Direct to consumer sales is nothing new in the bicycle world. On One are probably the earliest example that I can think of, but it has been the big German brands that have really pushed the idea of what a direct to consumer brand can do.
Canyon, Rose, Radon, and YT are the big guns in the buy direct market, but with every day that passes more brands are jumping on the wagon. So far this year we’ve had confirmation that Cotic and Intense will be buy direct bands only and today we’ve received word that Production Privée will be joining them.
Just as Intense’s move to direct saw prices drop throughout their range, we’re also seeing price reductions in the Production Privée line-up too with most frames and components seeing reductions of between 15%-20%.
The buy direct model is going to benefit European customers who will be able to enjoy fast delivery via the online store as well as savings, whereas customers from other markets will still have to rely on current distribution networks for the time being.
While saving money is good, there is always the worry of how after sales support and customer inquiries will be handled with a direct only brand, Production Privée is working around this by retaining a couple of Ambassador stores. These are shops that have supported the brand from the beginning and will offer in-store stock, support and demo bikes to customers who want to deal face to face with someone.
The UK Ambassador store will be D&D Cycles in Bognor Regis while shoppers in France can head to l’Atelier du Cycle in Alsace.
For more info on Production Privée, you can head over to their revamped website, or you can read our review of the Production Privêe Shan GT and read all about Andi’s Shan No5 here.
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not seeing much of a price drop.