Another LBS goes

[DRM]

Looks like NRG Bikes in Stockton on Tees is being wound up, another victim of the current state of the cycling industry

 

[FrankCrank]

Seems to be a lot of these casualties on the news. Guess a lot of it's due to post Covid boom & bust.

 

[Cycleops]

And it's not just the retailers and distributors that are feeling the chill, Giant saw its third quarter profits for 2023 fall by nearly half. They site weak demand.

https://road.cc/content/news/weak-demand-sees-giants-profits-fall-49-305241#:~:text=Giant Group, which in December,drop of 49 percent compared

 

[Paulus]

Quite a famous shop that has been around for decades has recently closed for good.
Shorter Rochford have gone. They closed their Finchley store a couple of years back, but now their shop in Potters Bar has hung up the wheels.

 

[mustang1]

And it's not just the retailers and distributors that are feeling the chill, Giant saw its third quarter profits for 2023 fall by nearly half. They site weak demand.

https://road.cc/content/news/weak-demand-sees-giants-profits-fall-49-305241#:~:text=Giant Group, which in December,drop of 49 percent compared

I'm not sure why this is portrayed as doom and gloom in the bike industry. They are comparing today's drop with covid's boom. What they should do is compare today's demands with what's been happening over the last 5, 10, 15 years.

 

[Cycleops]

I don't know what that would tell us or how it would be helpful.
You're looking at a very special set of circumstances right now where we've had the boom of the COVID era and demand not keeping up with supply, and then suppliers and retailers ordering to maintain that level then demand falling away with the cost of living crisis starting to bite.
I was in Evans Sheffield recently on a Saturday and there was just one other person in. Stock was piled to the rafters with numerous offers but nobody was buying. Okay so it's a slow time of year for bike sales but even so.
It appears that all sections of the industry are badly affected.

 

[Biker BoB]

Looks like NRG Bikes in Stockton on Tees is being wound up, another victim of the current state of the cycling industry

I blame the likes of wiggle/ chain reaction etc and customers using the internet.

 

[pawl]

When I see bikes at£2000 as entry level I’m not surprised the cycling bubble has burst Look in cycling magazines adverts for wheels Emphasis on fitness watts out put Vo two max Aero profile.
The cycling magazine of the mid fifties was about enjoying being out on two wheels a belief I subscribe to today but then I’m a dinosaur If you are seen enjoying a ride with a Carradice saddle bag, no electronics in sight or exposed cables on view and not garbed head to foot in Lycra you are not a proper cyclist

It’s a couple of year’s ago now iwas having a coffee when a couple came and sat at my table They were out for a ride with their ten year old son we began talking cycling and mum and dad said of course you are a proper cyclist eleven gears proper cycling gear.My response was have you enjoyed your ride ,and do you intend to carry on with a great pastime that has many branches.
They had enjoyed the day and fully intended to carry on and explore the different aspects of the sport

 

[Bristolian]

I suspect that the majority of LBS will be gone by this time next year. A pessimistic outlook I know but, like so many other sports/hobbies, the bricks and mortar businesses can't compete with Internet shopping on price or availability. My other serious hobby is photography and camera shops were in the position LBS now find themselves in three to five years ago - most are vague memories.

The businesses that have a chance of survival are the ones that adopt an active online only retail presence and can offer repairs and maintenance. The latter part will likely have to go mobile to save on business premises rental, rates, electricity, etc..

 

[FrankCrank]

There's an old-fashioned bike shop here in BKK that I used to frequent, but that's going back a few years now. The fella who ran it was in his eighties, and still going strong. Used to get him to build my wheels, but do them myself now. As for other parts, what I don't scrounge or up-cycle I get from AliExpress, so hard to see how the 'Open All Hours' type of bike shop can survive. Another sign of the times here, cash payment is increasingly going out of fashion, won't be long before we've caught up with Blighty. Never had to put petrol in the car myself either, always a pump attendant on hand for the job - can see that changing. Oh well, that's progress eh.

 

[steveindenmark]

I suspect that the majority of LBS will be gone by this time next year. A pessimistic outlook I know but, like so many other sports/hobbies, the bricks and mortar businesses can't compete with Internet shopping on price or availability. My other serious hobby is photography and camera shops were in the position LBS now find themselves in three to five years ago - most are vague memories.

The businesses that have a chance of survival are the ones that adopt an active online only retail presence and can offer repairs and maintenance. The latter part will likely have to go mobile to save on business premises rental, rates, electricity, etc..

Bike shops in Denmark and Germany are doing well because they switched to e bikes, but still continue to deal and repair non e bikes. Their main business are e bikes.

 

[DCLane]

They're still sending me e-mails with offers, without an announcement anywhere ...