Bike shop closures

[vgcspares]

an ad-hoc list of recent closures would include:

Central Districts May 08
East City June 08
Masterton July 08
Motoxtreme July 08
Phil Turnbull September 08
Motoworld Powersports January 09
Honda Otago March 09

Not meant to be an exhaustive list, just a mild fascination (I keep thinking of that numb-skull who reckoned there was no recession provided he kept his job)

[Burtha]

I wonder how that fairs in comparison with other years though (?) ie; number of startup companies versus those that don't make it etc ...

[Brian d marge]

Well as I said in another post , the whole bike shop business model is flawed ,,,,

I have an Enfield, the spares are VERY cheap , and it does need some playing about with ,,though you can set then up for less maintenance ,,,

I get my spares from NZ /England ... online , a few days later ..pop there you go ....

Cheap to .

Also if I didnt have any mechanical knowledge , then there is a need for service work ,,,but at 60 dollars an hour ...that limits the range of work ( add the cost of spares )

Motorcycles are an entertainment business now ( IMHO ) ... just like going to the movies ,,,is gets the disposable cash ,,,,and if there aint much of that ,,,,,,,


Stephen

[tri boy]

Add super cross cycles in Hamilton to that list, (and there are one or two others that are very shaky as well).
Expect the list to at least double, even triple by Jan 2010.

[tri boy]

Motorcycles are an entertainment business now ( IMHO ) ... just like going to the movies ,,,is gets the disposable cash ,,,,and if there aint much of that ,,,,,,,


Stephen

I will assume the hundreds/thousands of farm four wheelers, and two wheelers are excluded from your entertainment angle.
Yes the old service/sales system is a bit outdated, but by purchasing online yourselves, the situation is only made worse.
I have yet to meet a mega wealthy motorcycleshop owner. Some are quite comfortable, but these shops are normally decades old, and are a family business.

[Katman]

I heard a saying once...........

'If you want to make a small fortune out of a motorcycle shop, start with a large fortune'.

Thankfully, I'm not even that interested in a small fortune. It's more a passion thing for me.

[Elysium]

I was going to start a thread on the amount of people selling thier bikes on Trademe. Anyhow I notice a lot of people are puting their bikes on trademe and a lot of the bikes are only a year or two old with a fair amount of money spent on mods.

Does anyone think the recent increase of the ACC levy fee (aka Rego) is having a effect on peoples bugets and so out goes thr bike, or maybe the recession or is it both?

[vgcspares]

Well as I said in another post , the whole bike shop business model is flawed ,,,,

I have an Enfield,

why all the commas, do they come free from Madras ?

[vgcspares]

I was going to start a thread on the amount of people selling thier bikes on Trademe.

There was a thread a week or so back on how fewer bikes there seemed to be in Trademe after they put their prices up 60% ...

on your point I don't think the ACC levy will increase sales - possibly more rego's on hold with the bike still on the road maybe ...

[KiwiKat]

If you want the benefit of a local bike shop you need to support them with your business, sometimes even put in a good word for them.

The reality is that to stay in business in todays climate you have to firstly be price competitive and secondly offer exceptional service. IMHO the stock in most New Zealand bike shops is not competitively priced. Perhaps too much emphasis is put on label brands rather than what the majority of bike riders want.

The clever businesses are doing online trading as well as showroom sales and catering to customers with a coffee area (or even smiles). When was the last time your local bike shop was proactive and invited your group in for nibbles and a chat etc. to promote the latest product ranges.

[SARGE]

bro,,, im not seeing a recession really .. sure .. the "I WANT IT " sales are slipping but the "I NEED IT " ones are going strong .. im in a position where i can help make peoples jobs easier, save time and increase production.. i can turn nearly ANYTHING into an "I NEED IT " sale

its all in the approach really ..

[R6_kid:Me]

I've been waiting two weeks for the local Honda shop to get back to me about some float valves, not the hardest part to look up.

After two days, I got bored, went online, found the part numbers and ordered them from a guy on Trademe. I have since installed them and found they weren't the problem, but have fixed the problem with aftermarket parts.

I'll be amazed if they ever get back to me, if they do I'll be happy to give them an ear full about their AWESOME service. Last I checked most people want to ride their bikes, not leave them sitting in the garage waiting for parts.

It was costing me $11 a day to catch the bus to uni versus $25/week on my bike, makes for a very expensive exercise when you get mucked around by a useless salesperson at a bike shop.

If you want to make sales you have to provide good service, make it easy for people to buy things from you, and make them WANT to come back and buy more. It's not that difficult!

In comparison Henderson Yamaha have always been very efficient, and called back when they said they would. Funny that a shop hidden away from the main street does good business when those on "the road to be on" on the North Shore seem to be having trouble moving bikes.

[Elysium]

There was a thread a week or so back on how fewer bikes there seemed to be in Trademe after they put their prices up 60% ...

I didn't see too many on Trademe when I got my bike a year or ago. Mainly I'm trying to touch on the reason people are selling at a good price and a lot of reasons I see is ..."money for house" "medical problems" for example.

I'm thinking people are ditching the bikes and sticking to the car.

[Brian d marge]

I will assume the hundreds/thousands of farm four wheelers, and two wheelers are excluded from your entertainment angle.
Yes the old service/sales system is a bit outdated, but by purchasing online yourselves, the situation is only made worse.
I have yet to meet a mega wealthy motorcycleshop owner. Some are quite comfortable, but these shops are normally decades old, and are a family business.

Cant see any from where I am .... nope not one ......and if anything they may become disposable , like the farmers use the small trucks here ,,,, not worth fixing as its cheaper to but a new one ,,,

( yes it happens , then the old shyite is shipped to Nigeria or some place ,,I really must take a photo of the truck that comes round here picking up the unwanted motorcycles ...some quite nice bikes on there ,,,,)

you wait until the Indians /Chinese / Eskimos ..start churning out impossibly cheap ( but of acceptable quality ) bikes ....


Stephen

( who gets the commas from a mate , in Chennai ,,,,, )

[Big Zappa]

Does anyone think the recent increase of the ACC levy fee (aka Rego) is having a effect on peoples bugets and so out goes thr bike, or maybe the recession or is it both?

The $30 or whatever its going up this year has little to do with it, thats like a couple of extra tanks of gas... a year. Rising costs, inflation, job uncertainty, little or no wage rises and high personal lending rates have more of an effect.

You basically have less disposable income and you have to start making hard (or not so hard) choices. The guy that uses his bike as a primary means of transport because its still cheaper and more convenient than the bus will probably hang onto his bike no matter what.

The guy who takes the car to work but has a bike to have a blat on the weekends will probably add up the pros and cons and sell if it costs him too much of his disposable income to keep it.

The guy who has a $10k loan on his bike and is getting made redundant in a month... well that's a no-brainer.

Economics and incentives, dare I say it.