Two wholesalers in bicycle price-fixing charges get R4m administrative fines each

[Steven Holmes]

Wow!!! Thanks for sharing that.

[FCH]

Jeez louise...... If those are the actual minutes, then good luck to anyone telling me that wasnt a price fixing meeting.

Reputable shops, not discount stores..... Nice one.... Probably why CRC struggles with their dreadful reputation.....

Its not price fixing.... Says Mr Pienaar with his in depth legal knowledge

 

Its pretty clearly stated, you dare undercut or go outside the agreed pricing structure; your joint will feel no love from the wholesalers.

 

Who was the bright spark who thought taking minutes was a good idea?

[Eldron]

Thing is they achieved their goal...margins lifted regardless of guilt or not.

 

Ons k@k en betaal

Margins are much lower now than the margins they proposed lifting at the meeting. Onliners are waaay below the margins proposed.

[Ed-Zulu]

Margins are much lower now than the margins they proposed lifting at the meeting. Onliners are waaay below the margins proposed.

Due to which factors?

 

Increased competition or just pure economics and trying to survive?

[FCH]

because onliners were never part of the circle of trust! just a bunch of annoying discounters without a reputable reputation.

 

and yes the world now fits onto your smart phone

Due to which factors?

 

Increased competition or just pure economics and trying to survive?

[Ed-Zulu]

because onliners were never part of the circle of trust! just a bunch of annoying discounters without a reputable reputation.

 

and yes the world now fits onto your smart phone

So the answer lies in being a bike shop with an online catologue.

[raptor-22]

see there's the CSA okey blabbering in there as well. Funny little world neh?

[Bloukrans]

Eish

 

 

 

Why must these "inaccurate notes" also refer to my favourite store (Cajees)

 

I'm sure Sypercyling will run a full expose...not

[FCH]

no idea, assume if you ask CWC then yes; cant honestly see how anyone is operating and GROWING their business without a online presence these days, it doesn't have to be a retail arm per se; but at least list what you stock and prices. Sure there are the exceptions who get along nicely without it, until they aren't.

 

Spoke to a onliner recently and asked why they don't stock Shimano, and they told me; they aren't supplied with stock (not sure if its the full story, could be non payment or whatever) now if that is a decision that Shimano / coolheat has made to only supply physical brick and mortar shops and not to supply online retailers.... that would boggle my mind, again not sure if its the case or not. But no surprises with grey imports and CRC growing hand over fist.

 

But when I walk into a bikeshop and two or three people are just idling around, and the mechanic is the only one busy, then I dont buy the song of, "then we need to appoint people to check on orders, pack and ship etc"... no, you just need to get your existing people to be more effective. But thats not something you say to any company in SA. 

 

 

 

 

So the answer lies in being a bike shop with an online catologue.

[raptor-22]

Due to which factors?

 

Increased competition or just pure economics and trying to survive?

 

 

Margins are actually in line with where they have been. SOme brands insist on a retailer to mark up no less than 35% on bikes but not more than 50%. The guy on 35% won't discount unless you buy kit, bike computer etc from thm as well. The 50% guys will discount the price by 10-15%.

But some distributors still send their reps around to check on retailers prices to ensure they're not over discounting because other retailer moan if they do.

 

So I got my two bikes shops who I use because 1 went and didn;t agree with the suggestions and left.

The other didn't bother to even go to the meetings. Said outright it was wrong and got victimised for it.

 

The cycle ttrade in SA has been a cartel for many years.

[Bloukrans]

Pretty damning evidence if I ever saw any. One of our legal council just walked past my desk and ask if I knew about this! He reckons a clearer case of cartel behavior he's never seen. And to run salt into the wound they reckon what they did wasn't illegal. Lol

 

Legal counsel

 

City council

 

#just saying

[Cadre]

Sick to the Stomach. Not sure if I ever want to watch another Supercycling episode. Hopefully Multichoice make some educated decisions.

[Bike Whisperer]

The internet is a wonderful place, abundant with bike parts. The distributors have milked this industry for some time, but there are alternatives.

 

There are even some good local online retailers who still manage to keep pricing comparable to global prices. I'll support them, otherwise importing is the only option.

 

The trick is to do your homework to be informed about what these things really cost. There is no duty on bicycle parts (cycling clothes... yes), just VAT and a clearance fee, so normally this adds roughly 20% to the initially listed price, if shipping is free (which normally it is for moderate orders of around R1500... that buys very little). The exchange rate sucks, but this quickly also hits locally distributed stuff too, so pretty much balances out.

 

Shop around... unless you need it NOW.

[cdevil]

Reading this makes me keen to open an online store that sells grey/gray imports at cost.

[raptor-22]

Legal counsel

 

City council

 

#just saying

Thanks I've passed the message onto Apple to update their spell checker

[Mongoose!]

Edited June 2, 2016 by Mongoose!