Price increases, has anyone come across any since Friday?

I've just heard that Cube eBikes have gone up by 20% with immediate effect. I have also heard another importer has increased by 10% today again with immediate effect.

 

We too have been crunching numbers all day, as of 10 minutes ago our costs are up by almost 12%, fortunately we have enough stock at the moment to see us through until the beginning of August on Wisper but Riese and Muller will need to go up by at least 10% on 1st July unless the "bounce back" materialises.

 

If anyone is thinking of buying a Riese Muller or Wisper, I felt it was only fair to let you know what was likely to happen.

 

All the best, David

Edited June 27, 20169 yr by Wisper Bikes

And how many companies will put prices up, just to cash in on the situation ?

I bet a good few will,

I think so too.

I agree, 20% is crazy as things stand, and companies will have stock to sell, bought at the old exchange rates. The problem is that with margins being squeezed since the autumn of last year when the real drop in £ happened very few will have the cash to ride it out. That's of course if the £ ever fully recovers.

Edited June 28, 20169 yr by Wisper Bikes

Yep it's a lot more money on a high end bike, good job I got my new bike a few weeks ago

I hope any undeserved price rises ends up biting these greedy companies on their asses and they see a big loss in sales.

Have you seen whats happened to the value of the £/€ vs the $. All parts and most frames are bought in the Far East and paid for in $.

 

So anything that has anything to do with the Far East is about to get a lot more expensive, and that's even before we discover what the plan is with regard to the trade agreements between the UK (or possibly just the K) and the EU.

 

I don't think anyone is going to be adding undeserved price rises. We're in a situation now where all the costs to the shops are going up, and the money in their customers pockets will go down.

 

The prices suppliers charges to retailers is about to get even more cut throat, everyone in the supply chain will have to cut margins to hopefully keep the retail price from going up too much, and killing everyone's sales.

Have you seen whats happened to the value of the £/€ vs the $. All parts and most frames are bought in the Far East and paid for in $.

 

So anything that has anything to do with the Far East is about to get a lot more expensive, and that's even before we discover what the plan is with regard to the trade agreements between the UK (or possibly just the K) and the EU.

 

I don't think anyone is going to be adding undeserved price rises. We're in a situation now where all the costs to the shops are going up, and the money in their customers pockets will go down.

 

The prices suppliers charges to retailers is about to get even more cut throat, everyone in the supply chain will have to cut margins to hopefully keep the retail price from going up too much, and killing everyone's sales.

 

Oh please..... spare me the sob story BS.

We all know that companies will put prices up even on their current stock that was bought at previous prices. Then it's likely go up even more than it really cost the company. Then when the pound goes back up against the dollar, those savings are often not brought down again.

These rip off practices are done by gas & electric companies, the fuel companies and all manner of businesses to maximise their profits.

Oh please..... spare me the sob story BS.

We all know that companies will put prices up even on their current stock that was bought at previous prices. Then it's likely go up even more than it really cost the company. Then when the pound goes back up against the dollar, those savings are often not brought down again.

These rip off practices are done by gas & electric companies, the fuel companies and all manner of businesses to maximise their profits.

 

my god you are cynical. I'm sure all the bike shop staff and brands in the UK will be super happy to hear how well we're all doing profiteering of the misery of our customers. You don't see any flash cars at bike events, because we all come to the trade shows in out helicopters

Yes i am cynical.......

And when the pound goes back up, as it surely will, the companies that do actually put prices down, wont put them down without a fanfare. All of a sudden it will be a 'sale' or '20% reductions'

Just like the companies like Argos, that inflate prices for a short limited time, just so they can claim 'reductions' or 'sale prices'

There goes my new bike......oh well my Wisper is running OK so I'll keep using that for a few more years.

my god you are cynical. I'm sure all the bike shop staff and brands in the UK will be super happy to hear how well we're all doing profiteering of the misery of our customers. You don't see any flash cars at bike events, because we all come to the trade shows in out helicopters

 

so whats the profit margin then? if a bike is 6k retail what do you get them for.?

I think the profit must be big, if you have a look on the e-bikeshop.co.uk you will see they have a bike with £500.00 off the list price, and I'm sure they won't make a loss at the new price.

Does the retailer have to pay for all his stock upfront? If so that's quite a big outlay. Then there are wages, premises costs etc. Reckon at least a 25% margin to make that viable. If he can carry stock on a pay when sold basis maybe less if a margin

How many bikes a week dies a retailer sell? I would imagine he needs a gross profit if £2000 a week to make the business viable. Note the word GROSS.

Does the retailer have to pay for all his stock upfront? If so that's quite a big outlay. Then there are wages, premises costs etc. Reckon at least a 25% margin to make that viable. If he can carry stock on a pay when sold basis maybe less if a margin

How many bikes a week dies a retailer sell? I would imagine he needs a gross profit if £2000 a week to make the business viable. Note the word GROSS.

 

Anyone who does a lot of deals with China knows that the norm is 30% against order,70% against bill of lading. Shipment time China to UK is about 5 weeks. It all works well after you have a few years successful trading but for start up companies the negative cash flow can be tough.

As for profiteering on currency rates I suspect that most importers would be lucky to see profits whilst this Brexit mess sorts itself out.

The biggest problem area in the UK is high street stores,I don't think BHS will be the last big name to go bust,they need big margins to pay for their overheads,those margins are not easy to obtain. Amazon and e-bay are killing the high street.

There could be big redundancies in banks and retailers,if you lose your job Boris doesn't look such a cuddly character,if in danger of losing your job an e-bike doesn't look like an essential purchase.

I have survived 3 recessions and a fuel crisis in 44 years of trading,this is just another little hurdle to overcome,but this is the first one that is of our own making.

KudosDave

Anyone who does a lot of deals with China knows that the norm is 30% against order,70% against bill of lading. Shipment time China to UK is about 5 weeks. It all works well after you have a few years successful trading but for start up companies the negative cash flow can be tough.

As for profiteering on currency rates I suspect that most importers would be lucky to see profits whilst this Brexit mess sorts itself out.

The biggest problem area in the UK is high street stores,I don't think BHS will be the last big name to go bust,they need big margins to pay for their overheads,those margins are not easy to obtain. Amazon and e-bay are killing the high street.

There could be big redundancies in banks and retailers,if you lose your job Boris doesn't look such a cuddly character,if in danger of losing your job an e-bike doesn't look like an essential purchase.

I have survived 3 recessions and a fuel crisis in 44 years of trading,this is just another little hurdle to overcome,but this is the first one that is of our own making.

KudosDave

Your last line is so so important. I have never known a 1st world country take such an idiotic decision knowing a financial nightmare. Trouble is the immigration card was well played but not understood.

I agree an ebike no longer sits high on my priorities. It's time to reign in and hope to ride this out. I was on the verge if buying a new bike but will just keep on with my Wisper for now.

I have even decided to take out a car warranty and put off my new car for two more years. I liquidated some stock pretty referendum but not enough lol.

How do you edit posts for spelling mistakes? I hate predictive text.

Hi Crockers, most retailers pay for most of their stock up front or 30 days from receiving th bike.

 

There are three ways in which a shop orders their bikes.

 

With some mass produced bikes, retailers have to place big orders at the beginning of the year. The manufacturer then knows exactly how many of each model and size they need to make for the season. This is great for the manufacturer and minimises their risk. It also means they will have been able to purchase parts, most of which as Col says come from Asia. The manufacturer is pretty safe when it comes to a sudden increase in costs as they will have bought the parts (or bikes) from Asia earlier in the season. Of course if the Bikes are constructed in Europe the UK distributor will have to pay for any bikes not already in stock in the UK in € at the post £ crash prices immediately putting prices up.

 

Other mass produced bike manufacturers, like Wisper, place monthly manufacturing orders three months in advance and usually have a month's worth of stock in the warehouse. This means retailers don't need to take the risk of holding stock or pre ordering. They hold demo bikes and order from stock as they sell. Companies like Wisper pay for the stock as it arrives at the port of entry, that is why we don't need to increase the prices of the bikes in our warehouse, they were paid for pre £ crash. However the stock due to arrive in July will cost us about 12% more than the last delivery, hence the need for an increase once our existing stock sells out.

 

The third type of company, like Riese and Müller, individual hand build their bikes to order. This means apart from a few demo bikes the crash in the £ will have an immediate effect on the cost to UK retailers. Worse still, all the bikes currently in the pipeline will cost the distributor, in this case Amps, the new post crash price. So to protect the retailer and customer, we will actually be making a loss on all last month's sales. Hence the need for an immediate price increase.

 

It really isn't as easy and lucrative as some people may believe. In fact what has just happened will inevitably push prices of everything up. Let me assure you, most manufacturers and distributors are doing everything they can to minimise the impact on people wanting to buy new electric bikes, clothes, TVs, phones, washing machines, cars, food, energy, etc, etc. In the UK. But unless the £ comes back to its pre crash levels PDQ, we will all need to accept the cost of living is simply is going to be more expensive.

 

I can also assure you that as the £ gets stronger again, and I hope it will, we will all reduce prices and yes it will be to a fanfare. We all want our products to be affordable to as many people as possible.

 

All the best, David

How do you edit posts for spelling mistakes? I hate predictive text.

 

Click on tools then edit. I spend as much time editing out spelling mistakes as I do writing a post!

Your last line is so so important. I have never known a 1st world country take such an idiotic decision knowing a financial nightmare. Trouble is the immigration card was well played but not understood.

I agree an ebike no longer sits high on my priorities. It's time to reign in and hope to ride this out. I was on the verge if buying a new bike but will just keep on with my Wisper for now.

I have even decided to take out a car warranty and put off my new car for two more years. I liquidated some stock pretty referendum but not enough lol.

 

A few of our retailers have reported hugely increased sales and interest since Brexit. I assume this is either because people wanting a new bike know prices are just about to rocket or, hopefully, people are realising the value of an EBike for cheap simple transport. We sent out nearly 100 bikes yesterday which is the best we've ever achieved.

Wow 100 bikes in 1 day, you must be flat out at your place

If you don't have a job a pedelec is the ideal means of transportation, how are you going to pay for a car, expensive petrol etc? If you get cold because you can't pay for heating any more you can always go out for a ride to warm yourself up...

Corporal Jones speaking,

DON'T PANIC

Wow 100 bikes in 1 day, you must be flat out at your place

 

Actually Steve, I just checked, only 64 went out, but still not a bad day. We had nearly 100 to get out but they didn't all go.

 

The loading bay was almost full! All checked and repacked.