ScottCommutes

I was shopping at Walmart the other day and puttered back to look at the bikes. The featured bikes on the end of the aisle had "Shimano" in big, bold letters on the frame as well as in regular-sized letters on the rear derailleurs. Now I ride with $15 Shimano Tourney derailleurs on my bike, but mine looked pretty darn fancy compared to the Walmart ones.

So what's the deal? I would call Shimano a reputable brand, so I totally understand why Walmart would want to use their logo. The thing I don't get is what exactly is in it for Shimano? Why does Shimano want their name associated with truly bottom of the barrel parts? Doesn't that harm the brand's image?

veganbikes

Oh Shimano makes absolute garbage from Tourney on down (though they make other stuff that is higher then tourney and not so great) and they will sell it to anyone. They also make really good quality stuff like Dura-Ace and XT and GRX and stuff like that. They cater to everything from underneath the barrel to the top of the gold cup.

It does hurt the brand but it also makes them a ton of money and get their name out. They are a massive corporation and their goal is to make money and that is what they are doing. SRAM has done the same thing.

Herzlos

Walmart can probably buy enough parts to get Shimano to provide them with custom stuff. It'll be real Shimano but it'll be built as cheap as possible.

ScottCommutes

I get it - money. That's the obvious answer. But why Shimano? Nobody is making garbage tires for Walmart's bikes and putting their name in giant letters on them.

veganbikes

Bell has a line of crap with their logo on it for WallyMart. Plenty of major manufacturers make products for mid and higher end retail and also for the absolute bottom and plenty of people sell the same stuff at Wally-Mart. It is about money generally so if a company can make money they will do so.

Polaris OBark

My Rene Herse Walmart special has the finest tires to ever adorn a BSO.

Chuck M 

Maybe Shimano is a more recognizable brand to Walmart shoppers than Campagnolo.

shelbyfv

You can find BSOs with Shimano parts at any box store, not just WM. They make a huge range and it seems as if they have more Tourney or Axxxx what ever than they do legit groups. Bewildering but they must make $ off that stuff or they wouldn't make so much of it.

Alan K

Or Campagnolo wouldn’t cut Wally World the deal Shimano is willing to…

ScottCommutes

So ok, dumb question - which way do you figure the money flowed when Shimano allowed Walmart to put their name in big letters on the frame of the bike? Did Walmart negotiate for that to make their bikes seem more reputable, or did Shimano negotiate for that to get their name out there?

Chuck M 

Simplex couldn't be reached to submit a contract proposal.

50PlusCycling

Shimano also makes fishing gear, and Walmart is probably the world’s largest seller of fishing equipment. If you like your Shimano fishing reel, maybe you’ll buy your kids of grandkids a Walmart Shimano bike.

veganbikes

My guess is the folks who made the bicycle shaped object put it on there so people would buy their crap. Who knows if either party had anything contractual.

Troul 

if a person is unable to discern the purpose of the walmart sold Shimano parts to that brand's parts being sold at a reputable (new bicycles) bicycle shop, then I'd not expect that person perceived reputation to change unless they were willing to accept being educated on it.

I'm sure Shimano has mulled over having walmart being a retailer of such bicycle parts... if the parts are not legit & are illegally using the brand's name, that's a totally different ball of chain wax to contend with.

spelger

way to insult someone. nice!

Polaris OBark

Dang. I was actually going to post exactly this.

Trakhak

Shimano is a more recognizable brand to the vast majority of shoppers in local bike shops, too.

My guess: a number of Chinese bike component brands are coming after Shimano aggressively, and Shimano's marketing department figures that the prominently placed decals will present the Shimano brand as superior and worthy of being sought out over the never-heard-of-them brands.

Garthr

Such agreements are never made public. Rather than ask why Shimano would want their brand splattered on WM bikes, ask why not ? Why wouldn't Shimano want to be the most recognized brand in all the World ? Why wouldn't Shimano sell the public cheap parts that need to be replaced often, or that can't be replaced at all, so the customer has to by another WM/Shimano bike and do it all over again`? Why not make a mockery of your own brand ?

It's rather like an award winning actor making a really bad movie just to collect a pay check. The actors brand(their name) sells the movie, despite the poor content. They can't foresee that while their name may remain famous, the name loses some it's perceived luster. Like Honda autos made in Japan imported to the US were excellent. The USA made ones not so much. They're living off the former quality products image, while providing an inferior quality product.

So along comes Leopold to reveal the mockery of the being "famous for my name" image

ScottCommutes

This is Walmart's MO from what I've seen. I remember seeing cheap Snapper lawnmowers with the Snapper logo on them in Walmart years after Snapper had disappeared as a premium residential mower. Same thing with Woolrich. Used to be high end made in USA stuff, now Walmart sells foreign stuff with the brand name slapped on it. Probably a hundred other brands, too.

Many of the successful, market leading brands stay out of Walmart - Nike, Carhardtt, every tool company you've ever heard of - that list goes on, too. Once you get out of grocery, Walmart struggles to find brand names that will play ball with them at their price point.

BTinNYC 

Profit margin on the stickers is better than the groupset?

ScottCommutes

I literally laughed out loud.

ScottCommutes

I think the fishing thing nailed it. Walmart might go "If you give us the big stickers on the bikes, we'll give you that extra foot of shelf space to sell fishing reels." Or vice versa.

Years ago, I got fired from a job cutting grass because I couldn't plow snow. The customer preferred the package deal of one vendor doing everything. Shimano is Walmart's package deal.

seypat

That's not exactly true. Check out the oil/oil filter isle. You can buy Motocraft, ACDelco, Subaru, Honda, Toyota, Mopar, etc oil filters there. Some are the same filters you get from the auto dealers. Realize also that Nike is a marketing brand. They don't actually manufacture anything. Similar to those other bike brands that are made by Giant.

This is not unique to Wally World. Do you think those "premium" brands of hand/ power tools like Dewalt and Porter Cable sold in Lowes and Home Depot are the same quality as in the past? Research the industrial brands owned by Black & Decker. They purchase industrial brands with trusted names then lower the quality of the products to sell at lower price points. The products are now made to last a season or two of heavy(contractor) use and be thrown away/replaced the next season. "Contractor/Professional grade" is a load of crap. I don't even think GMC is Professional grade anymore.

ScottCommutes

Ain't this the truth! I generally avoid Walmart due to the low quality on many items, but his aisle is the exception. The filters are the exact same filter numbers as everywhere else. The oil is likewise exactly the same (except for the little Walmart logo at the bottom). And, if you don't want to spring for brand name oil, Walmart has their own cheap stuff that is just as API rated as everything else.

base2 

I think it was touched on up thread a bit but not really unpacked. There is a reason the WalMart commercials use the verbage "Same brands" and not "same products." It is because a lot of manufacturers will create a WalMart specific product SKU that invariably has a lower production cost in some way. It may be a bushing instead of a bearing. It could be a thinner injection mold. It could be a different electric motor. Or heck even the same motor with a different cooling fan. Whatever. The point is: When WalMart renews a contract with a manufacturer they will tend to demand a lower price and they order enough that the other company can't do without the contract. The manufacturer doesn't really have a choice other than figure out a way to cheapen the product but do so in a way customers won't notice or care about when it finally does break. That is unless they want to break the addiction to WM & make less money.

The same tactic is mercilessly used to exploit smaller manufacturers and after the first happy & successful order, WM comes along to demand an order so big the only way for the Ma & Pa to fulfill it is to leverage themselves with huge loans and liabilities for tooling, machines, equipment, and factory space to meet WM's order demands only to be told on the next order (number 3) of the price they thought they were working for has now changed to near zero and either fulfil the order at WalMarts price or go bankrupt.

In a similar way that Uber and Lyft drivers are cashing in their current wages from their future automobile worth: Brands sold in Walmart are invariably borrowing against the equity of their future brands value.

We know Shimano Tourney is crap. Did you know Shimano has a WM specific Tourney line that is even worse? Tourney TZ. Look for the red pulley wheel.