will decathlon bring their top end bikes to our shores?

[Shebeen]

Van Rysel RCR is winning UCI races and sold out immediately

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-gear/so-fast-it-out-paced-the-order-book-decathlons-van-rysel-super-bike-sells-out-in-hours/

 

Dubau is not going to badly with the rockrider XC bike either

https://bikerumor.com/pro-bike-check-joshua-dubau-rockrider-xc-bike/

 

 

They've got some decent bikes available, and i guess if they sell enough they might send out more in the range.  Anyone biting?

https://www.decathlon.co.za/3414-bicycle?order=product.price.desc&q=0

 

[dave303e]

9 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

Van Rysel RCR is winning UCI races and sold out immediately

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-gear/so-fast-it-out-paced-the-order-book-decathlons-van-rysel-super-bike-sells-out-in-hours/

 

Dubau is not going to badly with the rockrider XC bike either

https://bikerumor.com/pro-bike-check-joshua-dubau-rockrider-xc-bike/

 

 

They've got some decent bikes available, and i guess if they sell enough they might send out more in the range.  Anyone biting?

https://www.decathlon.co.za/3414-bicycle?order=product.price.desc&q=0

 

I had a close look at their Carbon XC rockhopper the other day in store. GX with a recon fork and boost spacing. Really not a bad looking bike, I would be happy to take it for an expedition or a big ride and not be stressed about whether is it good enough.

Similar spec Specialized is R50, so at R27k it is a steal. The fork and brakes may not be 100% comparable but ya it's not a bad option.

[guidodg]

their top end carbon and titanium gravel offerings are really nice too and extremely well priced...

[DieselnDust]

They’d sell well if sold in SA. Good competition for TitanRacing assuming decathlon brings them in and sells direct to consumer because we just know a distributor will be looking to pay off a few Porsches with these….

[betaboy]

They won’t be cheap… anybody seen the rand of late.🫣 anybody know how much it’s fallen since Ram my cash in the sofa took over? 🤭

[Jbr]

It was said they’d sell van rysel outside of decathlon, to be honest I don’t understand this choice they already can’t keep up with demand in France in their own stores

[DieselnDust]

2 hours ago, Jbr said:

It was said they’d sell van rysel outside of decathlon, to be honest I don’t understand this choice they already can’t keep up with demand in France in their own stores

That just won’t work here. I’d rather just support Cabal because I’d buy a van Rysel due to the value the brand offers. That value will just be eroded through a high street store.

 

 

[RossTopher]

i've asked a number of times through various channels and its the same story.

those bikes on the foreign sites are not part of the SA catalog, and they wont receive any of the newer stock this year.
you can let them know of a specific bike you're keen on. they will log the request with the supplier (8-10 week turnaround to likely let you know its a NO.

we only get overflow.

what baffles me most is how they havent opened a store in the WC yet, they'd clean up

[Danger Dassie]

Outside of a constrained economy. We’re a saturated market, and to be frank ,with hard cycling goods Decathlon would struggle against the established brands here in spec/pricing value. Especially the local ones. 
Sure for a short/medium period, because something new and shiny. But ultimately not as big an impact as people may think. 

Some gems in the soft goods though like their Van Rysel rain shell. Same in their other areas, find some really good stuff, particularly the hiking and camping. 
Likewise I can’t believe they’ve not opened up branches in KZN, Eastern and Western Cape. 

[mecheng89]

12 hours ago, betaboy said:

They won’t be cheap… anybody seen the rand of late.🫣 anybody know how much it’s fallen since Ram my cash in the sofa took over? 🤭

Following President Jacob Zuma's resignation in February 2018, Ramaphosa was elected unopposed as President of South Africa by the National Assembly on 15 February 2018. - Wikipedia

I heard just the other day when he took office, it was about R13/$. We all know where is sits now.

https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/history/USD-ZAR-2018

 

[NC_lurker]

8 hours ago, RossTopher said:

what baffles me most is how they havent opened a store in the WC yet, they'd clean up

Yeah, Southern suburbs preferably given that the other large retail options are in the north!

[dave303e]

7 hours ago, RossTopher said:

i've asked a number of times through various channels and its the same story.

those bikes on the foreign sites are not part of the SA catalog, and they wont receive any of the newer stock this year.
you can let them know of a specific bike you're keen on. they will log the request with the supplier (8-10 week turnaround to likely let you know its a NO.

we only get overflow.

what baffles me most is how they havent opened a store in the WC yet, they'd clean up

macro economics of their network makes a lot of sense IMO. 

Gauteng is small enough for 1 distribution hub/dark store servicing 25% of the population and 33% of the GDP.

WC would mean another DC, for 12% of the population and 13% gdp.
Yes on the smaller scale for cycling the WC number of cyclists would null and void the above, but I think for general sports and spending power it makes sense to flood GP and then look at going to other regions.

Your bigger loss in WC is not having Leroy Merlin...

[RossTopher]

6 minutes ago, dave303e said:

macro economics of their network makes a lot of sense IMO. 

Gauteng is small enough for 1 distribution hub/dark store servicing 25% of the population and 33% of the GDP.

WC would mean another DC, for 12% of the population and 13% gdp.
Yes on the smaller scale for cycling the WC number of cyclists would null and void the above, but I think for general sports and spending power it makes sense to flood GP and then look at going to other regions.

Your bigger loss in WC is not having Leroy Merlin...

Gauteng has 5 stores, in odd places, with little to no foot traffic when I've been up there. WC may have a smaller pop, but the % that is "outdoorsy" is massive. A single shop, using the JHB DC seems a no brainer, but them in not in logistics/SCM. 

 

Completely agree on Leroy, starved of a decent one stop home&outdoor store. Would certainly shake Builders up. 

[The Ouzo]

4 minutes ago, RossTopher said:

Completely agree on Leroy, starved of a decent one stop home&outdoor store. Would certainly shake Builders up. 

but they havent shaken buildesr up in jhb. There was an initial shake because they were new, but they've turned into just a green branded BW. I often see the same cars going between the 2 stores.

 

I think the problem DC will have in SA with cycling goods (and possibly other sports too) is that the perception of them being a makro or Mr Price Sports style store, i.e. mass consumer type of product and not good enough for the golfer turned cyclist type who think they need the best.

 

[Danger Dassie]

32 minutes ago, RossTopher said:

Gauteng has 5 stores, in odd places, with little to no foot traffic when I've been up there. WC may have a smaller pop, but the % that is "outdoorsy" is massive. A single shop, using the JHB DC seems a no brainer, but them in not in logistics/SCM. 

 

Completely agree on Leroy, starved of a decent one stop home&outdoor store. Would certainly shake Builders up. 

Don’t know about the others  but Bryanston, HP on Roodepoort and Greenstone in Edenvale are in high density areas and have pretty high foot traffic.
As far as Leroy’s goes, I’ve had better in pricing and service at Mega Mica and Chamberlains. 

[dave303e]

20 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

but they havent shaken buildesr up in jhb. There was an initial shake because they were new, but they've turned into just a green branded BW. I often see the same cars going between the 2 stores.

 

I think the problem DC will have in SA with cycling goods (and possibly other sports too) is that the perception of them being a makro or Mr Price Sports style store, i.e. mass consumer type of product and not good enough for the golfer turned cyclist type who think they need the best.

 

We honestly pick and choose when to go there, mainly when we want EU imported stuff. Some of the flooring, tapware, tools and stuff you definitely can't get as good at builders/chamberlains/mica. But there is certain stuff that it is definitely in a different league. The online platform that is now nearly like a marketplace for local retailers is also useful.

My annual hardware/builders spend means I get a solid rebate from Chamberlains so it is worth me shopping there most of the time and getting delivered.

 

The perception is a bad thing though. I have a few running shorts from DC that are better than most major brand shorts. Day to day I wear their hunting long pants and hiking shorts. Last few weeks I have been wearing swimming goggles and they are as good as any speedo pair I have ever owned.