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Is the Barnsley store refurbished or closed.
There's not much factually right with the BBiz article
Go on, then?
Is the fact "you" have laid off nearly half your staff inaccurate? Blaming such a large lay-off on seasonal business is as weak as blaming it on Brexit.
150/120 but 200 today, what tomorrow? Aren't there legal rules on pricing and 'sale' prices/timescales?
Adsh I was looking at inbred 29er frames yesterday I could have sworn they were 150 possibly even 120 defo not the 200 they are today
same here, i was looking to buy a xs 456 frame for my lad and they've been 129quid for weeks. all of a sudden 200.
Care to tell us what parts are factually incorrect then? Sure not the accounts figures or number of jobs lost. STW speculation was based on a number of customer experiences though wasn't it, which are fairly valid?
Nice to confirm what we have said above by claiming sympathy for 'tough times' and then torpedoing yourself by plugging another sale a good two months before xmas.
2/3 down the page you linked to soopahfly
[i]As for who Loughran admires in the business world, the first name that comes up is Mike Ashley, the billionaire founder of Sports Direct, which operates more than 500 stores worldwide. Loughran has consciously followed the Sports Direct model: build a business around multiple brands that you own and cut out as many tiers in the supply chain as you can.[/i]
My mate bought an Inbred frame yesterday for £144.
I stopped buying the odd bit of tat there because the postage.
Dave's business savvy wasn't quite a good as he thought - if he'd hedged better against the USD he might have given himself some breathing space, but expect that the currency swing has squeezed what little margin there is. Following the Sports Direct model wasn't going to work - I suggested this a few years ago and got ridiculed on another forum 🙂 It was obvious that the majority of people who worked there were zero hours, minimum wage who don't give a $hit - luckily I haven't bought a bike / frame from them in a while - it's less aggro to buy direct from China.
Missed that one Ninfan 😀
Well spotted.
*edit*
There's that many ad's on this site I think it's given my computer AIDS.
I've always liked PX and have bought a fair amount from them over the years. Recently though I've started to look elsewhere and the above mentioned pricing strategy is the main issue. I just don't know how much something will be from one day to the next, so any "bargains" I feel I might have got previously I now fear are not bargains at all.
I'm not really a big P-X fan despite having owned a few bikes off them, but the tone of the article on the front page here (Singletrack) is a bit off- lots of insinuation. I'm curious if Mark/Chipps ok'ed it?
As you’ll read in this forum post about Planet X’s planned redundancies, there are comments from Planet X customers who have alleged negative experiences with the company in recent years. One forum user has also referenced the alleged closure of one of Planet X’s retail stores from a few weeks ago, which was stated to be undergoing refurbishments. However, that store no longer appears to be listed on the Planet X website.Some forum users have suggested that the profit loss listed in Planet X’s public accounts is to do with the closure of Planet X’s US operations earlier this year. Others have pointed towards an alleged fault with the Planet X London Road frame and it’s incorrectly machined seat tube as being a potential source of blame.
Is there a possibility not stocking regular brands harms their business? I know I've not bought anything off them unless I wanted some really cheap disposable tat (£4 pannier bags for a one off adventure) but if they were selling regular Shimano or RaceFace parts at a price to rival CRC I'd consider them. But instead they're selling Selcof bars and Prowheel cranks, which I've never heard of and no one has reviewed.
You used to be able to buy Rockshox from them, they even came with an installed crown race and a cut steerer.
Yes, but then for whatever reason they had to sell a lot of their Rockshox stuff to mates instead of through the website. Not sure what happened there.
Thepodge, that seems like a perfect example of us being willing to go the extra mile to give a customer exactly what they need.
(I guess the customer in question was expecting a BNIB set though ?)
It was a whole pallet load of forks, not just one guy.
Their "no-nonsense pricing" strategy is a pain for me too.
I haven't time to scour their site every week trying to work out if something is a decent price or not, so just stop purchasing from them at all. Most people can't readily walk in to one of their shops and inspect the quality to make a judgment that way either. You're better off trying to pick up their stuff 2nd hand, prices are more consistent then.
Decent brands don't seem to rely on this yoyo price model.
I was looking at inbred 29er frames yesterday I could have sworn they were 150 possibly even 120 defo not the 200 they are today
Ah, yes, well, they have to up the price a bit so they can
we've got 12 days of great Xmas deal starting tomorrow
run a 25% off christmas special and knock them out for £150 again
Is there a possibility not stocking regular brands harms their business? I know I've not bought anything off them unless I wanted some really cheap disposable tat (£4 pannier bags for a one off adventure) but if they were selling regular Shimano or RaceFace parts at a price to rival CRC I'd consider them. But instead they're selling Selcof bars and Prowheel cranks, which I've never heard of and no one has reviewed.
I suspect that a large part of that is suppliers gradually cutting them off because PX couldn't resist the temptation to shag prices.
There's a whole game of people on the continent horsetrading half a container of OE wheels from one supplier for three pallets of forks at another, then that gets swapped with someone else and ends up at PX or Ribble or Rose or Alltricks or whoever. Thing is that increasingly suppliers look for something like this, buy it, trace the serial numbers and then close people's accounts.
Certain retailers will mix this stuff in with their official stuff so that they (and sometimes the distributor too) can pretend it's all legit rather than OE, so that other retailers don't walk away from the brand, but over the years this has an effect, and people stop stocking it as it's always being shagged online.
The good news, though, is we've got 12 days of great Xmas deal starting tomorrow
I can image half the work force that are being made redundant are not whoop whooping at that.
sq225917 - I think your comments on here are proof of poor strategy and approach. You've failed to address the substance of the article and challenges from people, and most damningly have not respected the seriousness of it by using this particular thread to inappropriately plug yet another sale. Your posts reflect poorly on PX, and reinforces a negative brand image. You should have the gumption to realise this and act accordingly.
hora - Member150/120 but 200 today, what tomorrow? Aren't there legal rules on pricing and 'sale' prices/timescales?
When I was at my most pissed off with on one after they ripped me off, I did think about keeping track of some prices then dobbing them in to the OFT, they don't even pay lip service to the pricing practice guide. But even I'm not that petty 😆
I think PX are exactly the sort of company that'd blame brexit for all their woes regardless of truth
This. They overextended themselves, had quality control issues and have issues with thier pricing preventing positive consumer trust. I went to order some chamois creme on offer at £5 the other day only to fail for it to be less that £15 in the basket.
For a company to be running £20m turnover with 0.5% profit there's some issue at the top. Shedding 50% of the staff won't help that, thats a panicked reduction of OpEx, and a small on in ££ terms also.
sq225917 thankfully many customers are now getting wise to planetx methods. It's kinda made us more savvy and realise why go to the likes of yourselves when we too can price shag and go direct. I've heard a few stories over the years. They kind of put me off.
I did think about keeping track of some prices then dobbing them in to the OFT, they don't even pay lip service to the pricing practice guide. But even I'm not that petty
Is there a price tracking thing that works with any website??
I found this plugin for chrome: "Smart Price Monitor"...
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/smart-price-monitor/epedkmejmajcbhpkhpmiickopfimjani
To recover, they're going to need to offer builds with a comprehensive range of Shimano kit. Which will still need to be cheapest about because sadly that is what they have turned the brand into. In their shoes I'd do that, ditch all the tat and just sell bikes and frames.
builds with a comprehensive range of Shimano kit. Which will still need to be cheapest about
Unless Trump wins and everyone's currency tanks, px will struggle to secure cheap shimano kit
Aaaaand, the Limited Edition SS Inbreds. The white 29ers that have been popular for yonks ... Roll up, only 100 ever made. Lol. There's 55 in stock and me & my mates have 3. Ha ha!
My mate's arrived in 24hrs though, that was a pleasant surprise.
I'm saying brexit isnt completely right although this combined with a rumour I heard about a year(?) ago about issues will create a storm I guess.
I've heard a few stories over the years. They kind of put me off.
Twice in 2 posts hora, just post the stories?
Here's the road.cc story
I loved my 456 in that blue. That's the good.
Every time I placed orders for little bits and pieces there were always a few errors - wrong item, missing items, wrong size. Customer service was either not responding or ignoring me most of the time. Bloody hopeless company to deal with that always ended up with me in a bad mood whenever I tried to resolve anything. I was stupid and thought things would get better and would stupidly buy tyres or grips or whatever when I saw a deal. I finally learnt the hard way how much of an incompetent shower of (insert swear word here). I haven't bought anything in the last 4 years and struggle to comprehend how they still manage to trade using what seems to be the same business model as always. I was quite vocal over the years on here about my thoughts and many said I was over reacting. Seems not.
I think Planet X have possibly lost their way a little bit. Apart from the London Road there hasn't been much to interest me in their range for a while. The boom in cycling has meant that a lot of people are happy to pay a decent price for perceived high quality; Planet X's pile it high, sell it cheap approach may not be that appealing for some, especially when the comments made about them on the interweb can be so mixed. If a new cyclist wants to get serious and spend a grand on a carbon road bike they want to be sure they are getting the best value and quality for money, and they may want to feel more supported by their retailer of choice.
For the record all of the frames I've bought from them have been cheap but decent quality for the money. Even my London Road which was purchased at the same time as the other patchy quality ones is doing OK. Maybe they need to start charging a bit more and putting more emphasis on selling interesting designs that are backed up by a decent level of quality and customer service.
The road cc article comments suggests they are getting rid of permanent staff to replace them with short term contracts
Aha, they're sacking half the staff so they can employ them (or others) on a casual basis via an agency.
Looks like the sports direct comparison is a fair one then.
Wow, that really is taking a lead from Sports Direct.
"The road cc article comments suggests they are getting rid of permanent staff to replace them with short term contracts"
Nice
Using an employment agency that specialises in seasonal agricultural work and warehouse jobs.
Yeah, like that's a business model I'd want to support. I was thinking of the Jobsworth wheel stand but will spend elsewhere now.
Find myself using the local bike shop more now, at least I know I'm giving money to a decent family business.
Aha, they're sacking half the staff so they can employ them (or others) on a casual basis via an agency.
Am I the only one surprised that don't do this already?
I got a free turnip with my gimp. Cheque cleared pretty quickly too. All went downhill after that.
The only thing about any of this that surprises me is that anyone is happy to spend money with them.
Interesting read, thanks
I used to shop with a them when they competed with crc, merlin and the like for branded stuff but they fell off the radar when they binned all the products people might actually want.
My mate has had an inbred, Parkwood, inbred for his daughter and a Titus carbon full suss. Seemed to like them but more through budget than anything else.
Didn't they used to have a rather good designer working for them?
Edit: I think he did a bit more than designing.
Thepodge- road.cc comments? People with no info saying it sounds like they are swapping staff out. Don't want to sound like I'm defending PX the incompetence shites but I don't think we know anything from it.
I can't help but agree with the Sports Direct comments.
I'd be very surprised if they really only made £100k profit from their turnover of £18.3 million. Some creative accounting there I suspect...