Went to pick up some stuff for a colleague yesterday that he’d just ordered and had delivered to the shop. The place was shut, sign taken down etc.

He called them up today and apparently the Edinburgh shop is no more. Nothing on their website about it. All seems very odd. So, if you’ve ordered anything and are picking it from the Edinburgh shop save yourself the journey.

Shame as the guys that worked there all seemed sound when I’ve been in.

I mentioned this in a thread yesterday. They were selling off stock so I hope they’ve not sold your colleagues bits.

Sorry didn’t see that. When he called up he said that items that were due to go to the shop would be dispatched to the customers address. Although I’m sure some stuff would have been in the shop awaiting collection.

No longer listed in their stores section on the website.

Man. I popped in there for a stem and the workshop guy and two sales chaps were absolutely spot on. Thats the thing with PlanetX- they seem to employ REALLY good staff. I just don’t get the feeling higher up isn’t as nice.

The location of the shop was a bit off for one thing. It’s there because of the tri shop link to the Commonwealth Pool nearby, and some of the Edinburgh road clubs meet up at the pool for rides. For drop in trade and city centre commuters it’s a bit out of the way and parking is bad.

Again, mostly unfortunate for the staff. Not a good start to 2015.

Oh yes – the parking plus the wardens are very very keen around there.

Has this anything to do with that rumour that was doing the rounds a while back about losses?

Planet X / On One in financial trouble?

Yeah, I’d definitely start a panic over the whole company being in a tailspin because a single outlet (selling things in a way that isn’t their usual MO), in an apparently poor location closed. 🙄

Yeah it’s a bit unfair to extrapolate this. The shop has being going for less than a year, as above it’s something new for them and maybe this shop isn’t making money. It happens.

Brant tweeted an interesting article about them recently in Rouleur (here. The owner Dave Loughran seemed to be setting them up for a management takeover then pulled the plug last minute resulting in a number of key staff, Brant included, leaving the business.

I do wonder if the store shutting along with a few other changes I’ve seen on the website, is a result of this.

Bloody hell I just picked up my Carbon Pro last friday the staff did seem a bit subdued when otherwise they seemed really helpful. I once turned up an hour early and the lad let me in sold me some bits and bobs and gave me a load of Energy gels. I’ll miss the shop and thought they carried a good stock of most stuff and were certainly better than both the Bike Coop and Evans IMO.

Brant tweeted an interesting article about them recently in Rouleur (here. The owner Dave Loughran seemed to be setting them up for a management takeover then pulled the plug last minute resulting in a number of key staff, Brant included, leaving the business.

No real comment on the state of the business, but I really hate articles/interviews with constant swearing like that. I can make a sailor blush in regular conversation, but it’s just inappropriate for the format IMO and reeks of trying too hard to be cool.

Poor form to shut down so quickly like that, bound to set hares running too. If it’s a poor location why wouldn’t you quash rumours by saying as much?

It doesn’t look very well controlled. My colleague ordered his stuff this week and they were still offering “delivery to Edinburgh store”. When I went the sign had been taken down!

More info herehere (bikebiz)

Did lol when it’s saying it “industry setting low prices” when they one of the main low price setting company out there!

It was hardly prime retail location though. It was off the beaten track. I’m guessing it was more likely sales weren’t as high as hoped….due to the location of the store. The overheads then brought into stark-focus the cash flow..

Planet x took over the existing Tri shop if I recall correctly so there has been a shop in existence there for a number of years. It’s not quite the same as setting a brand new shop in a new location.

Seems a bit off taking over an existing shop then closing it down and presumably losing staff within the year.

Hardly a “city centre store” either. Indeed, as some folk have already said, it’s a bit out of the way. I hope the staff are all sorted.

Interesting article in Rouleur. I found the persistant use of “warrantee” far more offensive than Dave’s swearing! 😉

Interesting article in Rouleur

I skipped ALOT of it and yes I questioned the need to include swearing. It stood out far more than the detail. They must have walked away still paying the lease (or settling the lease -as commercial shop leases aren’t that short) which wouldn’t have been cheap at all. So it really must have been dead. Agree- hope the staff found jobs quickly. They were better than alot of other shop staff that I’ve encountered.

They must have walked away still paying the lease (or settling the lease -as commercial shop leases aren’t that short) which wouldn’t have been cheap at all. So it really must have been dead.

Truly awesome speculation.

I doubt you knew any better tbh unless the agent/owner were desperate and PlanetX had a break clause after such an expensive fit out. Huh?

You can see why On-One/Planet X is so popular on STW:

“I’m a bit of a contrarian,” says Loughran. “As soon as things become mainstream or commercialised, I turn away from them. I’m very bad like that. We were the first to do fixies, we were the first to do 29’ers and single-speed. As soon as it becomes popular I almost deflect to do something else. I’ve lost the lead so many times.”

Did lol when it’s saying it “industry setting low prices” when they one of the main low price setting company out there!

Yeah.. they weren’t claiming otherwise, in fact they were saying that it was THEIR (i.e. Planet X’s) low prices which were incompatible with a city centre store. Which I thought was ‘internet low prices’ 101 as you specifically DON’T have to finance expensive city centre bricks and mortar stores and can therefore drive prices down.

Planet X maybe thought they could buck that business model somehow.

The CityLink demise highlights the need for bricks and mortar for “Click and Collect” offerings for some businesses. Critical mass of an Evans I guess needed for cycling.

hora – Member
I doubt you knew any better tbh unless the agent/owner were desperate and PlanetX had a break clause after such an expensive fit out. Huh?
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Indeed, as you say. I know no better.
But I wasn’t the one ludicrously speculating.

Have to say I was very disapointed with the whole service from Planet X. Especially since the Edinburgh store shut down, my Pro Carbon was delivered direct to the shop yesterday even though it was shut on Monday! It came today, with scuffed shifters, flat tyres and to top it off the wrong size (clearly sent to be sorted at the shop)! This is on top of waiting since the 7th of December for the bike. Shame as the deal and the bike itself are cracking.

That’s a bummer. Was nice having it on my street.

It was off the beaten track

Even by STW standards this is a load of guff. I must be missing all the bike shops on Princes St. It’s on one of the main routes into Edinburgh. Have you tried going to Evans or Alpine? For what it’s worth I’d have thought not opening on a Sunday might have been a bigger obstacle.

Did lol when it’s saying it “industry setting low prices” when they one of the main low price setting company out there!

I think you have misunderstood what they are saying here. They are saying that they are the ones with the best prices in the industry, not that the industry is setting low prices.

Seems a bit off taking over an existing shop then closing it down and presumably losing staff within the year.

Well its rather unfair to judge without knowing all the facts. For a start, as I understand it, they took on the TriShop when it was destined for closure.

Poor form to shut down so quickly like that, bound to set hares running too.

Probably not the best bit of PR – but they aren’t known for that! Still in business often the worst thing to do is just carry on.

The CityLink demise highlights the need for bricks and mortar for “Click and Collect” offerings for some businesses. Critical mass of an Evans I guess needed for cycling.

I notice that Ebay and Argos have some sort of tie up (I don’t know how it works) but it seems to me that there is an opportunity for someone like Argos to offer a collection (and payment) function to lots of retailers – done right that could flip round the fortunes of bricks n mortar stores.

Without knowing the facts?

It shut abruptly after 9months. It wasnt a **** pulled-pork pop up establishment was it?

Without knowing the facts?

It shut abruptly after 9months. It wasnt a **** pulled-pork pop up establishment was it?
So you’ve seen the lease? You know when it was due for renewal, when any rent reviews were etc?
You’ve seen the due diligence information supplied by the Tri Shop before the take over?
You understand exactly which assets / liabilities they took on from the Tri Shop?
You’ve seen the accounts?
You’ve got a breakdown of the operating costs?
You know if locally the business was being run effectively?
You know if there were unexpected costs associated with the building (e.g. major repairs)?
You know if any of these things came to light at short notice, or after a prolonged period of negotiation which failed?
You know if the shop was delivering on its targets?
You know what efforts the company went to behind the scenes to get the shop into a situation that would let it stay open?

Oh, ok then your probably know most of the facts!

Your fourth to last line is what I said earlier. Cash flow come from sales.

Come on poly you know that’s not how STW works.

I think poly needs to lie down.. Or stop parroting on.

I’d like to hear an ex PX staff point of view on this. No PR. The people who worked there.

I think poly needs to lie down.. Or stop parroting on.

oh the ironing 🙂

TBH, Nicolson/South Clerk Street is hard for businesses to survive on. I’ve lived there for nearly 15 years, and very few businesses make it long term.

It’s a combination of it not really being a ‘destination’, but more a conduit street, loads of students without much money to spend and it being particularly bad for pissheads and ends.

Something like 40% of all reported crime in Edinburgh is on my street!

Long live the home brew store!

I was really surprised by the size of the store, number of staff and amount of stock, and it being in that quiet location. If it was on Rose street or something I think it would have been more successful.

Why the surprise? Isn’t that what Planet X do, as in chuck a bone out there to see if it works but quickly withdraw if it doesn’t? Cast a cheap net far and wide so to speak without committing too much money?