Retailer Thinks Cons Out Weigh Pros In Industry

The recent proliferation of bike company takeovers and buyouts got me thinking about why I got into this business. I have been doing this for 15 years, more than some but less than a lot of you out there, and so I thought I would list the pros and cons of the industry, as I see it.



The things I like about the business:

• I don't have to wear a tie.



The things I don't like about this business:

• Mail order sells components at prices below our cost.



• Minimal quality control testing of some products, resulting in massive recalls with little or no compensation to retailers. (i.e. RockShox)



• Corporate takeovers and buyouts of well-liked bike companies, which lead to the decline in quality of products, followed by bankruptcy.



• Free tuneups. (Who the hell started that?)



• Free lifetime tuneups. (Who ever started that should be shot.)



• Pathetic mark ups on bikes. (I know we only sell bikes so the customer will come back to buy something we can actually make money on.)



• The recent corporate mindset. (We are a jeans and T-shirt industry, not a shirt and tie affair.)



• It's the independent bicycle dealers that made the industry and it's the independent bicycle dealers that support the industry. Without us, the





Greg Woodbury

Acme Bicycles

Redlands, CA