News
Trek CEO Says He Saw the Boom Coming Quicker Than Most
In a lengthy but fascinating story first published on USA website marker.medium.com, Trek’s global CEO and owner John Burke says that he saw the sudden upturn in bicycle demand sooner that others in the industry and was able to place vital orders with suppliers, including Shimano in particular, ahead of the stampede that followed. Despite…
Survey of Australian Bike Dealers Documents Huge Sales Spike
Every bike industry member knows that bike sales have boomed since March. Empty bike dealer showrooms and wholesaler warehouses bear testament to this fact. But exactly how many extra bikes have been sold? Bicycle Industries Australia (BIA) recently conducted a nationwide survey of bicycle shops to answer this question. Before sharing the results, here are…
How’s Business – August 2020
Welcome to our monthly conversation with six bike shops selected from across Australia and New Zealand. Knowing in advance that bicycle stock shortages would be a topical response this month, our follow up question was, ‘Do you think it’s possible for a workshop to be a profit centre in its own right?’ Damien Lack of…
This TV Advertisement Was Banned!
Take a look at this TV advertisement for a new bicycle and decide for yourself if it was sufficiently offensive to be banned from TV. That’s exactly what happened when the Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité (ARPP) ruled that the film cannot be broadcast in France because it creates ‘a climate of anxiety’…
Cassons Comment Upon Their Stock Availability
Last month we ran this article in which we asked Australia’s leading P&A wholesalers to comment about disruptions to their stock supplies and other business impacts due to Covid-19. Given that stock shortages have been such a major issue, we were not surprised to see that it was our most popular article in last month’s…
Cannondale and GT to End Model Year System
As every dealer knows, most of the world’s bicycle brands have for many years operated on a model year system. The theoretical upside of this system is to drive consumer demand through a desire to own the current year model. But the reality is that most models don’t really change that much from one year…
Former Shimano President Yoshizo Shimano Dies
Yoshizo Shimano, third son of company founder Shozaburo Shimano has died at the age of 85. After earning his economics degree from Keio University in Tokyo, he briefly worked at an automobile sales company before joining Shimano Industrial Co., Ltd., now Shimano Inc. He established the company’s first overseas operation, Shimano American Corporation in New…
Have You Used Your 2020 Yearbook Yet?
What do you do when you’re looking for a source of supply for a particular brand or product category? Since 1996 most bicycling trade members have relied upon the Yearbook to tell them who is supplying every brand and product type. Just in case you missed it, last month we launched The Latz Report Yearbook…
BikeSportz Picks up Alpinestars
BikeSportz is broadening its product portfolio with the well known brand Alpinestars that’s most closely associated with MTB. From 9th July 2020 onwards, Alpinestars cycling apparel and protective gear is available for dealer orders in Australia. Kahill Teirney, Alpinestars Australian Brand Manager said, “Designed to perform on epic mountain adventures and local bike trails, Alpinestars…
Mavic Secures a New Owner
Having gone into receivership in May and gone through the courts to find new backers, no less than 15 different parties expressed interest in purchasing this iconic French company. On On 22nd July the new owner was announced by the court. Mavic is now owned by the Bourrelier Group, a French investment firm. According to…