Evans Cycles

[tom73]

If it folds no doubt some assist stripper will take it the likes of Ashley or Green

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

If it folds no doubt some assist stripper will take it the likes of Ashley or Green

It's the brands they really want, not the bricks & mortar overheads. Someone like Ashley would probably try to max the online sales direct from a warehouse in a cheap location, and the rest would go into a corner of the local Sports Direct store.

 

[Alan O]

My nearest Evans is in the city centre, in a prime rent area, and I can't help feeling that's the wrong kind of location for a bike shop. It's surrounded by trendy things like clothes shops, cafés, arty places... and bike shops surely don't do much business from passing trade, do they?

When I need a bike shop I use Quinns, which is out of town and in a much lower rent area. Whenever I go there it's a specific trip, so being in an area that's crowded with shoppers is no advantage to the shop as far as my visits are concerned (and I suspect most bike shop customers make specific trips too). And there's plenty of free car parking in the nearby streets - there is a multi-storey near Evans, but obviously you have to pay. I also think an out-of-town location is better for people buying new bikes - if I wanted to test ride a possible purchase, I'd wouldn't want to start from a busy city centre.

Quinns usually has customers actually buying stuff too and I usually have to wait, while every time I've been in Evans I've been pretty much the only person there other than staff. Also, and this might not sound like it makes any sense, Quinns feels like a bike shop but Evans only feels like a shop selling bikes... older folk might better understand what I mean by that.

It's sad to hear that the legacy of the great F W Evans is in trouble, but I'm not surprised.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I think places like bike shops are less of a retail destination than they used to be in the internet age. When I was a youngster, if you were considering buying a bike, you made a special trip to the bike shop to browse the wares, most likely on a Saturday morning. Even if you only wanted a catalogue to peruse at home later, you still had to physically visit the shop to get it. Nowadays I bet most potential buyers first port of call is the internet, where they will trawl forums and places like YouTube for reviews, and will also search for the lowest priced source online.
I do get the difference between a bike shop and a shop that sells bikes. What I would regard as a proper bike shop is one where the place was jam-packed with as many bikes as would physically fit, and you'd have a glass-fronted counter down one side with all sorts of components & accessories on display, plus loads of stuff hanging up behind the counter on the wall and from the ceiling. You could see exactly what stuff the shop had in stock, and the staff knew exactly where everything was kept, even down to the most obscure part. You walked in with a duff part in hand and said "I need a new one of these", and you were on your way in minutes with exactly what you came in for. No messing around searching for stock details on computers or disappearing for ten minutes out the back somewhere to try and locate the product.

 

[Cycleops]

The days of those bike shops is long gone I'm afraid @SkipdiverJohn .

 

[Drago]

It's a bit mercenary to day so, but if Evans are having problems then there may be some bargains in the offing if they reduce prices to try and stimulate cashflow. Pay by credit card for the mandatory payment protection that brings and you're sitting pretty.

 

[Globalti]

The old days are gone because there was so little choice of parts that a bike shop could carry stock and sell it to every customer.

A good example of a shop that is surviving is Ribble Cycles. When I first visited it was a regular bike shop in scruffy premises some way out of Preston town centre. They built up the web sales and have ended up in a large unit on an industrial estate with a small retail desk and display area and generally helpful and knowledgeable staff, so you can still go there and get internet prices while actually seeing the goods before you buy.

 

[Mo1959]

The days of those bike shops is long gone I'm afraid @SkipdiverJohn .

This is close. My nearest.

Same owner for years and some of the mechanics have been there for ages too and race bikes themselves and know their stuff. Sadly, I still find looking online so much more convenient, and I'm sure this is the same for many.

https://www.jmrichardscycles.com/

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

The days of those bike shops is long gone I'm afraid @SkipdiverJohn .

Unfortunately you are right, the main one I used to use as a youngster closed years ago, and it was probably rent & rates and parking restrictions that killed it not the internet. I buy nearly all my stuff online these days, mostly from Chain Reaction.

 

[Blue Hills]

Surprised you use Chain Reaction John, since I have the impression that most of your bikes are pretty old school.

Used to use them a hell of a lot but now a lot less - they disappeared into 10 and 11 speed, they are often not that cheap these days, and their supposedly glorious sales reductions are very often of above mentioned 10 and 11 speed components, stuff I consider over-priced and uneccessary to start with, or - their speciality - garish MTB clothing which I am reassured is uber-trendy.

I tend to save up purchases and use the far more sensible (in my view) Rose of Germany so that I can get their free postage.

 

[wonderloaf]

It's a bit mercenary to day so, but if Evans are having problems then there may be some bargains in the offing if they reduce prices to try and stimulate cashflow. Pay by credit card for the mandatory payment protection that brings and you're sitting pretty.

I think you may be right. I recently ordered a pair of Northwave bib shorts priced at £48 that showed up as in stock but never were, so Evans asked if there was another pair I would be interested in. They had a pair of Castellis at £75 so I cheekily asked if they would be OK and they said yes I could have on next day delivery as well, to say I was surprised is an under statement. What made it even sweeter is I used Tesco vouchers that had been trebled up to buy the original Northwaves, so ended up with a £75 pair of Castellis (actually £100 originally) for the equivalent of an £16 spend! Result!

 

[Cycleops]

The old days are gone because there was so little choice of parts that a bike shop could carry stock and sell it to every customer.

A good example of a shop that is surviving is Ribble Cycles. When I first visited it was a regular bike shop in scruffy premises some way out of Preston town centre. They built up the web sales and have ended up in a large unit on an industrial estate with a small retail desk and display area and generally helpful and knowledgeable staff, so you can still go there and get internet prices while actually seeing the goods before you buy.

This sounds more like the recipe for a successful bike shop in today's market, a clean lean operation that grew exponentially and can withstand the highs and lows of demand.
The Evans model which grew by leaps and bounds on the promise of higher and higher sales is lost, it's unsustainable, just as some of the large high street stores have found. Burdened by borrowing they have found themselves in a hard place.

 

[Crankarm]

I think you may be right. I recently ordered a pair of Northwave bib shorts priced at £48 that showed up as in stock but never were, so Evans asked if there was another pair I would be interested in. They had a pair of Castellis at £75 so I cheekily asked if they would be OK and they said yes I could have on next day delivery as well, to say I was surprised is an under statement. What made it even sweeter is I used Tesco vouchers that had been trebled up to buy the original Northwaves, so ended up with a £75 pair of Castellis (actually £100 originally) for the equivalent of an £16 spend! Result!

No wonder Evans are in trouble.