State of the industry: a running thread

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al-onestare said:
Curious what you think they could or should have changed in their supply chain post Brexit, especially since having a base in NI which brings, and I use this term extremely loosely, "benefits".
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For EU wide sales (or even beyond?), a logistic hub in the EU - and even a EU trading branch. Benelux area being a popular choice. Triangulation deals still possible, but will admit this is complex and depending on country and dual Tax agreements (which incidentally are constantly maintained bilateral agreements nothing to do with the Withdrawal Agreement) could have been set-up if the sales figures warrantied it.

https://marosavat.com/vat-triangulation-simplification/

It makes little sense to say import to the UK from the EU (say for Mavic wheels manufactured in Romania, then re-sell them to a customer (another importer) in say Portugal - the price simply can't be sustainable). Mutual trading benefit was not on the cards; it was just really silly to believe an existing structure and model could survive. Perhaps the most compelling early example was the collapse of M&S food outlets in the EU.
 
Woz said:
For EU wide sales (or even beyond?), a logistic hub in the EU - and even a EU trading branch. Benelux area being a popular choice. Triangulation deals still possible, but will admit this is complex and depending on country and dual Tax agreements (which incidentally are constantly maintained bilateral agreements nothing to do with the Withdrawal Agreement) could have been set-up if the sales figures warrantied it.

https://marosavat.com/vat-triangulation-simplification/

It makes little sense to say import to the UK from the EU (say for Mavic wheels manufactured in Romania, then re-sell them to a customer (another importer) in say Portugal - the price simply can't be sustainable). Mutual trading benefit was not on the cards; it was just really silly to believe an existing structure and model could survive. Perhaps the most compelling early example was the collapse of M&S food outlets in the EU.
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To put it mildly, it's a nightmare.

Absolutely, it was insane to put fingers in ears and hope it'd work out for the best. Sadly, and as documented on this thread and elsewhere, even those with operations in the EU, who took action before or after 2017 (including those in Benelux) are considering whether that's a worthwhile strategy.
 
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I'm really hoping we might see a return to some quality....hopefully people will start to see the bigger picture with the "pile it high, flog it cheap" merchants going to the wall.

I know its probably a vain hope, but im just so tired of the consumerist, cheap, sale, replace every 3 years mentality we have in the "developed" world.
 
Tootyred said:
I'm really hoping we might see a return to some quality....hopefully people will start to see the bigger picture with the "pile it high, flog it cheap" merchants going to the wall.

I know its probably a vain hope, but im just so tired of the consumerist, cheap, sale, replace every 3 years mentality we have in the "developed" world.
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Certainly does appear if your business is just importing stuff from around the world, and selling it off around the world again with very little actual value add trouble is looming. Perhaps those actually manufacturing things and servicing things will survive better? The Canyon business model is very interesting, albeit it's not clear to me where the frame set is made and where final assembly takes place.
 
A typical example of my horror was aptly demonstrated 2 weeks ago when my nephews school bike went back to halfords for its final, 3rd year check....( apparently part of the purchase deal).

Sadly hes been told it needs £250 of work....new chain, sprockets, brake pads .......plus possibly a new pair of calipers....oh and possibly a new rear derailleur...but those exact ones are not available anymore.

But the good news is a new bike is £300 at the moment....so guess which skip the old ones going in! I said i would see if i could get it going to sell, but the bikes hardly worth £20 on Facebook....and then there's the grief.....

problem is not the kid riding it....he's got a retro muddy fox i gave him and he looks after his kit, its the appalling quality of the parts on the bike....oh and the frame....and wheels.....its just junk.

Companies selling this rubbish, in a world where apparently we are eco friendly and are trying to preserve resources and energy, deserve to go to the wall.

Its time for some tough lessons in sustainability.

Imho...obviously. 🤣
 
I've been banging on about this sort of thing for years

'but somebody has to buy the new stuff so it can trickle down'

...came the response when I said we should look after the older kit first rather than keep buying new

Ebikes and carbon fibre has put a serious dint in the credibility of the green credentials that cycling once had and has now sadly lost
 
It's not just the quality of halfords bikes that are poor, but their servicing/build is pretty bad.

Bought a cheap Apollo bike and not only were the brakes badly adjusted, but the pin that locates in the brake boss was not in the locating hole and bent over instead. If you pulled the brake hard enough the brake arm would rotate around the boss instead of applying brake force. Not a big deal to fix, but it didn't go back for any of the checks included in the sale as I can do it better.

Not bought a bike from Halfords since, they are not worth the price or hassle.
 
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