So confused. Kinda sucks to suck doesnt it. What is the consumer benefit other than allowing more margin for Specialized? This industry isn't "going Amazon" or into consolidated retail, or any other single place. yup, the margin on completes is just too thin anyway. This is the fairest approach since the MFG has to carry the warehousing cost. I do sympathise with the LBS, understandably this is challenging. Specialized to add consumer-direct sales on Feb. 1 Specialized's decision to sell directly to consumers is another move in a series of interconnected bike industry happenings: a proxy turf war in which Specialized, Trek, and other players such. Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! In Los Gatos, they're opening up across the street from Mike's Bikes (a corporate chain in Northern California, and mediocre at best ). From my personal experience, Trek does far worse than Specialized, so I'd say they are all operating under the same slimy set of morals. On a typical day we used to sell 5 bikes, but did like 15 repairs at the small shop I used to work at. They have some inventory of parts but not very much. Perfect for her because it is almost 6 thousand bucks, its in stock, and its her favorite color. I'll try to dig it out and update, but that's the one thing that stuck out in my mind. Mostly small service shops that also do custom builds, and sell some soft goods, (with keystone margins). Specialized Online Retailers On Horizon As COVID-19 Continues - Forbes Without fully understanding the commercial model between Specialized and dealers, it's really tough to form a good opinion. After all, car mechanics are paid at least double what bike mechanics make, even though the jobs aren't all that different. Only difference is theyre all wearing Specialized hats now. Specialized 'Ship to Home' option is now live, plus more consumer-direct sales details! This sport has changed. Bikes are crazy expensive (got my first FS bike, a Cube Fritzz, for 1600 new on sale (20%) in 2015) and bike repair and service work goes in the same direction. If I need a piece of gear or part fast and am in a pinch enough to pay retail I will go there. Specialized has the right to do what they want, even if it screws over a bunch of their dealers. the mechanics could complain about it and refuse the job or they can install the cranks, charge an hour for labor, and get on their way. I see the future of bike shops as mostly service centers for those who can't or don't want to do repairs on their bikes. If you are not clearly an enthusiast its pretty easy to spot the shitty, condescending attitudes in shops. It was time to turn our sights to new parties to screw over, and naturally the local bike shops seemed like a perfect target. Of my lbs doesnt have the bike I want to buy in stock then whats the difference between me ordering on my computer at home compared to the sages assistant in the shop? After reading a number of these responses, it seems a lot think the service department is what is the real money maker at a bicycle shop. Both models have pluses and minuses. Sr Manager Direct to Consumer Fulfilment (Open to remote in - Hasbro Specialized will majority assemble the bike and ship in larger boxes to compensate for the extra build. For years I've found their designs to be basic, generic and uninspired. Treat dealers poorly & dealers will not be happy and will shift energy to otherbrands. They get to keep more money in their pocket while not lowering prices so it's a win-win for them. For the record, I purchase both online and at my LBS. @unrooted: Yeah, what the hell is this with closing at 5 or 6pm and then not opening until 11am on the weekends? Made for riders, by riders. | Specialized.com So many shops have had their head in the sand because they've done things a certain way for 25 years or just been angry about D2C sales without identifying a strategy on how adapt. In my opinion, Specialized makes great bikes, and its even better that I can easily order most of their frames from online shops now. I dont ride one, but I still go there for service because the same people work there and they do a fantastic job. Very true. The packaging will include tools and QR codes that direct consumers to assembly videos. Specialized has been known to treat their dealers bad and be cutthroat for like forever. BA1 1UA. Then, we made a deal on getting a new fork earlier at a discount and when it arrived, they tried to change the deal they made. One buys new specialized every year, one who sells them struggles to pay rent buys 26er off ebay, Typical us pro capitalism downvote response. You can have it sent to your home or your local Specialized dealer. My fave lbs dropped specialized 5+ years ago and never looked back. The difficulty now is that not many brands will do this for an indie shop like me who's not a regular retailer for whatever brand in question. Not sure what you mean, the Status is in stock on Specialized's website right now, frame-only or complete bike, in all sizes and colors. Shops will figure it out. ", I think they are feeling pain, newer specialized bikes have less stupid standards, Dude, that's hilariousabsolute gold!! They do make very good bikes. In my home state, this would be anywhere from 2 to 5 hours of labor. Are you saying the PB comments section was making catastrophic accusations? The biggest problem with all of this is that Specialized keeps designing and releasing very nice bikes. It wasn't a hard choice to make when Trek was able to ship tons of bikes and is still invested in retail themselves. So they should invest money into getting a web developer and putting solid website up and running. don't have much sympathy for shops after getting gouged during the pandemic. Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! The vibe of all of them is like a pretentious car dealership, they instantly want to sell you something or judge you because you're not riding said brands. It is possible to ship a bike that is properly assembled and set up. The store manager told me theyre close to getting more brands (Pivot, Ibis), back on the sales floor. If it weren't for e-bikes, the decline would likely be very apparent. With the current trend of consolidation, bike manufacturers (and the private equity that capitalize them) will work to control the vertical from materials source to marketing to sales. Also, neither of the new fulfillment options apply to any of the companys e-bikes. There are plenty of LBS that I wouldnt want touching my bike, let alone taking my money and working on it. Margins. Youre reading about big bike company shenanigans and then, BAM, the twist is you should pay your bike mechanic way more money! Then it would be a win/win. Then, well get your bike regist, ered, go over basic maintenance, and have you take it for a spin. I've always been a Specialized product supporter even when I worked for a competing company in the bike business. Short sided comment. We believe bikes have the power to change lives. Something worth writinghome about. Only the finest journalism going on here. what I loved about cycling would eventually be picked away. They could refuse to work on DTC bikes Can we get a round of applause for actual, sponsor disapproved journalism on PB? Specialized to begin selling direct to consumers in US - BikeBiz Prior experience in working with/for 3PL providers highly preferred; Prior experience leading Ecommerce or direct to consumer/business to consumer (D2C/B2C) fulfillment is required. Bikes shops have become a joke, and I fully support this move by Specialized. Skip the lessons, watch youtube and buy a nice tig machine and a good fixture table and the world's your oyster. Consumers pay more, shops make less, and Specialized cashes in. While the margins are better in a service department compared to bike and even accessory sales, a sale of a typical bicycle of say $750 nets the shop around $300 in net profit. Bath It's gonna be a tough thing for small, local shops to navigate. I am shopping for my bikes out of the office chair and ain't got no time to visit every store or call them for availability. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. From my understanding, service has better margins than selling bikes. Updated: Specialized confirms direct-to-consumer bike delivery is free Great article thank you for this. I asked them specifically about some parts for a spesh frame and they told me You know we dont have it, but there are more bike shops in this town.. Its not surprising that online direct to consumer sales are becoming the norm. There are countless stories of Specialized, and . In essence, its not all that dissimilar to what wholly direct-to-consumer brands like Canyon, YT, State Bicycles, and countless others do already. sadly i don't think we will be back to when bikes were a plenty in store or online. They are always helpful, back the product, give great trustworthy advice and are involved in the local scene. Compare that to say Rocky Mountain, where I can pay $9000 for their top of the line Instinct and then still immediately have to pay more to fix their insane choice of putting a Fit 4 damper in the Fox 36 instead of a Grip 2 damper. Lol. It's not clear whether the white glove delivery service will be branded with the retailer or Specialized. How we each handle our relationship with Specialized is different. Evolve or be left behind. You have to pick one manufacture and go all in our you will be put on the backburner. They had all kinds of top builds, but I wanted the Comp. Arguably the best ebikes on the market. Fun fact: I quite liked the look of the 2003 epic. Waiting for them to open so I can pick up my kids new bike! Specialized have recently added two more ways for riders to shop - we give you our take on how this is a good thing for riders. There is plenty of opportunity to be successful in the bike industry today independent from whatever Trek's and Specialized's visions of global domination are. Service only, no bike inventory, truly brand independent. Doesn't Specialized own Pinkbike now, through a couple different companies? Its very sad. I've had two friends recently interested in certain Specialized models. But now, Specialized will not only consider itself to be a top-end Tier 1 dealer, but it will also be withholding 15% of its bike stock for its own direct-to-consumer inventory. Definitely trying to take back some of the market from YT/ Commencal/ Canyon. To be fair, its a two way street. When we were approached to help, Wunderman Thompson Commerce recognized an opportunity to transform . Smart move and signals a great partnership with their dealer network. An amazing bike shop, will fall over themselves to help out a customer, and will always match any price so they consistently have the cheapest specialized ebike prices in the UK. I'm patiently waiting for the day. These are also the same shops you hear nightmare repair stories from. I get deals on parts and service this way. They hook me up with quick repairs and I love going in to the shops. Was good to see. As with just about every bicycle brand, Specialized divides its retailers into different tiers based on their level of financial commitment. What is Direct to Consumer (DTC) Ecommerce? - Shopify Since then she's gone on to write for a multitude of cycling publications, including Bikeradar, Cycling Plus, Singletrack, Red Bull, Cycling UK and Total Women's Cycling. As far as I'm aware, the bikes that Specialized has available are online currently are what's left over after dealers have placed their orders. You can only order online, the shop cannot order or stock it. They have a long history of being cut-throat business people at their highest levels. Since then, it has grown into a cycling juggernaut. Dtc is the future. Who here has owned a LBS for 40 years and has retired comfortably at 65? But mostly, its just true. They do it because they enjoy the job. I just went into a shop the other day and they were selling Forbidden, Transition and some brand called Mullet. As many people have mentioned, the world is a changing place - adapt or die. BRAIN has reached out to Specialized for more details, but we have not yet connected. Those same Rad people also are usually the ones behind more trail systems, youth programs, community bike events and helping to promote bike related tourism in communities. the shops that are stoked to see a bike come in the door for service get my support. Besides, people have been buying cheap parts online for shops to install for years. Focusing on service is a losing option as well because nobody wants to spend the money that it takes for a good mechanic to take the time to do the little things. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. Were going to see how this plays out, the anonymous retailer said. There's a reason auto techs are paid more. Wait People choose bikes based on what's in stock in the local shop? I could be wrong but I think Norco also does this. Sound familiar? car mechanics are paid at least double what bike mechanics make, even though the jobs aren't all that different .. had a chuckle over this one. Specialized Knowledge/Skills. I was at work so she went alone. The Status 140 will become one of Specialized's first direct-to-consumer model bikes. They can walk into a brick-and-mortar Specialized dealer, including independent and company-owned stores. They just want every rider to buy a Specialized however that person wants. There, a professional technician will ensure it fits so wellyou cant even tell where you end and the bike begins. decades ago, I had that enthusiast ambition and thought I'd become a small business owner. Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Repairs do make a little money, but they are more of a neccessary service. Like Canyon. There, a professional technician will ensure it fits so well you cant even tell where you end and the bike begins.
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