State of retail….
Discussion
Crikey. I stopped selling e-bikes last month after 12 years. Loved it until about 2 years ago. Visited a big branch of Evans yesterday who many of my clients will now have to use for warranty/ repair work. I’ve never seen so much metal piled up in heaps. Deserted on the hottest day of the year. They sell all the big brands, analog and e. Totally ignored by staff. Eventually interacted with one. Explained I was ex trade. Thought I’d try my luck and ask cheeky questions about their experience with the brand I worked exclusively with for 6 years. I learnt a few eyebrow-raising home truths! My fault for having drunk the kool-aid for too long. Anyway what a depressing / pointless use of space and capital. Why would anyone go there ? Even with 40% off and interest free credit ? Buy it online !
What are the home truths/koolaid?
Everything is silly expensive. Sal Sac has made my ebike reasonably priced. I had to go through Tredz who were average to poor overall but it was punitive to use another store or independent so such up the poor assembly and battered box it arrived in.
The few people I see commuting by bike on my commute are invariably on old bikes worth almost nothing. Maybe 1 or 2 other ebikes in the bike store where I keep mine at work out of about 50 bikes.
Everything is silly expensive. Sal Sac has made my ebike reasonably priced. I had to go through Tredz who were average to poor overall but it was punitive to use another store or independent so such up the poor assembly and battered box it arrived in.
The few people I see commuting by bike on my commute are invariably on old bikes worth almost nothing. Maybe 1 or 2 other ebikes in the bike store where I keep mine at work out of about 50 bikes.
Timetoleave said:
Kool-aid : your brand is not your friend. They tell you very different stories to what they tell Mike Ashley type operations. As expected. But still shocking when you see how naive you’ve been !
The still makes no sense. What were the issues, and how to you not find them, being in the trade, when Evans do?
A very confusing post.
We had to use Evans when I worked, & they were decent enough in Leicester.
The owner of a local bike shop that supplied a great road bike build for me said manufacturers generally were gits, not just the bike ones, even the energy drink/gel companies were selling direct to customers for less than he could at a level that would keep the lights on.
Final straw was when a UK bike manufacturer that he'd supported for years began selling online direct with offers at less than he could buy at trade!
Sadly he closed his doors last year and his services and expertise are much missed.
The problem is, its tempting looking online even at things like tubes and tyres and saving a few bob here and there, but these savings collectively mean that a high street shop just can't compete. Its not a level playing field due to tax, rates, staff, advice etc.
I've decided that I'll pay a bit more and support a local independent shop... at the end of the day you're probably talking £20 extra for a set of tyres, a couple of quid more for tubes or whatever.
Final straw was when a UK bike manufacturer that he'd supported for years began selling online direct with offers at less than he could buy at trade!
Sadly he closed his doors last year and his services and expertise are much missed.
The problem is, its tempting looking online even at things like tubes and tyres and saving a few bob here and there, but these savings collectively mean that a high street shop just can't compete. Its not a level playing field due to tax, rates, staff, advice etc.
I've decided that I'll pay a bit more and support a local independent shop... at the end of the day you're probably talking £20 extra for a set of tyres, a couple of quid more for tubes or whatever.
Robertb said:
The owner of a local bike shop that supplied a great road bike build for me said manufacturers generally were gits, not just the bike ones, even the energy drink/gel companies were selling direct to customers for less than he could at a level that would keep the lights on.
Final straw was when a UK bike manufacturer that he'd supported for years began selling online direct with offers at less than he could buy at trade!
Sadly he closed his doors last year and his services and expertise are much missed.
The problem is, its tempting looking online even at things like tubes and tyres and saving a few bob here and there, but these savings collectively mean that a high street shop just can't compete. Its not a level playing field due to tax, rates, staff, advice etc.
I've decided that I'll pay a bit more and support a local independent shop... at the end of the day you're probably talking £20 extra for a set of tyres, a couple of quid more for tubes or whatever.
Ditto I've got two really good LBS on my door step and buy everything from them apart from some clothing if they don't sell it themselves - i'd rather have the convenience and service only 10 minutes from home, its worth the extra few quid over buying online (Sigma in Oakham are great, would be a real shame if they closed)Final straw was when a UK bike manufacturer that he'd supported for years began selling online direct with offers at less than he could buy at trade!
Sadly he closed his doors last year and his services and expertise are much missed.
The problem is, its tempting looking online even at things like tubes and tyres and saving a few bob here and there, but these savings collectively mean that a high street shop just can't compete. Its not a level playing field due to tax, rates, staff, advice etc.
I've decided that I'll pay a bit more and support a local independent shop... at the end of the day you're probably talking £20 extra for a set of tyres, a couple of quid more for tubes or whatever.
Edited by oddball1313 on Friday 2nd May 15:30
Robertb said:
The owner of a local bike shop that supplied a great road bike build for me said manufacturers generally were gits, not just the bike ones, even the energy drink/gel companies were selling direct to customers for less than he could at a level that would keep the lights on.
Final straw was when a UK bike manufacturer that he'd supported for years began selling online direct with offers at less than he could buy at trade!
Sadly he closed his doors last year and his services and expertise are much missed.
The problem is, its tempting looking online even at things like tubes and tyres and saving a few bob here and there, but these savings collectively mean that a high street shop just can't compete. Its not a level playing field due to tax, rates, staff, advice etc.
I've decided that I'll pay a bit more and support a local independent shop... at the end of the day you're probably talking £20 extra for a set of tyres, a couple of quid more for tubes or whatever.
The flip side is that people just don't want a bricks and mortar shop for everyday purchases.Final straw was when a UK bike manufacturer that he'd supported for years began selling online direct with offers at less than he could buy at trade!
Sadly he closed his doors last year and his services and expertise are much missed.
The problem is, its tempting looking online even at things like tubes and tyres and saving a few bob here and there, but these savings collectively mean that a high street shop just can't compete. Its not a level playing field due to tax, rates, staff, advice etc.
I've decided that I'll pay a bit more and support a local independent shop... at the end of the day you're probably talking £20 extra for a set of tyres, a couple of quid more for tubes or whatever.
I want an inner tube or something, I order it from ebay in 2 minutes while my supper is cooking.
I'm really not going to drive 20 minutes each way, pay £2 to park etc.
High Street shops are mostly history.
It all started with mail order in the 70s, specialist retailers in all fields had to compete with that.
I think the salary sacrifice ride to work thing has done a lot of damage, encouraged people to buy expensive new bikes.
A lot of it is just that the market is saturated, everyone who wants a bike has got about 3 already, the initial uptake of ebikes is over, some people have less money and plenty else to spend it on.
If what people want is repair shops, they need to understand what a reasonable labour rate is.
People will pay £200 to have their car serviced, but pushbikes quickly become throw-away.
The market for used bikes seems to be a mess, it's not like cars or boats or anything else that costs a few grand,
oddball1313 said:
...Sigma in Oakham are great, would be a real shame if they closed...
I bought something from Sigma in person (Hampton Wick) in September last year. Its developed a fault. Quick email to request some warranty assistance.Sent them my e-receipt. And some photos of the fault
"no problem sir, we'll send out the repair/replacement part"
"Cant you just get it to the shop and I'll pick it up at the weekend?"
"No I'm in the head office at Oakham" (145 miles away! Did one of the 2 founders retire to Oakham hence the move far far away)
That was 3 weeks ago. Nothing yet, so frankly Oakham can do one!
Popped in to my local bike shop today for the first time in a while and it was in a sorry state. It really used to be a great shop with a real buzz around it but it just felt flat, almost like they'd given up.
It used to be packed with the latest bikes for a range of budgets. Today they had a couple of budget bikes, a couple of hybrids and a couple of e-bikes but nothing that makes you go wow, they even had a Specialized with the old fashioned cantilever brakes that I remember in the 90's!.
Clothing section has twindled and to be honest it was probably the same stock they had last time I popped in. Two young lads covering the front desk, one was on the phone ordering kit for his own bike and the other greeted me but carried on with something on the computer.
The only part of the store that seemed to be busy was the workshop, they had quite a few bikes in for services etc.
One thing did surprise me....back when I started cycling I purchased a bike from them and broke a spoke broke within the first couple of weeks (they said I hit something as there was a mark on the rim) and they charged me £36 to fit a new spoke back in 2014! Today I bought a spoke from them for £2, the workshop is/was clearly making a decent profit!
It used to be packed with the latest bikes for a range of budgets. Today they had a couple of budget bikes, a couple of hybrids and a couple of e-bikes but nothing that makes you go wow, they even had a Specialized with the old fashioned cantilever brakes that I remember in the 90's!.
Clothing section has twindled and to be honest it was probably the same stock they had last time I popped in. Two young lads covering the front desk, one was on the phone ordering kit for his own bike and the other greeted me but carried on with something on the computer.
The only part of the store that seemed to be busy was the workshop, they had quite a few bikes in for services etc.
One thing did surprise me....back when I started cycling I purchased a bike from them and broke a spoke broke within the first couple of weeks (they said I hit something as there was a mark on the rim) and they charged me £36 to fit a new spoke back in 2014! Today I bought a spoke from them for £2, the workshop is/was clearly making a decent profit!
z4RRSchris said:
the money these days is in servicing and coffee, not selling parts or having a load of bikes on display
My LBS has diversified a bit with bike fitting and a Rapha studio, but they have a massive unit with tons of stock still. Seem to turn over a decent number of bikes but they do have a busy workshop as well.Guess we can’t be surprised that the business model has shifted that way, it’s the same as cars & servicing. Nobody works on their own stuff anymore and they need a finance provider to buy it in the first place.
We have a lot of successful bike shops around here in Aberdeenshire and I think they manage to remain in business is because the owners are passionate about bikes across all formats, get involved in the local riding scene (road, MTB & gravel), help with trail building and event organisation, sponsor stuff, do charity rides, shop rides, have great workshops with knowledgable staff and generally do a good job of being part of a community. It's great to see. The whole area is a cycling mecca as well, with a huge road and MTB scene plus tons of fantastic gravel routes, so that certainly helps too.
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