devashish_paul wrote:
...they also are gradually dismantling the triathlon ecosystem by putting the LBS out of biz. The LBS used to be the cornerstone anchor of the local tri scene. Maybe that is replaced now by clubs + Amazon. Still the demise of the LBS in general is a bit painful.
Dev,
I think your statement was pretty spot on, but this part I think is a little deceiving. Amazon is a marketplace that allows 3rd party sellers to sell on their marketplace. So, much of the putting the local shops out of business is being done by their competitor shops selling as a 3rd party through Amazon's marketplace. Even if Amazon is shipping it to you, it's being sent to Amazon Distribution Centers by a manufacturer selling through the marketplace or a 3rd party seller. It is possible for every shop out there to bolster their sales by selling on Amazon's marketplace.
Pricing competition on Amazon hurts business everywhere, and I will agree with that. It's changing the landscape of retail. That said there are a lot of brands undertaking major strategy changes in how they manage their business on Amazon to counteract this average unit retail erosion. This is all in an effort to stabilize and grow business with an Omnichannel approach that includes marketplace selling.
As far as selling counterfeit product? As more and more white-label brands establish themselves on Amazon's marketplace (just check out how easy Alibaba makes it to source product from Asia now), the opportunity for counterfeit product is definitely growing. I can say that Amazon will aggressively pursue sellers that are posing knockoffs for trademarked product though. It is in their best interest. Buyer/ Customer satisfaction is very high on their list of priorities.
Is Amazon the bad guy? I can't agree or disagree on this, but internet marketplace selling is a necessary evil now. As someone mentioned above, this is what society is asking for with our instant gratification needs.
Is Amazon putting the LBS out of business? Their marketplace, Ebay, Walmart.com, etc, could have a big part in it. But they also open new opportunities for these LBS's to expand their business to a national or international audience if they are selling goods. I think the bigger discussion about who is putting the LBS out of business should include the gray market.
Overall this is a good partnership for Amazon and a good partnership for Ironman in my opinion, no matter how bad both entities are. This seems like a business move for both sides.
This is my 2 cents on this. I do hope that streaming will go on Redbull's channel. They have it dialed. You can watch a livestream of WC mountain bike racing in the woods in remote places all over the world in HD. Hopefully they can figure it out for Kona!
Jake
Get outside!