Wow the BS here gives me the LOLs!

hora – Member
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..

You don’t know Edinburgh at all, all the busy shops are a mile or so from the centre. Mostly southish.

yourguitarhero – Member
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.

This may be right though I don’t understand why – other shops thrive in similar areas.

hora – Member
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.

I’ve been in a few times, once about 4 staff were frothing over a customer getting fitted up for a TT bike and ignored me for a good few minutes before someone else looked up and came over to me. Also had very helpful service.

They totally ****ed up their opening hours and communicating those to customers.

brant – Member

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. [/quote]

Either that or their plan of having internet prices and bricks and mortar stores wasnt’ viable (which would have taken no genius to work out IMO)

“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.”

LOL so they’ve stopped selling popular stuff?

LOL so they’ve stopped selling popular stuff?

Agree. A weird statement. I’d love that frame BTW- it’d allow me to sell off the Pro carbon X FF 😀

I’ve a feeling Geoff Apps, Gary Fisher, Bianchi and plenty of others will be surprised to hear that PX were the “first to do 29ers”…

But he didn’t say they stop selling them, he just said he “deflects to do something else”. Change of focus rather than getting out of that business.

Shame it’s shut, used it quite a few times.

Not sure about the location being a key factor in failure (might have contributed in some way though). The Brew Store next door seems to do ok. From Princes Street Evans and Planet X are just about as easy/difficult to get to by bus or walking. Same if coming from out of town, parking at either not great…. although there is an extortionate NCP near to Evans is there not?

As for PX being better if it was in the city centre, I doubt it due to rates and rent. Possibly somewhere like Bruntsfield or Stockbridge would be a better than where it was, but rate/rents might be higher there than Newington.

There is a sort of “honeypot” effect though where many shops in the same area will attract more custom. If you’re either browsing bike shops or shopping for something in particular, it can be more attractive to go to an areas that has 2/3/4 shops within close proximity so you can get round them all rather than making a trip to somewhere with only one shop.

In Bruntsfield/Tollcross there are:
Edinburgh Bicycle
Velo Ecosse
Bike repair place I can’t remember the name of
Biketrax
Evans
Soul Cycles

I consider that the “walk about and look at bikes on a Saturday” area

[url=http://pedalsbikecare.co.uk/]Pedals Eco Bike Care [/url]: not just repairs either!

Was the Edinburgh PlanetX a Brantclanger? 😉

“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.”
LOL so they’ve stopped selling popular stuff?

Well with all the BS about “26” is dead” & a “obsolete size” that’s on this forum, well Planet X be sell only 26″ in a few years as it “not mainstream”?

Classic STW thread

@scotroutes, honeypot tehory – see also the odd (to me) Causwayside antiques Mecca..

…because the other 2 Yorkshire PX shops are in great locations.