Exactly, it's a business they have to work out the equation of income - costs = profit/loss.Retailers fall over all the time, for lots of different reasons - crappy products / service, rent too high, margins too low, financing woes, inability to run a business etc etc
In this instance the reasons are unknown to us.
The LBS will endure, what % of bike riders do you think buy from OS and install themselves or buy bikes and frames directly imported from OS ?
I would wager a very small % of the total bike buying population.
No, Giant, Specialized, Trek sell massive volumes compared to Intense, Santa Cruz etc. The mathematical outliers are the low volume brands that are a tiny part of the market. Regardless of what we think, Big W and K-Mart brands are bigger players in the market than our favourite brands.Exactly, giant is an outlier, in a mathematical equation they'd be ignored.
Maybe there's no internet up there - hence people are supporting that many shops and not CRC, Wiggle, tubgirl, are you using the psychic internet to post here?Riding is only going to get more popular in the future, there's government initiatives at the federal level trying to double the numbers of cyclists from 2011-2016. There's a street in my city that seems to be growing exponentially in bike shops every year. I've surveyed and there are 9 bike shops in a 3km radius, 10 in a 4km. That is in a 300k population city. Not to mention how many others are dotted around.
This. This is sooo true. We have guys who've spent well over 30k-40k each at our store, but are now getting us to price-match and still expect the same level of "above and beyond service." Some of these guys are now supported riders by brands we don't stock and just come in to chew the fat, but haven't brought a single thing from us in 6 months. There is a stage when the staff and owners need to recognize that they are wasting their time by talking to these guys and letting new customers fall by the way-side.I worked in a bike shop that failed where, at the end, the recurrent customers couldn't believe it could happen to such helpful, friendly guys. Problem is, they represented some sort of loosely defined 'core' to some of the staff who somehow perceived them to be of particular value and fell over themselves to help them; when in reality all the customers should have been the core, because customers are obviously the core of a retail business. This explains the polarised comments about service I think, because it's pretty common in shops that go under.
Bike guys are rarely good retail guys, although there are some retail guys who are into bikes.
Woolworths have actually been caught out pretty badly recently. Their supermarket business is not doing well compared to several years ago due to having to prop up masters. They have kept margins too high and are being perceived as expensive compared to Coles. They now have to try and reverse that brand image.
http://m.theage.com.au/business/woo...rofit-margins-for-growth-20141104-11gp54.html
http://m.theage.com.au/business/woo...over-drop-in-share-price-20141126-11ue5r.html
All businesses must adapt to the climate they operate in. It used to be the other way around and Coles was struggling but Wesfarmers bought them and turned it around.
Masters has been a black hole so far, and it really is putting true pressure on the rest of the group to prop it up. Top management are really feeling the heat to get it profitable. Masters is partially owned by a US company and they have a put option to get out of the business in 2016. So far that option is going to be taken up. The losses so far are over $500m which is HUGE.Masters hasn't looked like a good investment this far, but neither are really been hurt by aldi. Aldi is still at just 10% of the market in spite of massive capital investment! and let's face it! it takes a specially frugal person to shop where there aren't any familiar brands and you have to pack your own bags.
Basically ALL warranty claims are settled by replacement. They ship to the local shop a new front or rear triangle to replace the offending part. When was the last time you EVER saw a repair made? Other than adjusting/servicing forks or tuning gears or something?Freighting is easier than local if the volume is low- these days most warranty work is done by shipping a new frame - the cost of production is so low, repair simply isn't worth it.
Ah, so your argument is simply supported by knowing one bike shop who imports a container of cheap generic family bikes. Basically on this website that's not what we're talking about. I'd imagine the warranty issues for a kids 12" bike are very different to those faced by Intense/Santa Cruz.I know a bike shop that just buys a container load of small brand bikes from SE Asia - going direct for him seems to be working out ok.
I think we live in the same suburb?!The cross dresser at my local coles is always friendly.
Wow, for a right winger, you sure like to support ineffecient business models. I'm for free open markets with parallel importing. Fuck the manufacturers who think because the average Aussie is dumb enough to buy at inflated prices.Basically ALL warranty claims are settled by replacement. They ship to the local shop a new front or rear triangle to replace the offending part. When was the last time you EVER saw a repair made? Other than adjusting/servicing forks or tuning gears or something?
Ah, so your argument is simply supported by knowing one bike shop who imports a container of cheap generic family bikes. Basically on this website that's not what we're talking about. I'd imagine the warranty issues for a kids 12" bike are very different to those faced by Intense/Santa Cruz.
Fine for that shop but its a FAR different market for them than for City Bike Depot.
The problem I see is not a lack of passion for bikes and the (elite) cycling community the problem is a lack of passion for retail.
Bike shops are not a natural extension of your cycling lifestyle. They are a business in a tough retail market. Dont start a bike shop if you love bikes- start one if you love retail, customer service and can relate to the average joe!
This. Sometimes it's just easier to order off the internet than cajole bike shop staff into selling or ordering something outside their personal area of interest in cycling.customers are obviously the core of a retail business. This explains the polarised comments about service I think, because it's pretty common in shops that go under. Bike guys are rarely good retail guys, although there are some retail guys who are into bikes.
We regularly do warranty repairs for bike brands, with the specialist equipment required it is not done in the bike shop much these days.Basically ALL warranty claims are settled by replacement. They ship to the local shop a new front or rear triangle to replace the offending part. When was the last time you EVER saw a repair made? Other than adjusting/servicing forks or tuning gears or something?
OK, I have only ever seen replacements. What brands are you talking about?We regularly do warranty repairs for bike brands, with the specialist equipment required it is not done in the bike shop much these days.
Each pretty much waxes and wanes, but as a bloc they are continually growing year on year. Aldi are making about as much difference to the duopoly retail bloc as YT are making to Giant.It used to be the other way around and Coles was struggling but Wesfarmers bought them and turned it around.