Problems at Chain Reaction
- Ross
- Posts: 5742
- Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 8:53 pm
-
- Posts: 1437
- Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:14 pm
- Location: Perth
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby twowheels » Thu Apr 19, 2018 9:46 am
- MichaelB
- Posts: 14868
- Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:29 am
- Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby MichaelB » Thu Apr 19, 2018 9:52 am
- find_bruce
- Moderator
- Posts: 10615
- Joined: Mon May 09, 2011 8:42 pm
- Location: Sydney
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby find_bruce » Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:56 pm
- Mububban
- Posts: 3069
- Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:19 pm
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby Mububban » Thu Apr 19, 2018 2:27 pm
- Ross
- Posts: 5742
- Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 8:53 pm
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby Ross » Thu Apr 19, 2018 6:24 pm
https://www.bikebiz.com/news/wiggle-c r c-responds
-
- Posts: 825
- Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2015 10:57 am
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby Trevtassie » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:08 pm
- AUbicycles
- Site Admin
- Posts: 15592
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 2:14 am
- Location: Sydney & Frankfurt
- Contact:
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby AUbicycles » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:36 pm
The letter from the worker/whistleblower does share a staff view following the changes although doesn't put the business or their viability in doubt. The location changes were fairly publicly documented and meant a scaling down in the original location and scaling up with their 'partner' Wiggle. Though both share inventory, their are still presenting individually which is still a smart approach.
When companies expand, particularly those which are founded by a family and have a close knit staff and strong community integration - there are often casualties - this that is not satisfying and not necessarily an excuse. Management have to be cautious with regard to rumours because their intention is to manage the internal and external publicity - so the issue was not taking the right approach with the staff information when the initial story broke and subsequent changes... generally transparency and communication problem.
I think Bike24 is fairly independent in many ways, I wouldn't be concerned.
- 10speedsemiracer
- Posts: 4904
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
- Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby 10speedsemiracer » Fri Apr 20, 2018 12:06 am
Would echo this, very much so actually.AUbicycles wrote:Ross, would be good if you included at least a quote from the original source in your post for some context.
The letter from the worker/whistleblower does share a staff view following the changes although doesn't put the business or their viability in doubt. The location changes were fairly publicly documented and meant a scaling down in the original location and scaling up with their 'partner' Wiggle. Though both share inventory, their are still presenting individually which is still a smart approach.
When companies expand, particularly those which are founded by a family and have a close knit staff and strong community integration - there are often casualties - this that is not satisfying and not necessarily an excuse. Management have to be cautious with regard to rumours because their intention is to manage the internal and external publicity - so the issue was not taking the right approach with the staff information when the initial story broke and subsequent changes... generally transparency and communication problem.
I think Bike24 is fairly independent in many ways, I wouldn't be concerned.
Speculation within environments such as this (forums) can develop a momentum of its own. And I would further point out that none of us are 'in the room'.
Having been an external consultant within various apparently similar contexts, it's hard to know the truth, if ever.
One such context I was involved in approximately 14 years ago involved Director fraud of a Telco carrier by a reseller, exploiting the 'cost-to-manage' nature of the relationship (so subscribers never became ex-subscribers, they just floated in the ether) in addition to other issues. I found it, reported it to the parent Co (who had engaged me) with documented evidence, and a chain of retail outlets closed the following Monday, although there were other issues which led to my being engaged in the first place. Point being, staff and middle management are often the last to know of any issues, and sometimes never know.
It's hard to know the reality, with alternate scenarios being possible, including Wiggle perhaps trying to rationalize the c r c operation in order to make it more viable, or to bring it into line with the Wiggle model. Maybe c r c was struggling before the 'merger', and this is the fallout. Maybe c r c performance had fallen off since or because of the merger, we may never know.
That being said, whilst they appear to be maintaining the brands as separate entities (although we all know differently) there's absolutely no point in maintaining two of everything (warehouses, customer service, finance) when the end result can be maintained just by running two websites and two phone numbers (both feeding into the same call centre). Think we'll see further change, and maybe even see the end of the c r c brand eventually, before it all returns to some sort of balance.
From another perspective, this may provide an opening for locals like BikeBug, Cyclingdeal, BicyclesOnline and Pushys to step in and pinch some market share from Wiggle.
- 10speedsemiracer
- Posts: 4904
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
- Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby 10speedsemiracer » Fri Apr 20, 2018 12:10 am
Having two though, makes no sense. One needs to go, and I imagine the Watsons don't feel like driving to N.Ireland.
- Ross
- Posts: 5742
- Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 8:53 pm
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby Ross » Fri Apr 20, 2018 6:45 am
I was in a bit of a rush to get ready to go for a ride and happened to see the article while I was supposed to be getting ready and so quickly posted a link. I didn't think it would be very hard for people to read the heading and then click on the link and read the story for more information...AUbicycles wrote:Ross, would be good if you included at least a quote from the original source in your post for some context.
- AUbicycles
- Site Admin
- Posts: 15592
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 2:14 am
- Location: Sydney & Frankfurt
- Contact:
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby AUbicycles » Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:03 am
- Duck!
- Expert
- Posts: 9877
- Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 8:21 pm
- Location: On The Tools
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby Duck! » Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:17 pm
- AUbicycles
- Site Admin
- Posts: 15592
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 2:14 am
- Location: Sydney & Frankfurt
- Contact:
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby AUbicycles » Wed Apr 25, 2018 2:57 am
One thing I saw in a different segment is an individual consultant manages a customer, the same staff member follows an entire issue or process and the customer can also rate them so the staff also needs to go for quality and not just fast sales.
- Howzat
- Posts: 850
- Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 7:08 pm
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby Howzat » Wed Apr 25, 2018 7:16 am
This is not about expansion... when a company buys out a competitor, it never - and I mean never - does so in the best interests of the competitor.AUbicycles wrote:When companies expand, particularly those which are founded by a family and have a close knit staff and strong community integration - there are often casualties - this that is not satisfying and not necessarily an excuse.
- Ross
- Posts: 5742
- Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 8:53 pm
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby Ross » Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:33 pm
I haven't had much (any) experience in dealing with their customer service people but are you sure you aren't setting the bar too high as you have obviously extensive bike product experience and knowledge and therefore expect the same back? Genuine question, not trying to troll.Duck! wrote:All I can say is that as a contributor to their Q&A community I have found several of their staff members (one in particular) to be quite clueless, frequently offering plainly wrong information. Which isn't a good reflection on the company as a whole, as you would expect any business to actually know their products.
- Duck!
- Expert
- Posts: 9877
- Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 8:21 pm
- Location: On The Tools
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby Duck! » Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:35 pm
- 10speedsemiracer
- Posts: 4904
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
- Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby 10speedsemiracer » Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:42 pm
+1.Howzat wrote:This is not about expansion... when a company buys out a competitor, it never - and I mean never - does so in the best interests of the competitor.AUbicycles wrote:When companies expand, particularly those which are founded by a family and have a close knit staff and strong community integration - there are often casualties - this that is not satisfying and not necessarily an excuse.
Buy out is a means of removing something/someone which is bothering you, and also taking what they have (market share, customer base, branding). Wiggle were obviously losing market share or consumer affiliation to c r c while c r c were growing a brand presence. Simple solution, buy it. So now Wiggle have both customer bases and the combined market share, with some expected attrition. Now they're rationalizing the operation, as expected, and people are getting upset (can't understand how the staff didn't see this coming, of course they don't need two of everything).
- AUbicycles
- Site Admin
- Posts: 15592
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 2:14 am
- Location: Sydney & Frankfurt
- Contact:
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby AUbicycles » Thu Apr 26, 2018 2:31 am
Leading staff on and getting the most out of them for as long as possible is unfortunately pretty standard practice. Some staff will jump ship early while others accept the internal communication or tolerate the job.
-
- Posts: 110
- Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 2:20 pm
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby syu » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:31 pm
Recipient: Me
Sender: Chain Reaction Cycles
Box: Wiggle
They're not even trying anymore I did appreciate the free Haribo though.
- MichaelB
- Posts: 14868
- Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:29 am
- Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby MichaelB » Mon Apr 30, 2018 2:28 pm
I just got the crappy free wine vouchers. Don't drink anymore though, so Gummibears much better !!syu wrote:I received an order from c r c today, the package went something like this:
Recipient: Me
Sender: Chain Reaction Cycles
Box: Wiggle
They're not even trying anymore I did appreciate the free Haribo though.
-
- Posts: 884
- Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2012 8:26 pm
- Location: Launceston
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby mikgit » Mon Apr 30, 2018 7:03 pm
-
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon May 28, 2018 3:44 pm
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby Camnicholls » Tue Jun 26, 2018 2:55 pm
- AUbicycles
- Site Admin
- Posts: 15592
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 2:14 am
- Location: Sydney & Frankfurt
- Contact:
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby AUbicycles » Tue Jun 26, 2018 4:33 pm
I disagree - take a closer look at the standard margins (mark ups) for parts and accessories. This is the segment with the most sales while for pricier items, the margins are smaller but no longer (or not necessarily) small amounts of money.Camnicholls wrote:The margins are so incredibly low and the online buyer is typically fickle, given price, it's no surprises that some of these bigger players will die.
When retail outlets have high overheads, the margins of course play a role if they decide to adjust (if they are 'allowed' to) or if they have a different sales volume than planned.
Beyond this, the success of a local bike shop or online retailer is largely based on the ability of the management being able to understand and cater to a market which has been in flux for about 20 years due to online retail. If management decide to retail and operate in a manner that is not sustainable - this becomes a problem and can then affect the viability.
- 10speedsemiracer
- Posts: 4904
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
- Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office
Re: Problems at Chain Reaction
Postby 10speedsemiracer » Tue Jun 26, 2018 4:42 pm
+1AUbicycles wrote:I disagree - take a closer look at the standard margins (mark ups) for parts and accessories. This is the segment with the most sales while for pricier items, the margins are smaller but no longer (or not necessarily) small amounts of money.Camnicholls wrote:The margins are so incredibly low and the online buyer is typically fickle, given price, it's no surprises that some of these bigger players will die.
When retail outlets have high overheads, the margins of course play a role if they decide to adjust (if they are 'allowed' to) or if they have a different sales volume than planned.
Beyond this, the success of a local bike shop or online retailer is largely based on the ability of the management being able to understand and cater to a market which has been in flux for about 20 years due to online retail. If management decide to retail and operate in a manner that is not sustainable - this becomes a problem and can then affect the viability.
A situation which can be made even more difficult by franchise-mandated brand lines and pricing, in addition to monthly/quarterly/yearly franchise fees which provide questionable (if any) benefit for individual franchisees.
Evidenced by the recent re-branding of a couple of LBS's away from a well known franchise brand that I've noticed (no names)..
- General Australian Cycling Topics
- Info / announcements
- Buying a bike / parts
- General Cycling Discussion
- The Bike Shed
- Cycling Health
- Cycling Safety and Advocacy
- Women's Cycling
- Bike & Gear Reviews
- Cycling Trade
- Stolen Bikes
- Bicycle FAQs
- The Market Place
- Member to Member Bike and Gear Sales
- Want to Buy, Group Buy, Swap
- My Bikes or Gear Elsewhere
- Serious Biking
- Audax / Randonneuring
- Retro biking
- Commuting
- MTB
- Recumbents
- Fixed Gear/ Single Speed
- Track
- Electric Bicycles
- Cyclocross and Gravel Grinding
- Dragsters / Lowriders / Cruisers
- Children's Bikes
- Cargo Bikes and Utility Cycling
- Road Racing
- Road Biking
- Training
- Time Trial
- Triathlon
- International and National Tours and Events
- Cycle Touring
- Touring Australia
- Touring Overseas
- Touring Bikes and Equipment
- Australia
- Western Australia
- New South Wales
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Victoria
- ACT
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Country & Regional
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users
- All times are UTC+10:00
- Top
- Delete cookies
About the Australian Cycling Forums
The Australian Cycling Forums is a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.
Bicycles Network Australia
Forum Information
Connect with BNA
This website uses affiliate links to retail platforms including ebay, amazon, proviz and ribble.