You are having brexit so soon you won't be able to afford cars (when financial service pack up and move to Frankfurt) an e-bike will have to do... 
Brexit, for once some facts.
- Thread starter flecc
- Start date
Our group fighting the EBMA had a meeting in Brussels yesterday with our lawyers and the team leading the anti dumping investigation at the Commission. It was interesting and very constructive, expelling a lot of myths. If anyone in our group would like details please drop me a line. I have been asked by the group and our lawyers not to make the detail public.
All this could be absolutely true but it has less to do with Brexit than those posts you disliked about Porsche. Its hijacking this thread to promote your own distorted view of society.
OG is obsessed with promoting Daily Mail , spends all his time reading and posting its features and you do same for AAV, I suppose they almost cancel each other out.
If someone says 'I know a bike shop in my town who is thinking of discontinuing X because of y, z' - you will see very clearly the detrimental effect of such a comment if X were Wisper.
By putting all your competitors on one side and you are in the other, you are implying that buying from you is a safer choice because some on the other side may close soon, so no continuity of support.
sorry I don't get you.
what is unprofessional and not fair? rumour mongering or spelling it out that such action shouldn't take place here?
I have not discounted ourselves from the group, we are all in the same boat. We all face the same challenges.
its not rumour mongering to suggest that x number of businesses are due to close if you know it to be fact.
It would be unprofessional to name them, whilst they are still trading.
Surely you can see that?
There are around 18,000 bike shops in the UK, some will close this year, next year and in the following years. What's new?
It is not an unstable situation. If anything, I predict more bike shops are going to add e-bikes to their range.
You on the other hand, may have a target date when you want to give up.
So you really think it’s OK to name people who may have business problems? Why are you getting so irate? We all discuss the state of the business all the time. Are you not telling us something!?
It’s important information, thanks Col.
Woosh, we all need to look out for each other and if we see a trend then it’s good to share. Incidentally, one of our dealers a big bike shop, not an ebike specialist has called just this morning to say they are closing.
Wow, 18,000 that's a lot more than I make it. But I'm sure you've got a source for that number? I suspect it includes things like Tesco's
But anyway that's a different issues.
The fact is bike shops are closing at the fastest rate in years and years. I don't need anecdotal evidence to back it up. We supply over 500 of them, so I know.
https://www.bikebiz.com/retail/bike-shop-closure-rate-now-at-highest-since-the-1960s
You also only have to look on the trade forums to see the concern.
In a recent article (July last year) in the respected bike-eu.com:
http://www.bike-eu.com/home/nieuws/2017/6/halfords-notes-big-drop-in-number-of-uk-bike-retailers-10130270
In its report on the company’s financial year (that ended March 31, 2017) Halfords Group plc notes “Our research has identified that the number of bike shops has declined by nearly 10% over the last year.”
10% or 2,500 independent bike shops close last year.
10% suggests that the average life of an IBD is 10 years.
What is the importance of a few pending closures that you know of compared to 2,500 a year?
no... you've not read it properly.
There are over 2500 bike shops in the UK, and 10% of them have closed in the last year.
"The cycling market is highly fragmented; there are over 2,500 bike shops in the UK, the majority of which are independents. The changing marketplace and growth in online is making it increasingly difficult for these independents to be competitive. Our research has identified that the number of bike shops has declined by nearly 10% over the last year.”
and I'm not saying the few I know of are significant. But 10% closing in one year is significant. I was using the few I know of as an example of sensitive information that I can share, without naming the businesses, because naming the businesses would be unprofessional and not fair on them.
The main reason for the overall rate of consolidation (about 6% a year) is the growth of online purchases.
I am reading through the latest report at the moment, the number of people employed in bike shops is 23,000.
You can guess that the number of bike shops is much more than 2,500.
Not siding with either side here..
But surely the most important issue is not the number of shops closing but the number of bikes sold...
One of problems I,d guess most retailers are facing is the growth of massive ,supermarket type bike retailers. Decathlon came to Sheffield a good few years ago and that must have affected local bike shops, when out biking now you see more Rock Riders than any other single brand.
I also think the UK cycling industry / community really isn't taking advantage of modern ebikes in same way French / Italians are.
Retailers should be fighting tooth and nail to batter down our ridiculous " cheating" attitude shown towards ebikes. I called at a retailer who as yet does not sell ebikes. I asked if he could get one. The owner asked what I,d got wrong with me to need one and his friendly assistant pronounced " its cheating"..In a bike shop !!!
I got exactly opposite attitude last year at Lake Garda. Chap hired bikes out,I asked for an Ebike. Said he didn't hire them but come back in morning. He,d borrowed 3 from another dealer. We had a fantastic day out and I bought Haibike on return to UK. Italian lad who led our tour reckoned by next year 1 in 4 bikes going up Monte Baldi would be ebikes. I think at time it was already 1 in 6 ???. Going around Peak District I reckon its under 1 in 50 ???
There is a massive opportunity for bike dealers at moment but the industry has got to destroy the contempt shown by cyclists and cycle dealers if they are to take advantage.
By the way. The attitude shown at James Cycles was superb. Cant fault that shop. Fantastic but its not a widespread attitude from dealers.
But surely the most important issue is not the number of shops closing but the number of bikes sold...
One of problems I,d guess most retailers are facing is the growth of massive ,supermarket type bike retailers. Decathlon came to Sheffield a good few years ago and that must have affected local bike shops, when out biking now you see more Rock Riders than any other single brand.
I also think the UK cycling industry / community really isn't taking advantage of modern ebikes in same way French / Italians are.
Retailers should be fighting tooth and nail to batter down our ridiculous " cheating" attitude shown towards ebikes. I called at a retailer who as yet does not sell ebikes. I asked if he could get one. The owner asked what I,d got wrong with me to need one and his friendly assistant pronounced " its cheating"..In a bike shop !!!
I got exactly opposite attitude last year at Lake Garda. Chap hired bikes out,I asked for an Ebike. Said he didn't hire them but come back in morning. He,d borrowed 3 from another dealer. We had a fantastic day out and I bought Haibike on return to UK. Italian lad who led our tour reckoned by next year 1 in 4 bikes going up Monte Baldi would be ebikes. I think at time it was already 1 in 6 ???. Going around Peak District I reckon its under 1 in 50 ???
There is a massive opportunity for bike dealers at moment but the industry has got to destroy the contempt shown by cyclists and cycle dealers if they are to take advantage.
By the way. The attitude shown at James Cycles was superb. Cant fault that shop. Fantastic but its not a widespread attitude from dealers.
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Why can't you just admit you're wrong? The chaps at Halfords are telling you there are 2500 bike shops in the UK, and everything I've read or looked at over the past 10 years indicates there is a maximum of about 3000 bike shops in the UK. Why do you think you know better?
you do realise that on-line purchases also come from bike shops... yes? They don't come from the sky
The internet and mail order generally has been around for 10 years, so it doesn't explain the serious drop in bike shops over the past 12 months.
1 million less bikes coming into the UK in 2017 isn't a made up number.
A 20% plus hike in prices from pretty much all the main supplies with no corresponding increase in wages are I suspect the reason many shops have simply decided they are flogging a dead horse and now is the time to call it a day. The shops closing are a mix, many have been trading for a long long time and are just giving up, some of are very recent and opened to ride the wave of "cycling is the next big thing" that has never really happened and have now realised its not the golden ticket they thought, so are also giving up.
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and that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we arrived at a brexit vote (in the electorates' minds it had the same gravitas as voting Nadine dories out of the jungle). so is there a way to turn this into a learning experience as opposed to massive, traumatic aversive conditioning?
sorry I was called away to attend to customers.
I did agree with your #post-419000 on the fact that I misread the article.
However, the number of Halfords shops is 460 UK wide. In Southend, there is one Halfords and 17 other bike shops within 5 miles.
I'll find you the correct number UK wide later today.