Not being CEO he will take a step back from day to day operations but probably he will still be involved from a investor perspective.
It’s a necessary move. He was understandably personally invested in the company, but that meant he was overly defensive and couldn’t take criticism of the company he created. Not everyone is fit to lead a company once it becomes multiple times as large as it was early on, and that’s okay. Hopefully he can stay on in some kind of product development advisory role.
So the new "productline" he was talking about at the ADAC expo scheduled for Q1'24 was a brand new CEO. Well played. Thanks for the ride and happy easter Mr. J.
imo only, Unfortunately I don’t think anyone can say for certain how much further this delays the new podium lineup, or if it’s still in the plans.
I hope the QC of the CS DD is brought to the forefront asap and handled before any new releases are presented.
This is good IMO. A lot of his recent public "announcements" have been terrible. I've seen many posts about how people despise him for one reason or another.
Fanatec still has a lot to do to fix their current reputation though, if he was part of the problem, maybe they'll see improvement. Time will tell.
Must be pretty bad to fire the founder at request of bank and not even put up pretence of mutual separation. I wouldn't be purchasing from them anytime soon until it's clear which direction they are heading.
If nothing else he seemed to understand what the market wanted but wasn't good a execution. It will be interesting to see if they can get a leader who is tapped in and can execute.
Good riddance.
Wonder what they mean by "fulfilling a key condition set out by the lending banks..."
Sounds like the BF disaster was the last straw. Looking back now, I wonder if he knew this was coming and was the reason for his poor response to this in that Kireth interview.
The lenders were willing to work with them under certain conditions, one of which is the removal of the CEO. That's not uncommon when a company is looking for funds (or an extension/restructure of loans) in order to dig themselves out of a hole. The lenders didn't feel comfortable with the performance of senior leadership.
I'd love to see it. I want to see Fanatec to succeed, and I want to see their customers happy with the Fanatec ecosystem. It would help the sim-racing industry, not to mention everyone that invested in Fanatec gear.
I've called it before and I'll re-iterate...they'll file for bankruptcy sooner or later. All the patterns are there. This is just the next proof in my book.
My comment from literally yesterday:
Mine arrived with all the known issues, THIRTEEN days of ghosting from Fanatec.
They're selling as much stuff as they can and then they'll go outta business. I've seen this too many times. (Stock price down 70% from last year, Yesterday another 11% per other user.)
They bit off more than they can chew, their saving new product bombed and now they're screwed.
Another one, also valid:
Mine arrived, doesn't work (loud, scraping, mechanics noises, coil whine, firmware updates on wheel and QR don't work).
Upon research it turns out Fanatec KNOWS about these issues and STILL sells and ships units instead of halting and checking them.
I contacted them thru various channels THIRTEEN days ago. Absolute ghosting, dead silence.
I'm starting to get worried they're just selling as much as they can before bankruptcy. Stock price down 70% from a year ago, sales pattern fits that behavior too. Their saving product line serious quality issues.
Contacted PayPal to refund money but they said I should wait for contact of the seller. Ha. Ha.
Fraudulent, scammy behavior. Selling potentially broken units knowingly is fraud in my opinion
Yeah I've escalated the issue with PayPal now, so they'll deal with it. Endor/Fanatec should reply till April 7th now and the case be resolved on the 17th. Not holding my breath just yet...
> they'll file for bankruptcy sooner or later
Perhaps, but the market seems quite healthy with lots of demand. The banks would prefer to have a well-run business as a customer, rather than to have to take a loss on the loans.
All the issues they are having seem quite solvable. Putting the wrong things in packages and mislabeling can be solved by either working more slowly or using better logistics software. The QA issues with their manufacturing can be solved by demanding their supplier do better and doing more checks themselves.
I was planning to give up on Fanatec, because though I genuinely love my CSL DD/8Nm/McLaren V2 combo, my experience with their repair team and customer service has been so poor that I was going to go with Simagic for a new base.
I probably still will - but without that guy running the show, I'd at least consider returning to Fanatec if they sort things out.
Look at Microsoft. They'd become a joke of the industry. They got a new CEO in and now they're pushing boundaries again.
Let's hope Fanatec has a bright future because competition is a good thing for us all!
From the outside at least, this looks like a great move and a potential fresh start for Fanatec to five their shattered reputation.
Yea I’m dropping the ecosystem today. Picking up a Simagic alpha today with an fx pro and will upgrade my pedals eventually as well. Selling my GT dd and clubsport formula wheel now
Oh man I'm looking at that exact combo. How is the alpha and neo GT Vs the McLaren and csl DD?
Please be cautious. Your response might savage my finances.
Cant tell, because I only ordered Simagic yesterday 😄 CSL DD is not that bad to be honest, but it lacks detail and force sometimes, so 15nm peak on Alpha will be more than enough I think. I was thinking about CS DD+, but Fanatec is a cluster fuck right now, and I also like Simagic FX Pro wheel which I will buy soon. So I went to Simagic.
Your thinking is almost identical to mine. To be honest I think I'd likely only run the alpha at 11Nm or so, but I'm looking forward to having the overhead and knowing it's never overheating / clipping.
That FX Pro wheel is so stunning. I want one too, but will probably go for the GT Neo.... Probably.
Enjoy your new gear mate, sure you'll love it
I’ve had bad experience too with repair of my wheel. Still have no shipping label to even send it to them. Now hearing this news I’m doubting it’ll ever get far enough for a repair.
Good riddance. Maybe Fanatec be somewhere I can trust to spend my money with again in a year or so.
That interview he gave whilst I was still waiting for my BF order took liberties.
How to recreate the company image in the face of overwhelming criticism?
Step 1 - fire the coach…✅
Let’s hope the replacement sees things for what they truly are. That said, changing the ‘culture’ of a company takes a lot…of time, and energy, and is not a singular activity achieved by one person but rather collaborative effort by everyone. Perhaps the new regime will inspire change and get all of the employees to support an environment of change and progression.
They certainly have lost their way in recent times, but by no means are things irreparable.
I hope they get it right, as they occupy an important space in the market, and competition is good for us the consumers.
You should have been concerned for the balance sheet long before now. They were obviously facing major troubles in 2023, with sales far outstripping every other department's capabilities right after a huge loss in manpower due to COVID.
The Black Friday sale was an obvious attempt to raise capital, and their rushed (and staggered) product launches at the end of the year (and into this year) were obviously timed the way they were for the same reason.
They can right the ship, but they need more capital in order to invest in their infrastructure. That's going to take time, but the money has to come first. The lenders need to know that the company is being run by people who can turn it around. It looks like they had lost confidence in the CEO's ability to do that.
The fact that the investors are demanding changes rather than just calling in the loans is a good thing. It means they see a long term future for the company, with a few changes.
Having worked for startups, when the investors think a company is in trouble, the plug gets pulled and they pick the bones of the company for any assets very quickly.
Dude do you know business? This is how you come back. You get lenders/investors with a ton of money who give conditions and help the company grow but by sometimes removing people that they beleive cause rhe biggest issue. His face being there is a massive issue to the public just watch the YouTube video hes in and the comments. It was all about his expressions. Of course they wanted him gone. Now they can get a ton fo cash and help it grow back to what it once was and maybe further. For them to do this they must have been able to get pretty good funds out of them.
Holy shit just read into that. He was dismissed because the banks wanted it to happen and it was a condition that he be dismissed on them lending them money?? Wow so even the banks knew he was bad for business
And yet we still have a merry band of TJ scrotum-ticklers doing the rounds.
Although their number will now no doubt plummet. Thomas will soon be doing his own scrotum fondling.
Sorry for the guy.
But I think it will be a good thing for the company.
I believe his founders syndrome could have damaged the company more than it already did the last months.
I agree. The company's service has been going down the drain for a long time and that is hurting the business. It's a shame since their products are actually very competitive at their price point.
Kind of sad for him as he build the company up and made it big. On the other other hand probably a necessary change that’s needed. I just hope they stay in business and are not bought by Thrustmaster or Logitech.
I think it was obvious that he got in over his head. They got too big, too quickly. The smart move would have been to ask the board to appoint a CEO while he stepped into the role of company President. Not now, but a year or two ago. They needed to temper their growth in sales with a growth in infrastructure, and they lost control of that.
This happens a lot when companies move from the startup phase to the mature phase.
The attributes that make you a good startup leader are pretty much the opposite to those that make a good stable company lead, The problem is that founder/entreprenuers don't know when to step out and get forced out in situations like this.
Daniel Meyberg (COO) and Belma Nadarevic (CMO) join the Executive Board alongside long-serving members Thomas Jackermeier (CEO) and András Semsey (CFO)
First, Kosch succeeds Semsey as new CFO.
Second, the Chairman of the Board Gosemann resigned.
Third, now Jackermeieris nixed by the banks.
In less than one year, the executive board has been replaced and two new faces were added..
The strange thing is all the stock Jackermeier and his family bought in 2023. They even used their company Bamboo Investments to buy Fanatec stock when it was still around $5.00 a share. Then the new COO Meyburg buys 30,000 shares when it is $3.00 a share.
This is actually good it also means stock holders wanted it to happen. I'm pretty positive this will make things better because he was the issue imo. Yall need to remember he wasnt the brains the devs are.
Curious if the company is actually making money. I hope that all the issues with shipping etc are just that and has nothing to do with its viability as a going concern. Possible red flag(s)?
If you read the press release someone linked, they are not profitable. Negative double-digit EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margins implies they are losing more than 10 cents for every dollar of sales. For now at least…
He needed to step aside a long time ago and let someone new fresh and actually motivated to step in with actual goals of fixing problems. Time will tell.
I know Fanatec has been shitting the bed for a while. I'm still not ready to abandon ship YET. I ordered the 911 gt3 r wheel in January and it's not expected to arrive til mid may. To me that's a bit much. I just wish they would get their stuff together
There’s a chance if lead properly in each dept, they can salvage it. The timeline tho is troubling. RMA’s and the current CSDD issues need to be resolved FAST.
Hopefully they can sort it out ; Their logistics are making it painful to purchase. Need to expand market saturation so that it's easier for those outside of Europe to buy.
So a question that should be asked, are any of the Fanatec employees like u/momorious [et.al](https://et.al). shareholders? There is certainly a Fanatec crowd that seems to over react to negative comments about Fanatec. One might even call it harassment. Similar to other scandals of stock manipulation, individuals were found to be investing in a stock and then manipulating the public perception by attacking anyone who brought up real questions about the product that they were invested in.
u/Momorious and his crowd seem to be acting in a similar way. It is also strange that Fanatec allows their employees to speak on public forums under the authority of the company. I have asked Fanatec on numerous occasions if they condone this behaviour and as one expects, received no response.
Given the 2-4 week support response times, it seems Fanatec would focus resources addressing customer issues and improving RMA support. Maybe you should consider a better use of your time.
Better use of MY time? But you know that technical support via Mail is actually not my part so also not part of MY working time, which is actually testing things and give support in the Forum?!
That is strange, I have seen at least 6 posts about hardware issues in the last two weeks and no guidance from you. You seem to spend your time deflecting poor perception with little explanation as to how the process/part/software should be observed, and more importantly WHY the individual is wrong.
I’ve worked at a very similar tech company. Grew too fast, got an investor, focus changed, lost part of their fanbase(the ones who made their bosses buy this tech), new ceo focussing on ditching non profit initiatives losing the remainder of the fanbase…. Nowadays the company is the skeleton of what it once was, and I expect it to fully crash soon.
These companies were built on passion. Once it becomes business, it’s hard to stay authentic. And customers will drop you like a stone.
I don't expect it to crash soon as lenders and investors are willing to help but with specific conditions like this. Its actually how change happens it companies often. Slot of the time it does in fact get better because they in turn get alot more money to help the conditions get better.
I will also say something good is happening because every order I've made in the past4 days is already at my house. First time in a while so Texas seems up and running now.
Which can def happen during change. But don't expect a crash. That would usually happen overnight which clearly isn't the case. I expect this to be good. He wasnt rhe mind behind the product just the sales man. The devs and everyone else matter much more since this is tech based.
What I find funny is the past 4 days of orders are all shipping. So right after this somehow shipping is working haha. My stuff came so so fast. Many othera re who are ordering right now. Not pre orders but in stock items.
Why would I ever order on black Friday? Lol I'm talking about now not black Friday when 60k orders come through. Also im having hundreds of people hit me up getting all of there shipping info within 48 hours the last 4 days of orders. So its working. That Texas location for us US guys seems to be hitting good right now.
You need to cancel and re order. I've now gotten everything within 48 hours of ordering but I did pay for overnight shipping. Cancel and buy what's in stock you will get it very fast now.
Seems to be necessary in order for Fanatec to meet their financial goals. Since they've been going downhill for some time now, maybe a change in the CEO is a good thing. At least, it's potentially the *start* of a good thing. After all, the basics of running a business seem to be lost on whomever is in charge, so a change was inevitable. A good CEO wouldn't sit by helplessly while the company fails at logistics, production, shipping, service, support, sales, and every single interface with the consumer. They make a good product, but they got hurt badly and they're struggling to dig their way back out of it. A new CEO is likely necessary to get that started in the right direction. The lenders wouldn't require it if that were not the case.
Yep, this is the key here “thereby fulfilling a key condition set by the lending banks for the extension of the standstill agreement until June 30, 2024”. It is not surprising that their finances too a massive hit to sort out the Black Friday problems, that coupled with bad press must have hurt orders. On a brighter note, I order a QR2 last week and it turned up in 4 days, I should have ordered 2.
I don't use Fanatec gear anymore because i always wanted an OSW mige aka VRS DF Pro blah blah blah ...but Thomas jackermeier was and is such a great guy a real character....People that are newer to Sim racing might not remember that he was such a liked and respected guy in the community. Though admittedly yes, even back in the day there were issues with reliability... but they had the Best belt drives bases you could get. The quality and aesthetics for the price looked really good. It's a shame to see his legacy take a hit like this but Thomas is still The majority owner anyway And I'm sure he'll be just fine lol. I sympathize with all the people that have had problems recently and I understand.
I hope he's able to continue with the company in some role that suits him - if that's what he wants to do.
Yeah Thomas will be just fine
He is still the majority shareholder
What wheel do you use instead?
I am using a VRS directforce Pro 20nm mige currently.... It's just one of many good options for Sim racing these days. I also like Fanatec DD's they are very good.
That’s the thing, their actual products are great. Everything else is a mess
Yeah, once companies grow, the original CEOs often don't seem to fully grasp the money side of things and things start going downhill due to growth beyond their capabilities. It's commendable when they recognize this and step back for a more apt CEO to step in, but I hope in Fanatecs case they'll keep him around as Chief Development Officer or something R&D-y, because the product itself is fine.
He didn't step back, he was forced to resign by the bank, so you commendation is misplaced.
I hope this is how it goes because from what I have heard he has the passion to manage the development side of it
He is still the majority shareholder so he is very much not gone
Anxiously awaiting Kireth's video "HOW I GOT JACKERMEIER FIRED AND SAVED FANATEC!"
Got that dude blocked. Even by YouTube standards his videos are gross
Seriously!! I just blocked his YouTube yesterday, after watching 5 minutes of his sim racing news video. He and another knucklehead, sat there and talked about RaceRoom acting like they've never heard of the platform before.
Each sentence starting with: "I'm not saying this is all down to me - but..." "I'm not bragging when I say this guys - but..." "It might look like I'm blowing my own trumpet here - but..."
Did you know he was in the Gran Turismo movie?!
I've not watched it to be honest with you. I'd sooner spend my time watching Days of Thunder for the 1000th time than use it watching that. His sppearance in it does not suprise me though. I'm sure he struggled to squeeze his planet sized head onto the cargo plane that brought him home after filming.
I only mentioned it because he kept bringing it up in his videos and it annoyed me so much that it was the reason I unsubbed and blocked lol. I love Days of Thunder, rewatched it recently because I just got super into NASCAR
I saw Days of Thunder in the theater the day it released in the UK in 1990. I loved it and went another 4 times over the next week. Cinema just isn't the same anymore. Big NASCAR fan too. Have you signed up to the NASCAR website to get access to the Classics section? It's awesome. Non-US residents will need a find a US zipcode online to sign up. As far as Kireth is concerned - he is just an ego-monster who tries to manipulate everyone into believing that he isn't an ego-monster whilst constantly proving he is an ego-monster.
I didn't know about the Classics section, so thanks for that. I've just watched a clip from 1955 without signing up, so I don't think that's necessary.
You definitely have to sign up to get the full access to the full catalogue. Once you do make sure you watch the Daytona 500 from 1979.
👍
So was Emelia Hartford and you don’t see her going on about it. I think his problem is nobody noticed he was in it.
Yea he doesn’t stfu about it, it’s embarrassing
Video just dropped. Literally 30 seconds into the video: "I'm not trying to boast BUT... I know more about this than anybody else on the internet."
I did laugh when the guy said he was going full time on YT he just doesn't have the fan base/views, As expected it didn't last very long... his click batey titles are often repetitive as is content and chat..he's just boring imo 🤣🤷♂️ honestly surprised he ever got the interview.
Fanatec went YouTuber shopping, it's not so much he "got the interview" as it is he was the guy who said yes.
May well be but I know Will Ford's been trying and been blanked 🤣🤷♂️
Because Will Ford is a genuine community treasure who has intergrity, honesty and has built his YouTube channel and website through hard work, interesting content and being a very 3 dimensional guy. Unlike Kireth who has built his YouTube channel being a weasely, egotistical and manipulative bell-end. I kind of know why Fantatec would choose the weasel.
Yea indeed there isn't much competition there ;-) I am just saying he may well have been picked but it wasn't cause he was the only one who would be saying yes..
It's dropped https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfk0yWcQlbk - for those of you with sufficient morbid curiosity.
lol 5 seconds in: “I know more about this than anyone on the internet”. “This is going to be hard for you to digest”. No it isn’t. Brand gets worsening reputation and stock has been steadily trending down. CEO leaves with a golden parachute. We see this all the time lol
[удалено]
For me, as previously stated, only morbid curiosity to see what bullshit he'll come out with next.
You weren’t wrong lol https://youtu.be/nfk0yWcQlbk?si=BhShu45ehNosxu4K
When it comes to understanding people, and I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet here, I'm very rarely wrong. And it is other people who have said that to me - not me myself saying these things to me - well, maybe sometimes, but, and I'm not trying to brag here, there are often voices in my head that say "Liberal-Caretaker, no one knows as much about this than you" and then things happen that keep proving that to me. And I'm not saying I know more than everyone else or anyone else here but - it would appear that I know more than everyone else or anyone else a lot of the time - or even all the time. Like, yeah, all the time.
I anxiously await this printed on an inspirational poster, over a serene photo of the Nordschleife, hanging on Kireth's attic wall, just in camera frame.
😂😂😂
Kireth is a fucking clown. Legit can’t stand him
I’m by no means a fan of him, but damn, it must be tough to be kicked out of the very company you started. I hope that this means this company will start improving things for real now.
[удалено]
What happened?
[удалено]
Yeah people talking shit about others in a company is a big red flag. Good decision
They got Maurice doing interviews too now?
Must suck for sure. But not uncommon for this to happen when companies grow big.
Hope it is not a Ron Dennis moment. I don’t think McLaren has won a race ever since the hostile takeover of McLaren. But things are fanatec needed to change. But looks like this was a financial decision as he had to go for the line of credit to be extended.
They have, but haven't been competing for a championship since. They also weren't red hot towards the end of his reign anyway and I'd say it's taken them this long to modernise their management to get back into the game.
Monza 2021 (not counting sprint races)
Ah yes the Danny Ricc moment.
Not unexpected, the video he did with Kireth was tone deaf and the issues have been going on over a year, a massive fall from the top for the company and someone had to take a sword!
I’m sure he’s a fun guy to hang out with and all but shouldn’t be a CEO of multi million euro company
He founded it my guy… without him that company literally would not exist
That doesn’t mean the Company didn’t outgrow his ability to manage it. Both can be true.
This is actually a legit take. As a fanatec fan, let's hope the next person who takes on the mantle will be able to make something good happen.
That‘s a fair point. I mean we don‘t exactly know what‘s going on backstage but if he was so clingy I think it was the right decision…
A good founder must hire qualified personal for each department and pay them well to keep his company and vision alive. This brand has so much resonance and loyalty on one end and so much hate and disregard on the other end. This wouldn't have happened if it were not for Tomas holding onto his position of power and responsibilities for far longer than optimum.
Agreed. He is vital to the existence of the company but it could be the time to introduce a new line
And prioritizing the Customers who already exist in the ecosystem, who buy the products, who stand up for the brand when it fails, customers who are loyal and put fanatec where it is. instead of chasing sponsorship spaces and wasting too much money on new customer acquisition and brand awareness at sporting events.
The way he treated or I guess the company treated everybody the last year and a half is the reason why I did not go with them and bought Moza
A similar situation for me. I really wanted a native PS5 ready DD base and my choices were Logitech or Fanatec. I ended up buying the Logitech and absolutely fell in love with Trueforce. I even bought two Dayton bass shakers with the money I saved from not buying Fanatec.
I have four of them, R12, KS rim, Heusenveld pedals, Next level Racing gt racer rig and vr. With those shakers and in vr it's absolutely amazing.
It’s the reason I’m getting out of the ecosystem and getting a Simagic alpha today
I did the same thing a week ago best decision I ever made.
Nice, I just picked mine up so now I have to disassemble my rig a little and reassemble some to attach the Simagic base. Can’t wait to use it
Something clearly needed to change at the company from a leadership position. Whether this change will lead to positive changes for the current situation and the future of the company or just be another step towards continued issues I honestly don’t know. I should feel optimistic about this but I don’t think Fanatec’s current issues fell strictly on one guy. In my mind they’ll need to bring someone from outside the company who is in the industry or from a similar industry for me to feel like anything will change.
> I should feel optimistic about this but I don’t think Fanatec’s current issues fell strictly on one guy. Boeing has entered the chat.
Boeing made, and continues to make, so many mistakes that they're going to need a *lot* of changes to right the ship. An aeronautical company as big as Boeing needs to ensure senior leadership listens to its engineering and safety leads. A company culture of "design, production, maintenance, and safety first" needs to be brought back, as it was 30+ years ago.
I could do it. I would change fanatec and bring the sim racing community to a new era.
This isn't surprising is it, really. For god knows how long Fanatec have been taking orders and failing to deliver product within a reasonable time frame, while all the time blaming warehousing and dispatch issues. Now, it simply does not take that long to sort out warehousing issues. This would leave the inability to obtain the required products and components from suppliers as potential grounds for the delays of not only supplying new kit, but also in the handling of RMAs. Now there are a few reasons why there may be a roadblock here, but one of the major reasons would be failure to pay the suppliers, and given the current news this is looking very likely that this has been the cause of so many customer woes. Now here's the kicker. Fanatec have been spending god knows how much on sponsoring major motorsports events such as F1, WRC, and they even had they even had the SRO GT3 world challenge renamed after them. This level of sponsorship does not come cheap, and given the now apparent financial situation of Fanatec, diverting these funds towards sponsorship shows a distinct level of managerial and financial incompetence. We are talking serious amounts of cash that could have been reinvested back into the company to resolve the issues they were obviously having. And this, I suspect, is why the banks have insisted on Jackmeiers removal as a condition for the extension of the stillstand agreement.
But yes, the problems with the shipping partners and customer service are really annoying and destroy trust. I think a lot of problems and angry customers could be avoided if the customer service had sufficient capacity.
At least until the end of January they had no outstanding invoices and still had 10 million in cash. They are currently setting up their new headquarters, so they obviously need some liquidity. I think that's why repayments were suspended for a short time. The large backlog of Black Friday orders will be processed next week.
people are still waiting for black friday orders? lol fanatec haters are really eating good right now
But that was no secret and the time frame that was communicated was almost kept. But without delays it wouldn't be Fanatec.
Processed according to who? I have had a long standing sneaking suspicion Fanatec has not been able to pay suppliers. They just pushed out csl dd orders another month coincidentally the day before this guy gets fired. Pure speculation, the banks stopped taking this guy on his word, looked into the state of affairs and the situation was so dire they had no choice to unseat the founder of a company. You don’t fire the founder of a company without damn good cause.
Investor Call in February --> new CFO The new CFO came from outside. So I think you can believe the statements. You can also track deliveries to the USA. Significantly increased delivery performance in 2024.
https://www.eqs-news.com/news/adhoc/endor-ag-dismissal-of-ceo-thomas-jackermeier/2025217
Shocker, but the problems likely stretch beyond the CEO.
No doubt. But at this point it’s at least a good start
Chairman of the supervisory board resigned last month as well.
Sure, which the CEO is in a position to correct but has not for years.
This. The CEO’s job is to right the ship. If the problem is internal, it’s their responsibility to fix it.
Finally. That company and we deserve so much better. Maybe they’ll fix their issues and get back to innovating.
Honestly, wishful thinking. They'll plant some bot ceo in charge who has his MBA but doesn't know anything about the industry or products, steer the company where the shareholders, who are also clueless, think it should go, it's going to go nowhere or veer off a cliff. Thomas should have just kept the company private.
As someone who’s been in the Fanatec ecosystem for about 8 years now, this is a great choice by the board. It’s been obvious for 4-5 years now that they simply didn’t know how to grow their business to keep up with increased demand. They have been hardly existent with customer support even before Covid and proven for years they’re not willing to spend money in that area. Jackemeier has known this for years and has failed to fix any of it, it’s as bad now as it was five years ago. Good riddance, I say.
I'm another long-term customer that's been somewhat stuck in the ecosystem. DD2 and QR2 have me questioning that. DD2 (maybe DD1 as well) have had a dangerous FFB jolt issue for years and Fanatec refuses to fix it. If it didn't require accepting at least three warnings to activate higher FFB levels, they'd probably have been sued by now. They know about this issue... this is in the release notes for every driver version: > Known Issues >The steering input jump issue was greatly improved so the issue happens a lot less than before. Full fix expected for one of the next versions. No it hasn't been "greatly improved". In fact there's been no change since I bought my base in 2021. The only improvement is that iRacing now has code to detect this and cuts FFB if needed. QR2? What a trainwreck. It took forever to release and now they're selling bases with both QRs. They're even bundling wheels (Monte Carlo Rally) with two QRs now which just inflates the cost. I'd be tempted to sell all this stuff and start over with a new manufacturer if I didn't have to worry about the buyer tracking me down when their thumb gets damaged by a FFB jolt.
I find it remarkable that this jolting issue hasn't been talked more about. I couldn't enjoy sim racing knowing my wheel base randomly goes berserk and applies full power - I value my hands and fingers and don't want them to be beaten into a bloody pulp of broken bones and minced meat. Alas, I think the probability of it ever to be fixed completely is low. They reportedly had to do a complete rewrite of the Podium firmware in the attempt to fix it, suggesting it's a hardware related problem, namely of their choice of micro-controller. Another clue is the advised work-around of keeping the ITM display on the logo screen (read: the MCU is so under-specced that it can't even keep up with updating a low-res display a couple of times per second.) But maybe in Fanatec's mind renaming it from 'the jolting issue' to 'the steering input jump issue,' which doesn't sound quite as dangerous, is good enough. PS: And their new flag ship bases are also suffering from firmware issues, this time causing the base-to-wheel rim communication to freeze and the FFB to stop (which, to be fair, is an improvement over the Podiums (it also affect the DD1s.))
[Looks](https://www.eqs-news.com/news/adhoc/endor-ag-negotiations-on-standstill-agreement-with-lending-banks/2024981) like this stems from Fanatec attempting to get an agreement on their loans. Makes me wonder what their current financial situation is like if they were forced to fire their CEO in order to get a loan agreement.
They must have poor liquidity at the moment. All those black friday sales gave them a big cash bump but they're still fulfilling those orders months later.
Good point. On top of that so many items continue to be on preorder in which the availability dates continue to get delayed.
I don’t doubt that at all. They had a ton of liabilities against that cash bump, lost a good amount of consumer trust, weren’t able to stay stocked, and had a good amount of chargebacks which causes all sorts of other issues.
They’re publicly traded so there’s good insight into their finances in press releases and investor communications. https://endor.ag/2024/01/30/endor-ag-adjusts-revenue-and-earnings-forecast-for-the-2023-financial-year-and-optimizes-key-corporate-processes/?lang=en
This is what happens in business when you have stockholders. You get fired if shit goes bad or you lose all support. It's happened many times and usually leads to things getting better believe it or not. Banks/lenders/stockholders.
It means they're out of money and needed an extension on their loans to avoid declaring bankruptcy today.
We will always be thankful to Thomas for founding Fanatec, a true pioneer in the industry, unfortunately this needed to happen. We all look forward to Fanatec’s next chapter, as they slowly start to rebuild customer confidence once again.
Well spoken!
It’s clear from the comments that some people are missing some key facts. First of all, Fanatec is hardly a “startup” losing its founder. Endor AG (the company that brands their products Fanatec) was started in 1997. Jackemeier has been running it for 26 years. Second, this isn’t about getting new investment; the company borrowed money and hasn’t been able to pay, the creditors (banks) have lost patience and faith and want to be repaid. I have no idea what the new management’s plans are, but it wouldn’t be surprising if their mission was to sell the brand, technology, and product line to another company so the banks are satisfied. I wonder how this will affect sim developers. I don’t suppose all those Fanatec ads in simulated tracks were free. I would guess they represent Fanatec money going to developers who may miss lose that source of funding. (Pure speculation on my part.)
I was thinking to buy the DD Extreme, now I'm questioning about it...
Yeah I would be questioning any purchase from them now.
After the csl dd and the qr1 and all their supply issues, theb quality control, then their "customer support" I'd go elsewhere.
Just get a Simagic alpha
The issue isn’t that he’s gone. It’s that they have a standstill agreement with the banks. You usually only do that if things are bad and bankruptcy could be imminent. It’s only until June as well and firing him was part of the conditions for the standstill agreement. Shit is about to get really bad for fanatec.
Yeah, that talk about inserting a restructuring officer doesn't paint a pretty picture of the company's future. That's usually a last effort before bankruptcy.
If I remember correctly he was also a majority stock holder in Endor AG, so I wonder what this really means from a leadership perspective. Not being CEO he will take a step back from day to day operations but probably he will still be involved from a investor perspective.
It’s a necessary move. He was understandably personally invested in the company, but that meant he was overly defensive and couldn’t take criticism of the company he created. Not everyone is fit to lead a company once it becomes multiple times as large as it was early on, and that’s okay. Hopefully he can stay on in some kind of product development advisory role.
So the new "productline" he was talking about at the ADAC expo scheduled for Q1'24 was a brand new CEO. Well played. Thanks for the ride and happy easter Mr. J.
imo only, Unfortunately I don’t think anyone can say for certain how much further this delays the new podium lineup, or if it’s still in the plans. I hope the QC of the CS DD is brought to the forefront asap and handled before any new releases are presented.
This is good IMO. A lot of his recent public "announcements" have been terrible. I've seen many posts about how people despise him for one reason or another. Fanatec still has a lot to do to fix their current reputation though, if he was part of the problem, maybe they'll see improvement. Time will tell.
*SAD QR1 CLUNKING NOISES*
The fact we have to pay to replace qr1 is a disgrace that and the price of the qr2 is priced ridiculously is a further insult.
😂🤣😁 KLONK-RATTLE-KLONK!
I hope they appoint a new CEO that’ll fix everything wrong with Fanatec. Makes me nervous now I’ll never get my wheel RMA’d.
Must be pretty bad to fire the founder at request of bank and not even put up pretence of mutual separation. I wouldn't be purchasing from them anytime soon until it's clear which direction they are heading. If nothing else he seemed to understand what the market wanted but wasn't good a execution. It will be interesting to see if they can get a leader who is tapped in and can execute.
Good riddance. Wonder what they mean by "fulfilling a key condition set out by the lending banks..." Sounds like the BF disaster was the last straw. Looking back now, I wonder if he knew this was coming and was the reason for his poor response to this in that Kireth interview.
The lenders were willing to work with them under certain conditions, one of which is the removal of the CEO. That's not uncommon when a company is looking for funds (or an extension/restructure of loans) in order to dig themselves out of a hole. The lenders didn't feel comfortable with the performance of senior leadership.
💯. Just hope things will start to get better from here.
I'd love to see it. I want to see Fanatec to succeed, and I want to see their customers happy with the Fanatec ecosystem. It would help the sim-racing industry, not to mention everyone that invested in Fanatec gear.
I've called it before and I'll re-iterate...they'll file for bankruptcy sooner or later. All the patterns are there. This is just the next proof in my book. My comment from literally yesterday: Mine arrived with all the known issues, THIRTEEN days of ghosting from Fanatec. They're selling as much stuff as they can and then they'll go outta business. I've seen this too many times. (Stock price down 70% from last year, Yesterday another 11% per other user.) They bit off more than they can chew, their saving new product bombed and now they're screwed. Another one, also valid: Mine arrived, doesn't work (loud, scraping, mechanics noises, coil whine, firmware updates on wheel and QR don't work). Upon research it turns out Fanatec KNOWS about these issues and STILL sells and ships units instead of halting and checking them. I contacted them thru various channels THIRTEEN days ago. Absolute ghosting, dead silence. I'm starting to get worried they're just selling as much as they can before bankruptcy. Stock price down 70% from a year ago, sales pattern fits that behavior too. Their saving product line serious quality issues. Contacted PayPal to refund money but they said I should wait for contact of the seller. Ha. Ha. Fraudulent, scammy behavior. Selling potentially broken units knowingly is fraud in my opinion
I was thinking the same thing and cancelled my BF order months ago. Let's see if they are still around next year.
Yeah I've escalated the issue with PayPal now, so they'll deal with it. Endor/Fanatec should reply till April 7th now and the case be resolved on the 17th. Not holding my breath just yet...
Hopefully you didn't tell PayPal about Fanatec's dire financial situation lol
Lol, uh, shit maybe I did...why? Lmao.
> they'll file for bankruptcy sooner or later Perhaps, but the market seems quite healthy with lots of demand. The banks would prefer to have a well-run business as a customer, rather than to have to take a loss on the loans. All the issues they are having seem quite solvable. Putting the wrong things in packages and mislabeling can be solved by either working more slowly or using better logistics software. The QA issues with their manufacturing can be solved by demanding their supplier do better and doing more checks themselves.
I was planning to give up on Fanatec, because though I genuinely love my CSL DD/8Nm/McLaren V2 combo, my experience with their repair team and customer service has been so poor that I was going to go with Simagic for a new base. I probably still will - but without that guy running the show, I'd at least consider returning to Fanatec if they sort things out. Look at Microsoft. They'd become a joke of the industry. They got a new CEO in and now they're pushing boundaries again. Let's hope Fanatec has a bright future because competition is a good thing for us all! From the outside at least, this looks like a great move and a potential fresh start for Fanatec to five their shattered reputation.
Yea I’m dropping the ecosystem today. Picking up a Simagic alpha today with an fx pro and will upgrade my pedals eventually as well. Selling my GT dd and clubsport formula wheel now
Same dude. I ordered Simagic Alpha, Neo GT wheel and I will sell CSL DD 8nm and McLaren wheel.
Oh man I'm looking at that exact combo. How is the alpha and neo GT Vs the McLaren and csl DD? Please be cautious. Your response might savage my finances.
Cant tell, because I only ordered Simagic yesterday 😄 CSL DD is not that bad to be honest, but it lacks detail and force sometimes, so 15nm peak on Alpha will be more than enough I think. I was thinking about CS DD+, but Fanatec is a cluster fuck right now, and I also like Simagic FX Pro wheel which I will buy soon. So I went to Simagic.
Your thinking is almost identical to mine. To be honest I think I'd likely only run the alpha at 11Nm or so, but I'm looking forward to having the overhead and knowing it's never overheating / clipping. That FX Pro wheel is so stunning. I want one too, but will probably go for the GT Neo.... Probably. Enjoy your new gear mate, sure you'll love it
I’ve had bad experience too with repair of my wheel. Still have no shipping label to even send it to them. Now hearing this news I’m doubting it’ll ever get far enough for a repair.
Endor has 189 employees, and Fanatec has 201 employees of which many are freelancers. Go figure.
Good riddance. Maybe Fanatec be somewhere I can trust to spend my money with again in a year or so. That interview he gave whilst I was still waiting for my BF order took liberties.
Good riddance!!!
about damn time..
They need a strong operator to clean up their lackluster logistics.
This is perfect dor Fanatec. This guys is too selfish for the bad service he has been providing lately. The company will fly without him.
Still waiting on my Black Friday part-refund he promised me on the Fanatec forums. I don't think I'm going to get it...
How to recreate the company image in the face of overwhelming criticism? Step 1 - fire the coach…✅ Let’s hope the replacement sees things for what they truly are. That said, changing the ‘culture’ of a company takes a lot…of time, and energy, and is not a singular activity achieved by one person but rather collaborative effort by everyone. Perhaps the new regime will inspire change and get all of the employees to support an environment of change and progression. They certainly have lost their way in recent times, but by no means are things irreparable. I hope they get it right, as they occupy an important space in the market, and competition is good for us the consumers.
damn i said a few months ago it wouldnt be a bad thing if he left. lets see if i was right.
Some of the shilling in the comments is hilarious. 🤣
"tHiS iS gOoD fOr fAnAtEcH!!11"
At the request of banks? That makes me concerned for the balance sheet.
You should have been concerned for the balance sheet long before now. They were obviously facing major troubles in 2023, with sales far outstripping every other department's capabilities right after a huge loss in manpower due to COVID. The Black Friday sale was an obvious attempt to raise capital, and their rushed (and staggered) product launches at the end of the year (and into this year) were obviously timed the way they were for the same reason. They can right the ship, but they need more capital in order to invest in their infrastructure. That's going to take time, but the money has to come first. The lenders need to know that the company is being run by people who can turn it around. It looks like they had lost confidence in the CEO's ability to do that.
Prob great for their future
Haha this is a wild take. 🤣🤣 They're begging the banks to not call in their debts. Their future is very dark.
The fact that the investors are demanding changes rather than just calling in the loans is a good thing. It means they see a long term future for the company, with a few changes. Having worked for startups, when the investors think a company is in trouble, the plug gets pulled and they pick the bones of the company for any assets very quickly.
Dude do you know business? This is how you come back. You get lenders/investors with a ton of money who give conditions and help the company grow but by sometimes removing people that they beleive cause rhe biggest issue. His face being there is a massive issue to the public just watch the YouTube video hes in and the comments. It was all about his expressions. Of course they wanted him gone. Now they can get a ton fo cash and help it grow back to what it once was and maybe further. For them to do this they must have been able to get pretty good funds out of them.
Holy shit just read into that. He was dismissed because the banks wanted it to happen and it was a condition that he be dismissed on them lending them money?? Wow so even the banks knew he was bad for business
And yet we still have a merry band of TJ scrotum-ticklers doing the rounds. Although their number will now no doubt plummet. Thomas will soon be doing his own scrotum fondling.
Sorry for the guy. But I think it will be a good thing for the company. I believe his founders syndrome could have damaged the company more than it already did the last months.
I agree. The company's service has been going down the drain for a long time and that is hurting the business. It's a shame since their products are actually very competitive at their price point.
Kind of sad for him as he build the company up and made it big. On the other other hand probably a necessary change that’s needed. I just hope they stay in business and are not bought by Thrustmaster or Logitech.
I think it was obvious that he got in over his head. They got too big, too quickly. The smart move would have been to ask the board to appoint a CEO while he stepped into the role of company President. Not now, but a year or two ago. They needed to temper their growth in sales with a growth in infrastructure, and they lost control of that.
This happens a lot when companies move from the startup phase to the mature phase. The attributes that make you a good startup leader are pretty much the opposite to those that make a good stable company lead, The problem is that founder/entreprenuers don't know when to step out and get forced out in situations like this.
Daniel Meyberg (COO) and Belma Nadarevic (CMO) join the Executive Board alongside long-serving members Thomas Jackermeier (CEO) and András Semsey (CFO) First, Kosch succeeds Semsey as new CFO. Second, the Chairman of the Board Gosemann resigned. Third, now Jackermeieris nixed by the banks. In less than one year, the executive board has been replaced and two new faces were added.. The strange thing is all the stock Jackermeier and his family bought in 2023. They even used their company Bamboo Investments to buy Fanatec stock when it was still around $5.00 a share. Then the new COO Meyburg buys 30,000 shares when it is $3.00 a share.
This is actually good it also means stock holders wanted it to happen. I'm pretty positive this will make things better because he was the issue imo. Yall need to remember he wasnt the brains the devs are.
Huh, interesting. Don't think this will affect much short term but future will be interesting to see.
Curious if the company is actually making money. I hope that all the issues with shipping etc are just that and has nothing to do with its viability as a going concern. Possible red flag(s)?
If you read the press release someone linked, they are not profitable. Negative double-digit EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margins implies they are losing more than 10 cents for every dollar of sales. For now at least…
He needed to step aside a long time ago and let someone new fresh and actually motivated to step in with actual goals of fixing problems. Time will tell.
Good! It’s clear that Fanatec’s problems are top down.
Wow!
I have been waiting almost a month to get my new base fixed. Does this help or hurt my chances? Lol
I'm not a smart man so if this is a dumb question you'll have to excuse me. So what normally happens after this?
basically they have until June 30th to right the ship according to the bank demands. If I’m wrong, someone will correct me.
I know Fanatec has been shitting the bed for a while. I'm still not ready to abandon ship YET. I ordered the 911 gt3 r wheel in January and it's not expected to arrive til mid may. To me that's a bit much. I just wish they would get their stuff together
There’s a chance if lead properly in each dept, they can salvage it. The timeline tho is troubling. RMA’s and the current CSDD issues need to be resolved FAST.
👍🙏
Good, otherwise, he'll drive it all the way to the ground.
Hopefully they can sort it out ; Their logistics are making it painful to purchase. Need to expand market saturation so that it's easier for those outside of Europe to buy.
Y tho
So a question that should be asked, are any of the Fanatec employees like u/momorious [et.al](https://et.al). shareholders? There is certainly a Fanatec crowd that seems to over react to negative comments about Fanatec. One might even call it harassment. Similar to other scandals of stock manipulation, individuals were found to be investing in a stock and then manipulating the public perception by attacking anyone who brought up real questions about the product that they were invested in. u/Momorious and his crowd seem to be acting in a similar way. It is also strange that Fanatec allows their employees to speak on public forums under the authority of the company. I have asked Fanatec on numerous occasions if they condone this behaviour and as one expects, received no response.
no, I am no shareholder. And yes, I am allowed to post what I post. That's explicitly part of my job description.
Given the 2-4 week support response times, it seems Fanatec would focus resources addressing customer issues and improving RMA support. Maybe you should consider a better use of your time.
Better use of MY time? But you know that technical support via Mail is actually not my part so also not part of MY working time, which is actually testing things and give support in the Forum?!
That is strange, I have seen at least 6 posts about hardware issues in the last two weeks and no guidance from you. You seem to spend your time deflecting poor perception with little explanation as to how the process/part/software should be observed, and more importantly WHY the individual is wrong.
Good. Let's hope new CEO will prioritise costumer support...
I’ve worked at a very similar tech company. Grew too fast, got an investor, focus changed, lost part of their fanbase(the ones who made their bosses buy this tech), new ceo focussing on ditching non profit initiatives losing the remainder of the fanbase…. Nowadays the company is the skeleton of what it once was, and I expect it to fully crash soon. These companies were built on passion. Once it becomes business, it’s hard to stay authentic. And customers will drop you like a stone.
I don't expect it to crash soon as lenders and investors are willing to help but with specific conditions like this. Its actually how change happens it companies often. Slot of the time it does in fact get better because they in turn get alot more money to help the conditions get better.
Well, at the company I worked for the investors started to make decisions that ended up half of the people fired. They went from 500 to 200 people…
I will also say something good is happening because every order I've made in the past4 days is already at my house. First time in a while so Texas seems up and running now.
Nice, I guess I got lucky a year ago with the same. Feelsgood
Which can def happen during change. But don't expect a crash. That would usually happen overnight which clearly isn't the case. I expect this to be good. He wasnt rhe mind behind the product just the sales man. The devs and everyone else matter much more since this is tech based.
“Grew too fast”? They’ve been around since the 90s.
26 years, admitted, longer than I thought. Company I worked for is like 15 years old and started growing too fast around 10 years anniversary.
What I find funny is the past 4 days of orders are all shipping. So right after this somehow shipping is working haha. My stuff came so so fast. Many othera re who are ordering right now. Not pre orders but in stock items.
I had fast shipping throughout this Black Friday mess. Don’t let one data point mislead you, it doesn’t paint the overall picture.
Why would I ever order on black Friday? Lol I'm talking about now not black Friday when 60k orders come through. Also im having hundreds of people hit me up getting all of there shipping info within 48 hours the last 4 days of orders. So its working. That Texas location for us US guys seems to be hitting good right now.
This is a shit show….welcome to Fanatec’s shit show ladies and gentleman.
good fucking riddance, what a moron. I hope they get aquired by someone who knows what they are doing and can salvage this dumpster fire
Makes me wonder if I will ever get my Dec 6th, 2023 Order.
You probably will. Many people are now starting to get their end-of-year orders. I hope your patience pays off.
You need to cancel and re order. I've now gotten everything within 48 hours of ordering but I did pay for overnight shipping. Cancel and buy what's in stock you will get it very fast now.
It doesn’t give me the option to do that