Chris Snr Posted January 8 Posted January 8 After 47 years in the “ saddle” I have decided that it is time to move on. Ever since starting a small cycle shop in Paarl on the 15th June 1977, we had many happy and satisfied clients. Cycle dealers and wholesalers were not always happy with us due to our competitive marketing strategies and pricing structure but that is business and what our clients wanted. With everything in live we at CHRIS Willemse Cycles have gone the full circle with the take over of MoreCorp / Cycle Lab some six years ago. Like all competitive sportsmen and women even in business you have to make a decision when to hang up your boots. And that is where I am at this stage. 28 February will be my last day at CWC. Yes it will be a sad day indeed. A new challenge beckons and many surprises are waiting on the horizon. As they say in the class is: Watch the space: Thank you once again for all your support and hopefully we will meet up again when I announce my new venture Chris Willemse gerriemtb, Rowl, Nickyr and 28 others 21 10
Desi Posted January 8 Posted January 8 All the best for whatever comes next, Chris! You're a legend in this industry.
Jan-Hendrik Hollenbach Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Thanks for all the years of supplying awesome and well-priced cycling goods to SA. Before you finally hang up your cleats, I hope you can share some of the rich history of CWC on a platform like BikeHub or Facebook. From the Peugot Punche, Whitey's involvement and the migration to online. Cheers. Rowl, DJuice and Zebra 3
DJuice Posted January 8 Posted January 8 11 minutes ago, Jan-Hendrik Hollenbach said: Thanks for all the years of supplying awesome and well-priced cycling goods to SA. Before you finally hang up your cleats, I hope you can share some of the rich history of CWC on a platform like BikeHub or Facebook. From the Peugot Punche, Whitey's involvement and the migration to online. Cheers. I`ll second this. Some nice BikeHub coverage of your personal bike collection please. Rowl and Zebra 2
Dicky DQ Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Is CWC going to be rebranded as Cycle Lab (well it is on paper already)? So then there will be 2 x Cycle Labs in Cape Town Northen Suburbs?
Sandro Posted January 8 Posted January 8 All the best with yiour new venture and thanks for playing a key role in the industry over the years!
Danger Dassie Posted January 8 Posted January 8 That’s some bonafide tenure, there aren’t many bike shops in the world, brands even, who have seen out a timeline like that. Without doubt there’s a wealth of experience, knowledge and insight. A heartfelt congratulations to you and your team. Looking forward to the next part of the journey. gerriemtb 1
Rowl Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Ja nee dis darem 'n innings! Geluk en baie sterkte met die volgende stappe, deel stories en foto's met ons asb. En dankie vir die boodskap hier!
Hairy Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Best wishes with your next adventure Chris! Will make a concerted effort to swing around CWC to shake your hand before you walk out the door for the last time. Working for you at CWC as I left school, not knowing a damned thing about cycling has put me on a love path with the sport and cycling culture over the past 27 years. Through this "job" I was able to scrape together enough money to pay for my further education, and to set up my life to where it is today. Through the years of cycling I have made true friends, the kind of persons who you can connect your soul with. So thank you for taking me into the CWC family back then, and allowing me to grow. Regards Jerome Shebeen, khz, hboli4 and 18 others 19 2
Shebeen Posted January 10 Posted January 10 On 1/8/2024 at 3:48 PM, Chris Snr said: After 47 years in the “ saddle” I have decided that it is time to move on. Ever since starting a small cycle shop in Paarl on the 15th June 1977, we had many happy and satisfied clients. Cycle dealers and wholesalers were not always happy with us due to our competitive marketing strategies and pricing structure but that is business and what our clients wanted. With everything in live we at CHRIS Willemse Cycles have gone the full circle with the take over of MoreCorp / Cycle Lab some six years ago. Like all competitive sportsmen and women even in business you have to make a decision when to hang up your boots. And that is where I am at this stage. 28 February will be my last day at CWC. Yes it will be a sad day indeed. A new challenge beckons and many surprises are waiting on the horizon. As they say in the class is: Watch the space: Thank you once again for all your support and hopefully we will meet up again when I announce my new venture Chris Willemse What a career in a tough market. Looks like CWC will even outlast CRC! I live many miles away south of the curtain, but have always got what I wanted from your store. My highlight will still be the approach you took with parallel importing when the local distribution was taking the proverbial and the refusal to get involved with the price fixing mess from the start. It showed you were there for the guy in the street and i still think that is the case. I think you have earned a well earned break, guessing the rest of the family don't get that luxury yet and will keep the flag flying? Hairy and Zebra 2
BuffsVintageBikes Posted January 10 Posted January 10 Lekka Chris, congrats on an incredible career in a tough industry, you can be well proud of all you have achieved. I'm pretty sure your next venture will be equally as successful. So as a fellow vintage bike enthusiast, what's happening to all those beautiful classics hanging up in the shop, can we expect to see them on display somewhere else soon? 😁 Underachiever and Zebra 2
babse Posted January 10 Posted January 10 so no last "tell us what you want" sale ? All the best moving forward! Underachiever, mecheng89 and Hairy 1 2
mecheng89 Posted January 10 Posted January 10 9 minutes ago, babse said: so no last "tell us what you want" sale ? All the best moving forward! I remember those. Legendary. Hairy 1
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