bike prices

bice

Anyone have experience of prices for 09 bikes? They should be going down, for obvious desperation reasons. And they can afford too. Giant's share price has risen 33 per cent in the last month, Merida's 24 per cent. Shimano has increased sales 12 per cent in a year. Metals are cheaper and falling in price, and apparently 130 million bikes made last year compared with 52 million cars. In the UK, the market won't stand much of a price increase on bikes. Expect a fall, and increasing sales volumes.

nickwill

I would think that you could be looking at significant price rises. The £ is struggling against other currencies including the euro. I can't imagine any French or Italian sourced components dropping in price!

k-dog

Prices will be going up by a reasonable amount.

Mostly due to the exchange rates - partly on imports and I thought that metals were getting more expensive rather than cheaper.

EssexSuffolk

Some 09 bikes are already out and prices have risen - check out the Giant prices. How this affects sales depends on a lot of things, not least of which the relative increase in petrol/car running costs.

bice

Prices will be going up by a reasonable amount.

What's a reasonable amount in a country where every asset is plummeting, sales drying up and deflation replacing inflation?

Metals have plunged as worldwide demand has fallen. A weak sterling is the strongest argument against imported cycle price falls.

But if sales volumes of bikes stagnate - they are almost certainly going to fall this coming year - then retaillers will go bust and manufacturers will have no sales at all.

Halfords, whose share price has fallen sharply, seems to have grasped this, with online discounts on top of discounted prices. Whether this is 08 or 09 stock is irrelevant.

cougie

All the info I was seeing a month or two ago was heading towards higher prices.

Not that I'm bothered cos i dont 'neeed' a new bike.

phelim1

prices are going up due to exchange rates most brands are up betweeen 50-£200 depending on price point.

biondino

Bice, your comments are either staggeringly naive or staggeringly optimistic!

The price of bikes will be largely determined by the cost of raw materials, of logistics and transport, and of the exchange rate. The latter alone has made imports to the UK tens of percentage points more expensive. "Metals" may be cheaper, but by your own argument, the demand for the materials needed to make bikes is booming, and I'm sure prices are too! You can't sell steel girders to a bike manufacturer!

And your argument about share prices - please. When was the last time you saw a company say "oh great, our share price is up - let's intentionally reduce our cashflow!!". They'll be sticking to what works, while always looking for opportunities to increase, not decrease their margins.

bice

you are talking about asking prices. My guess is that these will not be achieved in sufficient volume and prices will come down. Smart retailers like Halfords have already understood this and, to get any kind of custom, are slashing prices. Of course, there does come a time in a deflationary period when retailers/manufacturers cannot sell at any profit. Anyone in a shopping frame of mind for virtually any luxury product, like high-end bikes, should be getting a significant discount.

EssexSuffolk

Aren't Halfords opening up 50 new bike-specific stores? You seem to be generalising a number of industries as one; the bike industry, as many others, will respond in its own way to any recession. High-end bike sales may react differently from the mainstream models admittedly.

dombo6

rrps might be going up but you can rest assured when the stock doesn't shift you'll see some big reductions, especially from the chains like Evans

synchronicity

Apart from electronic devices, since when do prices ever go down?

STEFANOS4784

The new electronic gears from S don't seem that cheap