Planet X Job Cuts

[Drago]

Absolutely Mort. I'm not defending any of it, just pointing out that these phenomena are caused by well understood and familiar mechanisms, not some chimera that's suddenly sprung into life. Brexit didn't cause his because Brexit hasn't happened. The Suez crisis, the assassination of Kennedy, the Yom Kippur war all created crises that the markets 'reacted' to, that reaction being the behaviour of currency speculators using the uncertainty to create a trend, not something tangible that the Egyptians, Syrians or the CIA physical did. These events are an excuse, not an actual cause.

Market stalls suffer, traders at that level prosper. The economy is redistributing its relative value from one sector or area to another, and it won't last terribly ling,

 

[Andrew_P]

And 'Brexit' caused this how, exactly?

I think you'll find the cause of that lies with speculators, people who buy and sell currency with the intention of making a profit. They rely on a trend in either direction to trade against, and their very actions create and sustain that trend. Ever wondered why the pound suddenly isn't worth exactly one Euro or One dollar? Because no one could make a profit by simply moving it around if it were. This current trend can cause problems for trade, but increases profits by speculation at ratio of over ten to one. Retailers suffer, bankers and their traders love it, but only in the short term. The money hasn't vanished, it's simply changed location from one sector of business to another. Recession isn't a lack of money, but a lack of movement of money. It might cost you more to but your dollars for your holiday, and it'll cost an imaginary trader more too, but they'll have many, many more pounds with which to buy them.

"Brexit" is at this time an abstract concept, not a physical reality. The phenomena we see in this regard are the actions of people profiteering on currency at the expense of profits made in other sectors of the economy. Brexit is an excuse, not a cause. In Planet X's case their woes are caused by the actions of currency traders and the impact they have caused on the relative value of our currency.

I agree some of it could have been speculators but the vast majority of it is uncertainly. We were in a downturn already, the Eurozone the same. The vote for out was quite a shock not many anticipated it so to say it is speculation is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. It went off the cliff the day after.

Now you could argue large firms would hold a large USD account anyway so they would have had six months or more breathing space, also you could argue if you had, like Planet X had 5 million in stock and you increase all of your prices by 20% you have effectively made 1 million extra on your stock in stock, but only if it sells.



Planet X wrote off 1 million in "redundant" stock to make a loss in 2014, but enables them to discount that stock out much cheaper to make a profit later.

 

[bondirob]

According to Road.cc they are bringing in agency staff to replace those made redundant.
I did notice their Barnsley store has closed with a sign saying for refurbishment but there wasn't much of that going on, it looks like it's permanently closed

 

[steveindenmark]

Getting your headset put together by a YTS. Im glad I ride Koga.

Sacking a good portion of your experienced staff to replace them with new, probably cheaper staff, sounds like a way to earn more money. But would not fill me with confidence as a consumer.

 

[G3CWI]

I don't think you can make staff redundant and then replace then with cheaper people. Isn't that illegal?

 

[nickyboy]

I don't think you can make staff redundant and then replace then with cheaper people. Isn't that illegal?

Correct, the speculation that they are filling the redundancy holes with agency staff is just that; speculation.

.Same as you can't just "write off" a load of inventory to create a loss in one year in the expectation of discounting it and selling it in a subsequent year at a profit. To do something like that would require a lot of detailed analysis to convince the auditors of such a large write off and was, in all probability, legitimate. I suspect businesses like Planet X have plenty of problems in controlling inventory when you have models becoming obsolete

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I don't think you can make staff redundant and then replace then with cheaper people. Isn't that illegal?

If I understand it right you don't actually make a person redundant, you make a job redundant, therefore it would be illegal to employ agency staff to fill a job that no longer exists, the only time I believe it to be acceptable is if a job is going to be redundant in say 3 months & the person whose job it is leaves early.

 

[bondirob]

If I understand it right you don't actually make a person redundant, you make a job redundant, therefore it would be illegal to employ agency staff to fill a job that no longer exists, the only time I believe it to be acceptable is if a job is going to be redundant in say 3 months & the person whose job it is leaves early.

The way they do it where I've worked is to alter the name of the job role.
Say from 'warehouse order picker' to something like 'flexible warehouse operative' change the duties a bit, create a new contract to sign also but it is the same job. I've seen this done numerous times to get people out of the door.
If not there is a period of time where they cannot fill that redundant persons role

 

[Ciar]

This popped up on the singletrack feed recently as it was posted on their forum, seems 2015 they cut 80k yet 2016 they supposedly made 100k yet tinned lots of staff due to Brexit either way i feel sorry for those out of a Job this time of year, hope they get sorted out asap.

the only other comment i saw, was about the owner being a huge fan of Mike Ashley so it probably gives you a clue.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Never base your business strategy on a tax break or an exchange rate margin. End of.

And can we stop assuming that all sellers of cycling equipment are benevolent types in it to maintain jobs for folk, and an excellent service to their customers. Especially those on the web. They ain't, they are in it to make profits. And one thing that is key to profitability is costs, and a large chunk of those costs is staff.

It is tragic that jobs are lost, but it is capitalism, stupid.

 

[User482]

Never base your business strategy on a tax break or an exchange rate margin. End of.

And can we stop assuming that all sellers of cycling equipment are benevolent types in it to maintain jobs for folk, and an excellent service to their customers. Especially those on the web. They ain't, they are in it to make profits. And one thing that is key to profitability is costs, and a large chunk of those costs is staff.

It is tragic that jobs are lost, but it is capitalism, stupid.

I suspect they'd be better at making a profit if they weren't quite so rubbish at the business of selling bikes and bike parts.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I've e mailed Planet X and asked how i go about getting a refund of my 40 quid. I don't expect an answer too soon as refunds and returns aren't a priority to them. I was going to buy a Holdsworth long sleeve jersey but that's gone up now to £49,99(just below the free postage total of £50) I can't keep up with their up and down prices and i reckon many others are pissed off with them as well for the same reason..
Just give me my money back PX and then i can spend it somewhere where you feel you aren't being taken for a ride! The Pro Carbon bike i bought earlier in the year was an example of their unfair pricing. I paid something like £835 for it then 2 days later it was reduced by something like £150. Planet X seem to think that customers enjoy gambling when buying. I think that's part of their downfall.

 

[Hacienda71]

Over the years I have had loads of bargains from Planet X. I for one will be sorry if this is the start of their demise. I don't see their pricing policy as being inherently wrong, most retailers discount things in the same way, they are called sales.

 

[User33236]

Over the years I have had loads of bargains from Planet X. I for one will be sorry if this is the start of their demise. I don't see their pricing policy as being inherently wrong, most retailers discount things in the same way, they are called sales.

Planet X seem to have perpetual sales though and as % discounts go up during a sale period so does the RRP of their items making them more expensive.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Over the years I have had loads of bargains from Planet X. I for one will be sorry if this is the start of their demise. I don't see their pricing policy as being inherently wrong, most retailers discount things in the same way, they are called sales.

Yes but at least have a sale and stick to it for a few weeks. It's like being on Wall Street with PX. Should i buy now or will the prices drop in an hour?