What would happen if Wal-Mart decided
#51
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OMG.
I just read somewhere that "Mark Cavendish signs with the Walmart cycling team"
I just read somewhere that "Mark Cavendish signs with the Walmart cycling team"
#52
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The original question was "what if" and offering up the possibility that they just won't is not in keeping with the question. If Walmart did then yes the LBS is possibly the thing of the past. IMHO most people for the most part shop price and it's very difficult to educate someone as to any kind of value add. If I take for example a Trek bike that has a carbon frame and Ultegra group all around last I checked your looking at north of $3K. If I go to BD and look at a Motobecane carbon with Ultegra can be under $2K is this the same bike no but it's hard to tell someone that sometimes. The Trek bike has "better" components outside the group and probably a better frame however it takes an education to figure that out. The LBS for a markup is supposed to provide some additional value add to the purchase price e.g. fit expertise some adjustments, assembly, free first tune up, handle problems with the bike etc. etc. I do feel that often is the case that the LBS does not provide the value add equal to the price adjustment on the bike and are at times their own worst enemy.
For Walmart or more realistically let's say Costco selling a special Trek Domane with a new model number exclusive to Costco, they could do it. I say Costco because they actually do sell higher end products in all categories and the Costco consumer has a higher household income than that of Walmart. The question would be, does it benefit Trek in the long run to do harm to the LBS who are currently Trek dealers if yes they would do it in a minute. To be clear I'm saying Trek simply as an example but they are not alone here.
BTW the image of Walmart closing 269 stores and only putting 14 cashiers out of work is priceless.
For Walmart or more realistically let's say Costco selling a special Trek Domane with a new model number exclusive to Costco, they could do it. I say Costco because they actually do sell higher end products in all categories and the Costco consumer has a higher household income than that of Walmart. The question would be, does it benefit Trek in the long run to do harm to the LBS who are currently Trek dealers if yes they would do it in a minute. To be clear I'm saying Trek simply as an example but they are not alone here.
BTW the image of Walmart closing 269 stores and only putting 14 cashiers out of work is priceless.
#53
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The life and death of the LBS.. is in NO WAY dependent on the decisions made by Walmart. The success of the LBS... is dependent on the decisions made by the LBS.
For Walmart or more realistically let's say Costco selling a special Trek Domane with a new model number exclusive to Costco, they could do it. I say Costco because they actually do sell higher end products in all categories and the Costco consumer has a higher household income than that of Walmart.
#54
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Boy do I disagree with that! Walmart sells hair cuts and hairstyling.... yet barber shops and salons are still doing fine elsewhere. Walmart sell oil changes... as does the dealership that changes my oil. Walmart sells lawnmowers as does the local mower shops, Walmart sells grocery's as does all the local grocery stores. And so on...
The life and death of the LBS.. is in NO WAY dependent on the decisions made by Walmart. The success of the LBS... is dependent on the decisions made by the LBS.
Comparing a club store like Costco to Walmart... is like comparing apples to oranges. What about Sam's Club? Same customer base as Costco.
The life and death of the LBS.. is in NO WAY dependent on the decisions made by Walmart. The success of the LBS... is dependent on the decisions made by the LBS.
Comparing a club store like Costco to Walmart... is like comparing apples to oranges. What about Sam's Club? Same customer base as Costco.
The LBS does control their destiny here for sure but I think this discussion was hypothetical if I recall. I mean look at Domino s, Little Caesars, Pappa Johns etc. crowding the pizza market with "Big Pizza". You still can't swing a dead cat and NOT hit a mom & pop pizza place near me, why because mom & pop still make really good pizza and those other places IMHO make crap.
#55
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Costco once offered "Motiv" brand bicycles. They were par with the Tourney-to-Acera level of stuff mentioned upthread, that sells at places like Sports Authority and Dick's. More recently at Costco I've seen Diamondback brand, mostly $250 Tourney-level cruisers, better than a Walmart Schwinn but not by a lot. Their website shows Acera-level mountain bikes for $400 but I haven't seen them in the store. So, basically the same level of product as before.
My opinion FWIW is that bikes like these are good enough for most people. There is not an order of magnitude difference between a $300 and $3000 bike if you stick it in the garage and ride it occasionally around the neighborhood or on an RV trip. If you ride it miles every day, or ride it off big drops, or race or whatever, then you need something better.
My opinion FWIW is that bikes like these are good enough for most people. There is not an order of magnitude difference between a $300 and $3000 bike if you stick it in the garage and ride it occasionally around the neighborhood or on an RV trip. If you ride it miles every day, or ride it off big drops, or race or whatever, then you need something better.
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#56
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..... The LBS does control their destiny here for sure but I think this discussion was hypothetical if I recall. I mean look at Domino s, Little Caesars, Pappa Johns etc. crowding the pizza market with "Big Pizza". You still can't swing a dead cat and NOT hit a mom & pop pizza place near me, why because mom & pop still make really good pizza and those other places IMHO make crap.
And LBS could do the very same thing!!!! I don't know why LBS haven't formed organizations and/or alliances with a strong on-line presence. Maybe something through the NBDA
#57
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The general Wal Mart philosophy for putting a product on their store shelves is that Wal Mart sets the price and tells the manufacturer what their research says a consumer is willing to spend. Not really conducive to the high end bike market with educated consumers who would notice if that new C'dale CAAD11 came with Tourney derailleurs and non indexed stem shifters.
#58
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The LBS would have even more business setting up and/or repairing poorly assembled or poorly adjusted Wal Mart bikes.
Cheers
Cheers
#59
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Btw where did all those people go decades ago when they said the US Mail was going to be extinct thanks to E-Mail lol...
I would think the LBS's would do quite well. Parts, repairs, ancillary items, setups, trades, lots of options. And I couldnt see them being eliminated from selling bikes either. I dont know if Walmart could handle the inventory of replacement parts..They would need additional warehousing just for this task. Thats why LBS's would have that business. Their demand is so stringent they would need warehouses just to stock bikes alone if they expanded to high end bikes. Lol to put a 5k bike in Walmart on a store floor or in those racks would be scary...Junior! get off that bike!! lol..
It would certainly change the industry...Just like they did decades ago when they started selling bikes.
I would think the LBS's would do quite well. Parts, repairs, ancillary items, setups, trades, lots of options. And I couldnt see them being eliminated from selling bikes either. I dont know if Walmart could handle the inventory of replacement parts..They would need additional warehousing just for this task. Thats why LBS's would have that business. Their demand is so stringent they would need warehouses just to stock bikes alone if they expanded to high end bikes. Lol to put a 5k bike in Walmart on a store floor or in those racks would be scary...Junior! get off that bike!! lol..
It would certainly change the industry...Just like they did decades ago when they started selling bikes.
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#61
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Walmart always was for CHEAPSKATES who know the price of everything and VALUE of NOTHING.
For children's stuff it doesn't matter. Crummy hardware ??? Nyet.
For children's stuff it doesn't matter. Crummy hardware ??? Nyet.
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LOL @quicktrigger. "The pyramids were built by aliens! Google it!"
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LOL @quicktrigger. "The pyramids were built by aliens! Google it!"
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Walmart's revenue per square foot is about $100 higher than a bike shop ($420 to $320 per sq ft). So if they started selling higher end bikes instead of something more profitable they would lose money and make their stock holders mad. This would lead to a reshuffling of the executive leadership team and a end to higher end bike sales at Walmart
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LOL @quicktrigger. "The pyramids were built by aliens! Google it!"
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You're absolutely right, and they're not going to waste time with a $1000 bicycle which will stay on display while the $100 bikes keep moving out the door. It doesn't make sense to try to sell high end merchandise next to low end merchandise, because the average Walmart shopper will take low end because it's cheaper every day.
#68
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Correct. It's called "turns". Doesn't matter if your talking porkchops or thumb tacks. Every square foot of the showroom needs to make a profit.
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Because Joe Walmartshopper is going to look at the price tag on that $1000 bike and say "Whoa! Why should I pay a grand for that bike when this one here is just as good at $100?"
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There's this belief here that Wal-Mart only sells sub $200 bikes. While I can't attest to the quality of them, a gander at their website reveals that they do sell some bikes in the $500 to $800 range--mostly Schwinns, KHS and the like. While not comparable to "high-end" $1000 bikes, one would assume these 500-800 dollar bikes have better components than their $100 cheapies.
For my budget, anything above $500 would be a pretty pricey purchase.
For my budget, anything above $500 would be a pretty pricey purchase.
#71
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You're absolutely right, and they're not going to waste time with a $1000 bicycle which will stay on display while the $100 bikes keep moving out the door. It doesn't make sense to try to sell high end merchandise next to low end merchandise, because the average Walmart shopper will take low end because it's cheaper every day.
You're right, however, that Walmart shoppers are not in that league. Walmart has $200-$250 "high end" bikes that help sell the $130-$199 bikes, and $50-$130 bikes for the customer who is selecting primarily on price.
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#72
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There's this belief here that Wal-Mart only sells sub $200 bikes. While I can't attest to the quality of them, a gander at their website reveals that they do sell some bikes in the $500 to $800 range--mostly Schwinns, KHS and the like. While not comparable to "high-end" $1000 bikes, one would assume these 500-800 dollar bikes have better components than their $100 cheapies.
It doesn't seem Walmart reliably sells more expensive bikes online (that is, the more expensive bikes may or may not be available).
Anyway, there's already lots of online competition (in addition to Walmart) to LBS. Which means we don't have to hypothesize about the effect of that on LBS's.
#73
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What you see on their on-line store isn't what you should expect to ever see in a store.
And LBS could do the very same thing!!!! I don't know why LBS haven't formed organizations and/or alliances with a strong on-line presence. Maybe something through the NBDA
And LBS could do the very same thing!!!! I don't know why LBS haven't formed organizations and/or alliances with a strong on-line presence. Maybe something through the NBDA
Another chain only in my area has an on-line shopping site that is not very good and for parts it's quite over-priced. Their repair department is all digital, you tell them what to do and it gets "entered in the system". You get a text message when your work is done and all the work is done before you get the text and its done well. I would think that in this day and age for a LBS you should have a really good website even if it does not support purchases a single mom & pop type store (no chain) probably cannot support on-line shopping but they should be able to have electronic service records and text notifications etc.
#74
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..... I would think that in this day and age for a LBS you should have a really good website even if it does not support purchases a single mom & pop type store (no chain) probably cannot support on-line shopping but they should be able to have electronic service records and text notifications etc.
I worked in a computer based paperless environment in 1992. There is no reason for anyone to NOT be taking advantage of time/labor saving tech.
But then again.... I don't understand why so few bicycle shop aren't also coffee shops. So... what do I know.
#75
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It's possible that Walmart can display high end bikes as a tactic to shift sales from cheap bikes to higher quality bikes. It's been years since I went to a movie theatre but that's how the concession stands makes sales of medium size of popcorn.