Motorcycle shop retailers using the Internet as a sales tool for wholesalers

[Quasievil]

Hmmm Maybe they have seen your online persona and don't wish to have their quality brands damaged by such a nob jockey (online of course. face to face you are probaby an nice guy but online.............. anyway food for thought)

Cheers for that Scouse, I will re model based on your persona

[PirateJafa]

Guess they want to protect their reputation for quality.

Can't blame 'em really.

[Quasievil]

I love the way the regular Quasi baggers come out with their little snide remarks lol.
funny.......they have plenty of opportunity to say it to me face but gutless are they.

Anyway back on topic, I wonder what other industries intentionally block out internet based business to protect the "physical retail addressed retailers", anyone know of any , what about the computer industry, is that the same ?

[tri boy]

I can see both sides of the situation.
Firstly, I think the wholesalers probably like a solid retail experience via a shop displaying their goods day in day out in the flesh so to speak.

But Brett maybe also on the edge of a shift in wholesale/retail/online shopping.
Interesting times.

It's hard to beat the knowledge of guys like John at Boyds, especially when a new rider wants to be kitted out for the first time.
But seasoned riders could by the same products through Quasi if the wholesalers could see a large turnover of stock.
A large purchase order of their stock could certainly change their idea............possibly

[championshipdigital]

Its so interesting to me that all the motorcycle shop retailers are utilizing the internet as a sales tool for Wholesaler imported brands.
Wholesalers supporting such ventures in a significant way is two faced as as they wont support allow established internet sellers their product lines, based on what exactly we dont have a full on retail presence, is that it ? and errr why?

You think a NZ Wholesaler will supply me boots or Helmets or whatever........nah !!
It will be and is the demise of the retail and wholesale structure as guys like me start to consider parallel importing.

NZ is so Backward.

But good luck with your site

So let's look at the argument from a different perspective - why don't you open a shop? Surely there would be loads of benefits if you did?

[Henk]

This is where it all gets messy. As soon as you open a shop or start to grey import your own all the advantages behind the online only business model fall over. You have the same overheads to do with rent and wages as every other shop and you have a huge amount of working capital tied up in stock. Real cost of holding inventory runs to about 30% of the cost of that inventory per anum. Not to mention the risks that go with holding enough stock to cover orders in a timely manner and not getting stuck with a whole lot of slow moving garbage that nobody wants.
I'm a fan of brick and mortar stores since I can go and try stuff on, if as predicted earlier in the thread it all goes online I'm not sure I'd be all that confident buying all my riding gear without the chance to try before I buy. We all know that six different brands of boot in the same size are going to feel different and can range from great to crap.
In the past five years or so the whle industry was booming and there was a new shop poping up nearly week, now that things aren't so great a lot of them are falling over, sad but just part of the business cycle, I'd say that the ones that will survive in the long run are brick and mortar stores that also go online, at least I hope so. I'd like to be in a position in five years where I can still bail out to a store on a weekend to grab the plug or tyre that I've just discovered I need for the following day.

[SS90]

Really. OK here I go

Alpinestar, Spidi, Dianese, Shift, Rjays, Dririder, Tecknic, joe Rocket, Revit, Truimph, Harley Davidson,Neo, Macna, Draggin, Axo,AGV, Berik, RST, motowear , magello, GP star, Leoshi, Spool, BMW, SPYKE, OXford, Nortech, Motoline, Ixion, M2R, Orina ,

There is 31 brands available in Hamilton right now for example.

There are 4 odd bike shops.

Who is saturating the market?

Oh, ok, we are on a different page..... By market saturation, I mean the market is saturated by RETAILERS, not BRANDS..... The large amount of brands is a welcome change ( well quality brands I mean), the large amount of online retailers is not...... The market is just too small.

[Quasievil]

Oh, ok, we are on a different page.....

LOL all good, didnt think you where on my thinking, seemed weird.

[Quasievil]

This is where it all gets messy. As soon as you open a shop or start to grey import your own all the advantages behind the online only business model fall over.

Yeah , not a good time to open a Motorcycle related business, let alone a retail store, to much for this dude anyway.

[Slyer]

The only goods better than wholesale goods is stolen goods!
Can't beat those prices.

[Quasievil]

The large amount of brands is a welcome change ( well quality brands I mean), the large amount of online retailers is not...... The market is just too small.

Actually on that, the whole reason we started several years ago was their really was little in the way of leather gear on offer, now of course there is heaps.
there was a large gap in the market back then.

[Scouse]

Cheers for that Scouse, I will re model based on your persona

Good come back quasi but I can aford my online persona becuase I am not trying to build relationships with potential Wholesale suppliers or customers eh.

[Crazy Steve]

Jeeze man, get off your Soap Box will ya.

Simply put, your overheads, no matter how high they are to you, are a piffle compared to an average Bike Shop, and, as such, retail items have to have a margin in them that reflect the higher overheads.

Internet Based "Stores" can offer the same product at lower prices, simply because they don't need the same turn over as a shop with higher overheads to achieve the same end of year profit.

Simple really, and good on the NZ wholesalers for sticking to their guns in protecting their established dealers.

Wowers your really onto it ! ! Did you come up with all that shit yourself or did you dredge it up from an old thread from maybe 2003 ? ?

Fckin Handicap Nation when people like this Muppet are stating the obivoius ! ! !

Crazy Steve.

[Crazy Steve]

Anyway........

Who the fck pays Retail ? ? ? If you do and you still are you must have way to much MONEY ! ! !

Crazy Steve..

[SS90]

Wowers your really onto it ! ! Did you come up with all that shit yourself or did you dredge it up from an old thread from maybe 2003 ? ?

Fckin Handicap Nation when people like this Muppet are stating the obivoius ! ! !

Crazy Steve.

15 years in the industry Steve. Just stating the obvious because the basics never change.

When the bike gear boom happened in NZ there indeed was a hole to fill, but now because the online business's can survive in the slow time ( primarily due to the fact that they have no real staff, and, more often than not, an MD with a day job), so their overheads ( comparatively ) are a fraction of an established bike shop on main street.

Just to SURVIVE the established bike shops are having to level the playing fields, and to do so is to have a larger on line presence...... Quasi believes it is copy others business models, I say it is just leveling the playing field.