GreenPlease wrote:
B&M = Bricks and Mortar
Personally, I feel like a lot of recreation purchases are spontaneous and "next day" isn't quick enough. That's not to say that Amazon won't take a bit out of the category (it already has and will) I just don't see it going to zero.
That's what every brick and mortar retail denier has said since Al Gore invented the internet. Dick's and others of its kind are going out of business so fast -- and by 'others of its kind' I mean any b&m retailer where you don't either have to see or feel or try on the product to have any sort of satisfaction rate that makes sense (relative to blind ordering online)
or where the size, shape, dimension or the product make traditional shipping either impossible or highly unaffordable. I'm not blind ordering a leather couch, which I have been shopping for lately with no success -- I hate everything I try at these physical stores. I'm not blind ordering a gun safe or horse feed -- I have to go to Tractor Supply for that kind of stuff. Try ordering a 700 lb gun safe on Amazon Prime.
Of course, I would be denying this inevitable obsolescence too if my entire livelihood were tied into the health of commercial leasing, so I sympathize.
It's a bummer for Diamondback really. This is a company that broadly serves the lower end of the market, but yet they aren't in traditional bike shops. If you could have any sort of confidence the Diamondback could execute such a strategy, a good option might be Diamondback concept stores, similar to Giant-focused shops, that are aimed in large part at commuters, kids, and others at the lower end of the market. Plus service. This could also help supplement their direct to consumer fulfillment strategy, where you buy a Diamondback online but actually have someone local who can be accountable for the assembly, cleanliness of the headset bearings, etc.