The politics of discounts.

The very latest industry insights are rather gloomy and people outside of it are somehow unaware of the carnage currently raging through the ranks. Big names are failing and the ripple effect goes further than ever in testing the smaller brands and pushing them to their limits.

The discounts have always been affecting the bottom lines and pushing those margins lower and lower. But at the current rate, we will all be selling stuff for less than we buy it for if things remain the same; the discount phenomenon is wearing off and it leaves a massive hole in the operation of many establishments.

We never got involved in the price wars here at The Bikes College- we just offered the best possible price for all our supporters. People who just walked in and asked for a discount get offered a price £5 more than originally and their request gets shunned by themselves immediately. Discounts aren’t the driving force at TBC but rather a reward for a long custom and/or a special position in our company (sponsored riders, local clubs, etc.) and they proved to be an amazing incentive towards all the customers.

Discounts are good when attracting people back in. Discounts are awful when used to attract new people.

That’s where the whole retail goes wrong and where the cycling industry certainly cripples everyone currently. The discount phenomenon is gone and if we’re not careful it’ll take us with it.

Instead of discounting add value; stop discounting and add value.