Sportsmans Warehouse

[DaLoCo]

Just another corporate trying to cash in , looking at the margins and saying we can make good profits, SW is doing this purely for profit,

 

their passion and their reason for being, your local supermarket will never serve you with the same passion and care as your local butcher, so their might be a place for SW in cycling, but for the serious and passionate cyclist their LBS will still be the best call

 

I am not too sure about your LBS, but mine also marks up their prices. To say they are in it for the passion is to say that prostitutes screw for love......it is all about the money, always. If you have a business you want to make money,so everything has a markup. In the previous town I lived I preferred going anywhere but the LBS. The guys had knowledge and were right proper cyclists, but me as a beginner did not benefit from that. I made the mistake of buying my first bike secondhand on The Hub, so whenever I walked in there and asked for advice with purchases I got the "we're busy with proper customers" attitude. All about the money. This caused me to spend my money at the bike shop in The Gateway or the Sportsman's Warehouse. The SW guys rightly did not have much tech savvy, but they were always very helpful. Unless I needed emergency repairs, I never went to my LBS for anything. I would wait two weeks till I could get to Durban. The LBS were knowledgeable and did good work, but I did not feel welcome as a customer.

 

One example, I had an issue with a derailleur....turns out a simple adjustment....they told me three days. A month later one of my friends switched me an I broke the rear derailleur. Said friend takes my bike to them, and drops it at my office three hours later, all fixed. Difference....said friend has bought two BMC's, A Cannondale tandem and a Silverback Monza from them. I once asked him to price a Monza for me, and he quoted me R2k more than my friend paid. Pointed this out to him, and the response was "He is an A-list customer". Being a buyer, I had the proper response..."You have a problem then, as I am not a customer yet, so whether I am A-list or X-list, my money is not in your till"

 

Dylan is trying to work on the personal aspect of the store he is working at, which is what you all claim makes the LBS superior. If the price is right I will buy. I learnt to do my own technical research....a lot of by searching here on The Hub.

[TNT1]

Anyone want to come wash my motorbike? I spotted some nitty gritties on it this morning.

[DaLoCo]

Anyone want to come wash my motorbike? I spotted some nitty gritties on it this morning.

Sure, drop it of at my house

[TNT1]

Sure, drop it of at my house

 

You trained in accessing the nitty gritties?

[DaLoCo]

Uhm....yeah. Although I am not too sure about East Rand nitty gritties....here in Jbay our nitty gritties are more of the laid back type

[Cassie]

Just another corporate trying to cash in , looking at the margins and saying we can make good profits, SW is doing this purely for profit, no passion, I dont think cheap prices can replace knowledge passion and a love for the sport, SW wants your money, for them it a simple excirsize, if it fails they just say, nothing ventured nothing gained, we will put some more running shoes in the space, your LBS has to succeed, its their life, their livelyhood, their passion and their reason for being, your local supermarket will never serve you with the same passion and care as your local butcher, so their might be a place for SW in cycling, but for the serious and passionate cyclist their LBS will still be the best call

 

 

judging by all the moaning about LBS & their service & their prices etc etc.

 

I'd say you are way off mark with your comment!!!

 

OBVIOUISLY SW is not trying to do us a favour....just like LBS...they are in it as a commercial venture!! {take Cycle lab for an classic example!}

 

Give em a chance...use your head when it coems to advice offered from their sales reps / mechanics etc.

 

 

And good luck!! the more suppliers the merrier!! It will definately keep the LBS's on their toes!!

[Cassie]

R899 at Solomons (this month's special), R960 at Cape Multi Sports.

 

Ouch @ SWH

 

R1300 at my LBS.....so, internet buying still best option!

[MariusC]

Dylan will you be stocking other shoes than just Olympics?

[Beer4Recovery]

R1300 at my LBS.....so, internet buying still best option!

YUP!

[mtbDobby]

the way I see it - the more competition out there the better for the consumer...having said that, I find the prices are actaully not that cheap for a company such as sportsmans that can buy in volume. As such you have posted on forum where everyone here know where to go for good price and when it comes to shopping Im sure we all look online to deterim the best price avaialble..... if you factor that into your pricing model then perhaps you will do well on the sales front....sevicing, well thats a different story, you will always have unhappy clients.

[DylanFH]

Yes our range currently is Olympic, Shimano, Serfas and first ascent and cater for road and MTB. we have had those for the past few months already. Servicing is a different game all together, take for example your car, you could take it to the original dealer and not be happy with it, you could take it to some back yard mechanic and your car will never have driven better. same goes with our bikes.

 

i did mention in one of my earlier posts, our mechanic has been with us for about 3 years now, we recently sent him to cape town where he went to Merida, Trek and omnico for extensive training and I am more than confident he is 100 percent qualified to do any service you as customers will need. just in store we have trained our whole team how to strip down a bike, right down till the point where we open up your bearings and clean them out. we have a full workshop of new tools, prob about 12k worth, plus a truing stand and a few other essentials. so we are ready to make a difference.

Please guys i say this again, dont go to all the S.W. and expect this, its Fourways only. one day when i grow up and get to regional manager position i can have this influence on other stores.

 

thanks for all the comments and feedback. i read every message and take it into consideration

[CAAD4]

I haven't read all the pages, but Dylan I would luke to congratulate you for trying to up your game and for being brave enough to ask for people's opinions. I worked in retail for 14 years, some in stores, but most as a supplier and I can tell you, good retailers are very scarce in today's world...

 

Dylan learn from your mistakes and never stop listening to what your customers are asking for.. Working for a listed company, you will always have constraints, but don't forget that it all happens on the floor, when poor retailers are either out of touch with what their customers want, or too busy compiling damn SAP reports for Regional Managers...

 

Allan Hirsch is successful because he is in touch with and accessable to, his customers. It was very difficult having a supplier meeting with him, as he would never turn away a call from a customer.

 

Finally, remember "The customer may not always be right, but he will always be King..."

 

Good luck with your new concept store.

[petatodd]

Yawn

[Capcha]

I'm actually feeling sorry for SW right now. Getting a hidding from every direction.

[DR ◣◢]

I pop into the SW at Fourways Crossing quite often. Not once did I feel unwelcome.

 

The staff on the floor are friendly and will always say hello. They never stalk you or follow you around. The guy busy servicing a bike even moved the work stand out of the way to let me pass and look at a bike.

 

I will be back again. The same however can not be said for the Blackheath store. Rude staff, no aircon working etc etc.

[Big H*]

Lekker Dylan..... Skop gat. Alle sukses. Remember your customers will not only be suurtiet Hubbers.