Guest coenie Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 So I ordered a pair of shoes from my LBS last week Friday...and I was told that Spez is closed till the 3rd....no problem. Then on the 3rd I was told that the LBS can not submit the order as the Spez is upgrading their server...."how about manual?" LBS said that Spez is refusing to process it manually? Distributors, you REALLY care about your bike shops? So why do we need distributors again? They hide behind"we do not deal with the customer directly" and do not deliver a service.
AndreZA Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 What I don't get is how this whole country can shut down because it's xmas time. For everything you have to wait till the new year. How can business just shut down for weeks? There must be someone there to process oreders. Even our local garage store ran out of Simba chips.
MyGT Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 the story seems odd that the distributor is not willing to process the orders manually. there must a be another problem. in almost all retail and distribution companies, the downtime when upgrading any IT infrastructure is almost minimal or they ensure that their customers (LBS's) are taken cared off. Else the distributor's planning is very poor and has no interest in keeping his brand's reputation good.
Guest coenie Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 Just spoke to Sean at lepeloton.co.za and he said they will not do it manualy as they have small staff compliment and it will be SUCH a HUGE thing to sort out stock afterwords.... I am saying "not my problem" do a stocktake after to make sure things are 100% again...and post something on your website.... And then these guys moan about CRC and CWC... Why can they not process the manual documents once the system comes up and then correct the figures on the website...and until then post something on the website saying the database is down and stock numbers will be wrong
covie Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 Just spoke to Sean at lepeloton.co.za and he said they will not do it manualy as they have small staff compliment and it will be SUCH a HUGE thing to sort out stock afterwords.... I am saying "not my problem" do a stocktake after to make sure things are 100% again...and post something on your website.... And then these guys moan about CRC and CWC... Why can they not process the manual documents once the system comes up and then correct the figures on the website...and until then post something on the website saying the database is down and stock numbers will be wrong Because it will cost them 3k to get a clerk in for a week to update the system. Can't expect that from a multibillion rand distrobuter now can we, cmon gents be realistic.
Guest coenie Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 Sorry Covie....humble appoligies... this means that if their server ever had to be stollen or even worse the burn down, they will NEVER be in bussiness again? This means that they have no redundency? and the backkups are more than likely kept ontop of said server?
covie Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 lol coenie I dont get your last post, I was being sarcastic saying that they could not give a flying @#$ about servicing their customers since it would cause a minor inconveniance to have the records updated after the fact. Howerver if they cocked up their IT I will glady use my team to do a recovery with or without backups at the same special price they charge us for their goods.
Zula Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 They do nothing for us other than rip everybody off. Go price a bike on www.racycles.com and then get the RSA price. For exampe a cervelo s2 is 45k here and the same spec is 28k in USA. They also offer rubbish service. So in short, they do nothing for me.
eggsovereasywithteandtoast Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 So why do we need distributors again? Distributors exist because the brand houses prefer this form of business organization. Distributors, you REALLY care about your bike shops? Poor communication on the part of the distributor and project manager.Notices should have been mailed with statements end Nov or via e-mail to inform the customer(LBS) of the December shutdown and also the Server project downtime. Customer has been informed and should plan requirements accordingly.The LBS is often also guilty of poor stock management because of the presence of distributor. The LBS believes that distributor presence justifies minimal stock holding (tying up capital). This is undue and an unrealistic expectation on the distributor.The LBS has failed you by not stocking appropriately for a robust season. Do not blame the distributor alone.
Justin Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 What gets me is the local distributors' refusal to supply local online shops (not just cycling equipment...squash, tennis etc as well.). What should they care, they still sell the same stock whether through a LBS or a shopping site.Shops and distributors all in cahoots if you ask me.
eggsovereasywithteandtoast Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 What gets me is the local distributors' refusal to supply local online shops (not just cycling equipment...squash, tennis etc as well.). What should they care, they still sell the same stock whether through a LBS or a shopping site.Shops and distributors all in cahoots if you ask me. Thats not difficult to figure out. On-line business will complicate the distributor agreement in terms of regions defined and fair play commissions. How does one regulate the geographic market scope once one goes in to cyberspace (the global market)
Bat-ass Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 i was in the UK last year. Specialized bottle cages at Evans cycles (big retailer) 8 pounds.... cheapest i'v seen them here = R 235-R 275. Specialized long fingered gloves 24 pounds.... cheapest here R460 - R500 plus...!!!??? Butt rogering on Specialized goods in SA.
davidw Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 I am sure if you go to the concept store in Melrose Arch you will get them.
Bat-ass Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 im hoping the concept stores here (and the new one here in KZN) set there prices more globally related?
covie Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 Thats not difficult to figure out. On-line business will complicate the distributor agreement in terms of regions defined and fair play commissions. How does one regulate the geographic market scope once one goes in to cyberspace (the global market) Well its a global market and a global economy, regulated geographical markets are so 1982. The question is why do countries like Aus, US, UK, Germany, even the bloody Ukraine have 10 times more gear to choose from at far better prices? The same rules surely apply to a geographical region regardless of which region it is. The answer is simple, these countries have an open market and if distrobuters tried the shait they pull here in one of those countries they would have been fined anual profits x 1.5. Hence they spend millions on what the consumer want and then bargain to get the best deals for those products. In SA our distrobuters try and pickup the bargain's (where they can make the biggest margins) and then force it down our throaghts since its the only available models to choose from.
eggsovereasywithteandtoast Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 i was in the UK last year. Specialized bottle cages at Evans cycles (big retailer) 8 pounds.... cheapest i'v seen them here = R 235-R 275. Specialized long fingered gloves 24 pounds.... cheapest here R460 - R500 plus...!!!??? Butt rogering on Specialized goods in SA. I'm certainly not defending some prices around here. But check what that you admit to the size of the retailer. These guys probably sell 100 units for every 1 sold here. They are in a position to negotiate on volume and secondly on total order value per annum. No LBS take the initiative nor do they have the capital nor do they have the market to negotiate these order volumes. Its not comparing apples to apples. Then consider the product once it gets here.There are logistic costs (forwarding and clearing) which are high in RSA. Once destuffed the next cost is local freight costs between distributor and LBS. Importantly also look at the interest rates here related to business finance and warehousing. All of this has to be covered in a reasonably high GP by the distributor and the LBS.What are the terms? COD? 30days 90 days 120 days? all makes a difference to the price you are going to get it for.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now