Now, I will start this by saying that I dont like the effect that CRC has on local industry. I have worked in bike shops and seen people come in with a set of hope brakes that they bought for a ridiculously low price, tell us about how much cheaper they got them off CRC, ask us to cut the hoses and bleed, then get shitty when we charged them for our labour - I think thats fucked. You cant do that shit.
I dont think we can judge CRC for doing what they do either, because all they are doing is running a business, just as any other business owner does. It is unrealistic to expect them to not try to grow as much as possible - no business is going to self regulate like that, its not how business works. Its unreasonable and anyone in business would tell you so.
I have little economic knowledge, and I didnt read the article too thoroughly, but as Johnny said, calls for more tariffs are a pretty bad idea. From my basic understanding, Tariffs generally build inefficiency into society. Im not sure on the exact time period but wasnt it around the 70s/80s that Australian industry got super lazy and started producing overpriced crap because the Tariffs were too high?
Anyway I gotta get up early and go ride Buller tomorrow so I cbf writing any more of my thoughts. Australian bike shops, and retail in general are looking pretty screwed at the moment, and noone really seems to have a reasonable solution. Maybe us kids will all end up working as posties and IT guys?
Oh yeah, I dont buy off CRC ever. LBS, secondhand or ebay for me, if you look around you will find CRC isnt the cheapest (except for hope stuff).