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Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo.
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In a continuation of my previous thread: If a retailer has Felt, Cervelo and Guru, do they need any other brand?

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I have been a long time Cannondale fan - but Tom, I truly believe you will be losing a LOT of business without Scott in your line up this coming year.

Not only is Scott a huge force in Europe - but under the leadership of Scott Montgomery here in the US, bringing to Scott USA - a wealth of industry knowledge and experience - I think the company is well positioned for growth.

Not just a growth based around what Scott wants to deliver - rather - a growth based around Scott delivering what the consumers need and will buy.

The Plasma WILL be the bike of 2006 and beyond - and the CR1 already speaks volumes about the quality the company is turning out in it's bikes.

I think - beyond the physical bikes - Scott USA - as an emerging brand stateside - stands to deliver what we all want and is listening already.

Mark my words
Last edited by: oneforty.6: Sep 14, 05 21:05
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Keep Felt...as pointed out by cidewar...they have great price points for every type of rider.

Keep Cervelo...everyone wants one because that is what everybody else has

Drop Guru...and find out what the next Cervelo is...imo, that is Orbea.



Andy

Andy

'You'd be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Thinsg Are As They Are.'
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [oneforty.6] [ In reply to ]
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We just signed on as a Scott dealer. They are a key player in a number of market categories and they did what we wanted: No programs. We buy bikes, we sell bikes.

When a bike company tries to pitch me a program, I walk. Fast.

The only companies with any right to pitch a program are Felt and Cervelo becasue they are proven sell-through. You can stock them on your floor and be assured of selling them through quickly (under 30 days for 20 bikes). Inventory turn rate counts for everything. If a bike is sitting here for longer than 45 days it is a museum piece and has to go.

I think some companies expect me to "buy into" their program with a certain number of bikes. That's absurd. They haven't earned that right. They don't weild the marketing muscle. they haven't sent me a Bjorn, they haven't sent me a sub-$2000 Dura-Ace tri bike. Until they do and I have customers knocking down the door for the product then they are still trying out for the team.

Guys like Guru are a given: They are unique. No one else does what Guru does. No one does it as well.

Felt and Cervelo fill a niche unique unto themselves.

Anybody else is still trying out for the team.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Ah yeah! Need to add Litespeed - any high end bike shop needs them for the roadies. Herbert, where are you! Actually, I ride a Guru tri bike and Vortex road bike. Best of both worlds. Felt gets you some nice entry level bikes (so does Guru). It probably wouldn't hurt to have QR as well if you are dealing with ABG. I guess in Michigan, American and Canadian loyalties are there, so no need for the exotic Italian stuff, right? (i.e. Colnago, Pinarello or even Bianchi).

'Gotta have Litespeed though - I'm sure you have sold a lot of 'em

____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [rroof] [ In reply to ]
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We do an increasing trade with Bianchi and they are on board for whatever we want. I have a nice Bianchi road bike and their rep, Bob McKee, has been working me for 17 years. Good bikes across the board.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Tom

Will your Scott orders be on a customer order basis or will you carry a plasma or two in stock?
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [oneforty.6] [ In reply to ]
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I doubt we will ever have a Plasma in stock just laying around. To me, they have to be sold before they arrive. Like i said, I am a retailer- not a collector.

That said I anticipate strong sales of the Plasma and have already ordered several framesets. We didn't order any complete bikes. At this price point the consumer will want to spec the bike or we will spec it for them to their optimal price point and requirements. The frames will be sold before they arrive I wager. If they aren't, I can cancel them and Scott can re-allocate them to a dealer who has them as sold units.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I'm waiting anxiously for them to start becoming available.

After Kona this year - there is bound to be a lot more interest with Steve Larsen and Cam Brown both aboard Plasmas!
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [oneforty.6] [ In reply to ]
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I agree.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Tom,

Seriously you should sell what you can get into the shop on a regular basis - if Cervelo & Felt can guarantee delivery for the whole price line when you need it then you don't need a lot of extra bikes. Scott seems to be a good choice. If they can deliver the bikes.

Sure a few sexy bikes are nice - but the biggest thing you (and all bike retailers) will need going into 2006 is the ability to get the bikes your customers want to buy.

I don't know how much true road you do - but there are some nice new bikes coming out of Europe that get little respect here including Pinnerello & Opera. Plus I hear Wiliers are supposed to be really nice bikes.

Closer to home - in the high end road market you can't really go wrong with custom frames (Seven & Serotta are the easiest to work with / quickest to work with)

I live in Madison and Cronometro here does great business with three brands - Seven, Serotta & Cervelo. Plus they sell a ton of race wheels. Obviously.
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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How about QR? Can you accommodate the short torso-long leg type with those 3 brands?
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [oneforty.6] [ In reply to ]
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I volunteered on the bike course at IM Placid this summer I saw a ton of Cervelo's (expected) and also a ton of Cannondale tri bikes (surprising) - more of those two brands than any other bike by far. (Of course Cervelo had the strongest presence of the two). I watched bikes fly by me all day on Mirror Lake drive, and spent the day checking out the various rides. Those two brands had by far the strongest presence in Placid, and to a lesser degree there was a pretty good mix of QR's, Litespeeds and various road bikes.

To me the craftsmanship found on the frames of Cervelo's, Guru's and Cannondale is outstanding. Just check the frame welds - they're all beautiful. I would think that the quality alone, and fit options, would attract buyers.

I know that you stock Cervelo's already, and used to stock Cannondales - why no more? Has the quality changed since your great review of the 2002's, or is it a 'program' thing, or do you just find that their specific fit style is already taken care of by carrying Guru or Felt?
Last edited by: GearGrinder: Sep 14, 05 21:29
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [GearGrinder] [ In reply to ]
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We continue to sell Cannondale and they are a good brand. I raced on a Cannondale for much of the season in '04. It was a great bike.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Ahh...that would explain things. Some of the postings in the other thread made it sound like you didn't still have Cannondale. It's funny, but when you look at a Cervelo, Guru or Cannondale you immediately notice the finish of the frames. It's got to instill confidence and give the owners the "check out my beautiful bike" feeling.

You stock all three, and as a customer walking in and seeing the sheer quality and attention to detail offered up by those three, would instill confidence in the store. I hate when a store will have a token 'cheap brand' just to attract customers.

Frame quality and fit...hang whatever components on it that you like, but the quality and fit must be there. A great bike starts with a great frame (and a great fit)...
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I think those are bread and butter tri brands and you buy well. Hell, look at the Top 15 Tri retailers and they all carry the same product......

If I were to open up a store across the street from you, I bet I could steal business with:

Javelin to match your Cevelo

Litespeed to match your Guru

Trek to match your Felt

Then again, its moot because you carry all those brands, correct?
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [cidewar] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:

Sure a few sexy bikes are nice - but the biggest thing you (and all bike retailers) will need going into 2006 is the ability to get the bikes your customers want to buy.




Sure, but as a dedicated tri shop do you necessarily want to be selling the bikes that the customers want to by (sometimes based on marketing) or the bikes that fit the customers the best. It's nice to go into a shop thinking you want to buy a certain bike, but until you actually hop on and see if it fits, is that really the bike that a shop with a great reputation for fitting wants to sell?

I may be wrong, but I would think that many of the customers going to Tom's shop will listen to him when he says "hey, I know you wanted bike X, but I think bike Y will be a better fit for you." Carrying the 'hot brands of the moment' that people currently want might work for the crowd that buys their bikes on EBay, but carrying a selection of great brands (that are great year after year) that all offer slightly different fit options may be wise too. Two schools of thought I suppose...

I know the whole world wants a Cervelo, but is every one that goes buy really a correct fit?

I wonder how many people ordered in Cervelo P3C's because they thought it was the bike they wanted, and not because it was the bike that fit? In the end, I think it boils down to a combination of the two for a retailer - carry brands that will bring people in the door, but make sure you have brands that will allow you to do what you have a reputation for...find the best fit for each person.
Last edited by: GearGrinder: Sep 14, 05 21:50
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I don't think that's a Plasma, Scott M. told me they weren't ready for the SD boys in time for the Vuelta. I believe that's the old TT frame.

I'm opening in a few weeks in an area with great demographics, some of the best in the country. There were a lot of choices to make as far as brands were concerned, but I chose Giant, Cannondale, and Scott as my main three (and have other, smaller builders, too). I'll move into Tri slowly, and so had many reasons for choosing these three outside of multi-sport. I'm excited about Scott, and will always have some on the floor, but I'm a little concered with price point. Still, it's an exciting company, and I'm pretty pumped to be selling them. I agree with you, Tom, that people will build the Plasma frames to spec, and have also ordered accordingly.

And, as you noted a while back, price increases will be seen across the board. Some '06 models have been down-spec'd to keep prices down, so I would encourage folks to find '05 stock on some models before they're all gone - you'll get a lower price, and better parts. You can't say you didn't warn everybody! :-)

Jim Manton / ERO Sports
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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<< Like i said, I am a retailer- not a collector.

how many bikes do you own? Come on Tom, you're a collector as well ;-)

Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports
Professional Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching, F.I.S.T. Certified
http://www.tripower.org
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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if you want to sell to Triathletes only, yeah, that's as good as you can get.

But for the roadies, you may want to consider some top end bikes : Time VXRS, VXS, ... series are absolutely fantastic bikes. De Rosa have some amazing bikes in the top range.
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Hello Tom,

Need another brand, no. Heck you probably could outfit virtually anyone for any road/tri with any 2 of them. The big gap in your line is Ti, some people are going to want a Ti bike and won't be dissuaded. I know Guru has Ti, but they aren't thought of as a big player. Finally, I would look at one of the highly exotic boutique brands, something like Cheetah or Walser, maybe just get one bike in as a display/ loaner - size 54 would be good ;-).



Styrrell

Styrrell
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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The reason to sell more than three brands is to follow through with your "right fit, right bike" philosophy. I may be wrong, but you cannot fit everyone at each price point with just those three brands (and I may be wrong).

Also, you have many customers that travel far out of their way to buy from you because of your reputation as a fitter. If you were only to carry three brands many of those people would go elsewhere to buy their bikes.

I plan on buying my next bike from you because of the service that you provide and the variety of bikes that you can offer. If you only offered Felt Cervelo and Guru I would feel that you were "pushing" me into what you had, and not what was best or what was what I wanted. As a result I would find a bike that was close to the right fit, buy it online, and have to pay you to fit it to me. (and maybe you are OK with this)

There is a great feeling of comfort that comes from walking into a shop and knowing that you will get exactly what you want, and not just what is on the shelf. This is the best way to combat the discount online retailers which offer almost everything.

This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. - Fight Club
Industry Brat.
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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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litespeed and quintanaroo

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"The aspect of sport that you learn is that you have your good times and your bad times, but you share it with great people." - George Gregan

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Re: Give me a reason to sell any brand other than Felt, Guru and Cervelo. [JM3] [ In reply to ]
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You are correct - that is the CR1
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