Bike retailer cartel

[Nialls101]

I wonder if DSTV/Supersport will continue to support Mr McLean... they have a close and profitable relationship, would be a crime if Supersport lost their sponsors like Medsceme and Telkom Business.

 

SABC are in financial trouble, 700mil or so and I'm sure they would be happy to pickup a show that brings in some big corps.

 

I tend to think cyclist are honest and good people at heart, this is shown by the dubious info been leaked on the Hub last year, it's a good thing.

 

Innocent till proven guilty. Still don't think prices with drop in these tough times.

 

[gummibear]

15 pages.......

30 pages.......

45 pages.......

 

i recon this thread will be "iced" before it hits 15....

 

 

It's on 12 only 3 to go!

[Tumbleweed]

Has it been discussed that between the minutes being posted' date=' and now, that CycleLab has changed owners? Did McLean now this was coming and tried to get out while the getting was good? [/quote']

 

did he own it at the time?

Dunno. I'm asking. I seem remember the whole new owners of cyclelab debate coming after the secret price fixing meeting scandal...

 

i don't think he did. seem to recall someone in the know telling me so.

[Thug]

I have to agree with curious ken, I'm not so sure that the retailers are ripping the ass out of it, probably more likely the wholesaler/importer.

 

Local retailers are selling XTR big chainrings for between R 2.5 - R 2.8k, whilst the middle chainrings are going for around R 2 - R 2.2k. That's R 4.5k for  2 chainrings.

 

CWC is selling the whole crank including BB for R 4.7k

 

I can't get into CRC at the moment to see what they are selling the crank for.

 

 

 

[TNT1]

 

15 pages.......

30 pages.......

45 pages.......

 

i recon this thread will be "iced" before it hits 15....

 

 

It's on 12 only 3 to go!

 

Ya. B@stards... I had to drink warm vodka cause of this.

 

[Wolweseun]

these poor bike shops make next to nothing and service your bikes for even less' date=' then get dragged over the coals when they realize that if they don't do anything about their margins they're going to go belly up...
[/quote']


The whole point of a free market, is that it keeps things fair and just and protects the consumer.

If the shops are struggling because competitors are cutting prices, then it means the free market is doing what it's supposed to.

What it leads to is a few bikeshops closing down until the market has levelled out and has few enough bikeshops to enable them all to be sustained by the existing customer base.

That way the consumer doesn't get fleeced, which is ultimately what cartels do.....take away the competition which gives them free reign to charge whatever they want and there's practically nothing the consumer can do.

They broke, or attempted to break, the law. Is that what we now call 'doing something for our sport'....?

Burn them at the stake!

 

You are 100% right

This is exactly what it is about, not allowing other businesses the freedom to be competitive and use a different model 

 

[GordonD]

I agree.If some shops are running their operations better than others why should they be protected.Its the same in any business if you do it right.right price and right service levels why should the others be protected Maybe some people believe they are bigger than the sport itself and are not in it for the sport.Try Johnsons cycles in Edenvale great prices and even better service.

GordonD2009-03-06 05:01:40

[idrive]

Maybe I am very stoopid or I miss the point often, but how have A McLean, F Pienaar etc done so much for cycling?

 

If I'm correct, it looks like they used cycling as a tool to make money. Sure it also happens to be a 'hobby' and a passion, which makes it a lot easier to turn the business into a success.

 

Henry Ford didn't build motorcars so people could become more mobile  - no sir, it was a business, a very proffitable business. 

 

So, hasn't cycling enabled McLean & Pienaar to make a lot of money?

 

But why is there only one monopolies commission?

idrive2009-03-06 08:40:13

[fandacious]

 

Try Johnsons cycles in Edenvale great prices and even better service.

 

another amazingly insightful first post

 

[Hobbler]

Pro cycles just as good

[Sean Badenhorst]

 

This just in...

 

 

Competition Commission enquiry - Cycle Lab response

 

 

In the recent enquiry made by the Competition Commission, it has been alleged that the cycling industry met to discuss possible price-fixing schemes on cycling equipment and collusion to ?drive up? margins. Cycle Lab, as one of the attendees of this meeting and as a leading retailer in the industry, would like to respond as follows:

 

 

Late last year over 40 of the country?s cycling wholesalers and retailers were invited to gather in Johannesburg at an open conference to discuss the state of the industry. The aim of the forum was to generate solutions to overcome the effects of the economic recession, with the objective of helping all SA retailers develop a sustainable business.

 

 

This meeting was not an attempt to fix industry pricing, as alleged by the Competition Commission, but rather assessing the cycling industry and establishing ways to align the South African market with current international trends. All parties present debated possible solutions.

 

 

It has come to our attention that the minutes captured at this open forum were inaccurate and, based on this document, the Competition Commission felt compelled to launch an enquiry into the matter. However, all members present will attest to the actual intent of the meeting and, to ensure the matter is resolved, have undertaken to sign legal affidavits to this effect.

 

 

As an attendee of the meeting, Cycle Lab believes that the conference was aimed at providing positive outcomes for the entire industry ? wholesalers, retailers and consumers ? and that, once the Commission has completed its enquiry, they will find that this meeting was held with the best intentions for all involved.  As one the country?s leading cycle retailers, we would like to re-affirm our commitment to our consumers.

 

 

Andrew McLean,

 Cycle Lab Director

Sean Badenhorst2009-03-06 11:16:19

[Guttersnipe]

Oh come on - you are a magazine editor, surely you can see through such a transparent bit of spin.

[Sean Badenhorst]

 

 

Oh come on - you are a magazine editor' date=' surely you can see through such a transparent bit of spin.

[/quote']

 

I didn't pass comment on it. I just posted it verbatim after receiving in my email as a member of Cycle Lab club. Seemed relevant considering it relates directly to the topic. As a magazine editor, I know that both sides of a story also count.

 

 

 

Sean Badenhorst2009-03-06 12:16:10

[Guttersnipe]

 

 

Your comments on this issue so far have been uniformly defensive of maclean et al. Balance requires listening to both sides of the story not believing both sides. Maclean says nothing in this statement that he hasn't said on the hub before. And when it comes down to detail he denies slagging off cajees and he says his comments on jetskis were misrepresented. He hasn't once contested that the thrust of the meeting was about co-ordinating margins, which is illegal. I hear you are laumching a new magazine, and I really hope it flies, but I also hope it is a bit braver about alienating potential advertisers. In the end advertisers follow readers, and readers follow credible content. Anyway, off to unpack the reba 29er fork I just bought for 3k from crc, and no longer feel guilty about.

[HammerHed]

The damage control has started.

[Guest Agteros]

What Sean posted - on Cycle Lab website as well: http://www.cyclelab.co.za/default.asp?id=291071&des=article

 

And it is VERY relevant to this thread. Surely the nature of the forum allows everybody to bring al their tidbits of info to the proverbial table so that everybody can make up their own minds based on as much factual info as possible?