End of the road for independent bike distributors?
bicycleretailer.com
End of the road for independent bike distributors?
1–10 of 91 posts
Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?
#2Spent years working in a bike shop, so this was a really interesting read for me. He may be right, but I can't help be think that most people just don't care enough about their bikes to have enough customers to sustain a good Service Shop. Most people have a bike, but would never bother taking it somewhere fancy like this to get it fixed or serviced. They paid $100 for it at Walmart.
He said something in there that caught my eye:
"Think back to the '80s when market experts were predicting that internet sales were going to doom UPS and FedEx ... Huh?! Crazy as that sounds, that's what experts said, which made absolutely no sense to me."
Is that true?
Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?
#3I dont think this is new - a lot of bike shops are repair only now, with a few loyal customers.
I also think that bikes are getting more technical - electric shifters, the tolerance limits on gears means that its increasingly hard for people to repair their own bikes. So bike repair makes sense, and they can probably charge
At the higher end - lets say $1000+ bikes bike shops can still do a good trade as people new to the sport probably need a bike fit to ensure they are getting the best machine for them
Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?
#4Spent years working in a bike shop, so this was a really interesting read for me. He may be right, but I can't help be think that most people just don't care enough about their bikes to have enough customers to sustain a good Service Shop. Most people have a bike, but would never bother taking it somewhere fancy like this to get it fixed or serviced. They paid $100 for it at Walmart. He said something in there that c…
They might be proven right with Amazon shifting toward using their own delivery services if top N retailers follow and switch to delivery options other than UPS and Fedex the prediction might come true
Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?
#5Spent years working in a bike shop, so this was a really interesting read for me. He may be right, but I can't help be think that most people just don't care enough about their bikes to have enough customers to sustain a good Service Shop. Most people have a bike, but would never bother taking it somewhere fancy like this to get it fixed or serviced. They paid $100 for it at Walmart. He said something in there that c…
To answer your question, the quote about the internet supposedly lowering FedEx’s market value in the 1980’s is total nonsense.
The financial markets had zero awareness of the internet in the 1980’s (with good reason, as the Internet didn’t become commercially significant until Marc Andreesen wrote the first web browser called Mosaic in 1993 putting the internet in the hands of normal people for the first time). If we read the quote charitably and conclude they had a typo and meant to write the 1990’s it’s still nonsense as FedEx’s stock price was completely unaffected by the crash at the end of the internet boom in 2002, demonstrating the market saw no significance of the internet to FedEx’s market value, positive or negative. The market didn’t begin to think seriously about connecting the dots between FedEx and the Internet until well into the 2000’s, at which point it was clear online buying would be good for FedEx.
Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?
#6Spent years working in a bike shop, so this was a really interesting read for me. He may be right, but I can't help be think that most people just don't care enough about their bikes to have enough customers to sustain a good Service Shop. Most people have a bike, but would never bother taking it somewhere fancy like this to get it fixed or serviced. They paid $100 for it at Walmart. He said something in there that c…
> Most people have a bike, but would never bother taking it somewhere fancy like this to get it fixed or serviced. They paid $100 for it at Walmart.
As with many other markets, the middle is being hollowed out - there's a large low-end ($100 Walmart bikes) and a niche of high-end pro-sumers who have disposable income and time to spend on expensive hobbies (I believe a "decent" mountain bike starts at $1,000-2,000, going up to $xx,000).
The old middle ground ($300-500 bikes bought by unknowledgeable consumers who need the help of local stores) is what is being gutted by the decline of the middle class' disposable incomes and the specialized knowledge high-end hobbyists can now attain thanks to the Internet.
Service businesses can do well targeting the high end. The low end products are disposable.
Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?
#7I wonder how e-bikes are going to fit into all this, although I'm happy with mine the buying experience was awful.
Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?
#8Spent years working in a bike shop, so this was a really interesting read for me. He may be right, but I can't help be think that most people just don't care enough about their bikes to have enough customers to sustain a good Service Shop. Most people have a bike, but would never bother taking it somewhere fancy like this to get it fixed or serviced. They paid $100 for it at Walmart. He said something in there that c…
They might be proven right with Amazon shifting toward using their own delivery services if top N retailers follow and switch to delivery options other than UPS and Fedex the prediction might come true
The world is a big place, even the USA. So many of Amazon's dreams and current services apply only to cities of a decent size. It can't be worth it to them to have their own delivery to the middle of nowhere. Even UPS struggles with overnight in my area. I'm sure Amazon will succeed in their goals, but there will be some pie left for the others.
Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?
#9I live in a college town with several bike shops, all of them still tied to the traditional retail model. The one I suspect has the worst prospects is the most upscale one. They have a big clean showroom full of expensive sporty bikes, but their mechanics are second-rate. You can tell because their shop is in the basement and you're not allowed to come down and watch them work on your bike. And the one time I made the mistake of going there for service they sniffed at my decent, well maintained commuting bike because the paint was dinged up and it was covered with road dust, charged me twice what the repair was worth, and didn't fix the problem. The shop I'm rooting for has a tiny showroom and a big repair shop right behind the counter. There's grease on everything, and I'm pretty sure they've been under-charging me for labor because they know I commute by bike. They already order and assemble bikes for people, and they also rent by the day. They, I suspect, will be just fine.
Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?
#10I have spoken with many bike store owners and employees, they know they can't compete with the prices you can get for parts and accessories from online retailers. But very few have an alternate plan.
The ones I see who are being smart about this reality are instead focusing on having absolutely excellent mechanics and experiences like shop rides to get groups out on amazing day trips / overnights. There is a huge value add in teaching people skills and thus converting them into more advanced cyclists who'll want better gear.