Wiggle stocking Milani, Evans stocking Sabbath

giant_man

Really surprised to see Wiggle getting hold of the beautiful Milani bikes (Acciaio Puro and Replica are utterly gorgeous) have to say. But there again, after Wiggle stocking Lightweight, nothing seems to be sacred.

Not as surprised to see Sabbath going with Evans, for increased sales and coverage of the brand I'm guessing, just hope Evans can deliver customer service wise. I just hope it doesn't end in tears. Just another Boardman/Halfords situation?

hopper1

Hmmm, seems like Sabbath are taking quite a risk, in order to increase their presence in the market... :roll:

Gazzaputt

giant mancp wrote:

Really surprised to see Wiggle getting hold of the beautiful Milani bikes (Acciaio Puro and Replica are utterly gorgeous) have to say. But there again, after Wiggle stocking Lightweight, nothing seems to be sacred.

Have to sell products somewhere why not online?

greg roche

Hi,

Good to see people have noticed we're working with Evans.

For me, one of the posters hit the nail on the head, it’s a great opportunity to expand brand presence and volume. That is exactly why we wanted to do it. But I was also, if I'm honest, concerned that the brand would be sold correctly / knowledgeably in that ‘bigger chain’ environment.

We chose to work with Evans because they are looking to re-capture some of that specialist / high end market presence and were willing to work with us to ensure it is done properly. We’re only currently in-store at 4 branches: Their road specialist store at Waterloo Cut, their new flagship store at Mortimer Street, Deansgate Manchester which is very close to us and their Castleford store. These stores were selected because of a road bike bias, or because they were a distance away from our existing IBD customers.

Me and the guys here were able to deliver product training to the staff in those branches personally in conjunction with their national training manager. We were genuinely impressed with the levels of enthusiasm and existing knowledge that the staff had, and we’ve also had good feedback from customers who’ve dealt with Evans over our range.

I’d say that its only as risky for us as it is for them really. But the early signs are positive.

Thanks
Greg

pianoman

Well let's be brutally honest here, most of the carbon options that would compete with your TI bikes are pretty much the same in terms of spec at each price point, and the biggest difference is in the colours or the heritage/contemporary aspect (Bianchi vs Trek for example).

And it's not like other brands are avoiding big chains - Van Nicholas have a deal with Edinburgh Bicycle and Leisure Lakes, so good luck Greg. TI bikes are one of those things where you SHOULD read the marketing. As for some other brands......well we could all do a similar job waxing lyrical about them couldn't we?

giant_man

greg roche wrote:

Hi,

Good to see people have noticed we're working with Evans.

For me, one of the posters hit the nail on the head, it’s a great opportunity to expand brand presence and volume. That is exactly why we wanted to do it. But I was also, if I'm honest, concerned that the brand would be sold correctly / knowledgeably in that ‘bigger chain’ environment.

We chose to work with Evans because they are looking to re-capture some of that specialist / high end market presence and were willing to work with us to ensure it is done properly. We’re only currently in-store at 4 branches: Their road specialist store at Waterloo Cut, their new flagship store at Mortimer Street, Deansgate Manchester which is very close to us and their Castleford store. These stores were selected because of a road bike bias, or because they were a distance away from our existing IBD customers.

Me and the guys here were able to deliver product training to the staff in those branches personally in conjunction with their national training manager. We were genuinely impressed with the levels of enthusiasm and existing knowledge that the staff had, and we’ve also had good feedback from customers who’ve dealt with Evans over our range.

I’d say that its only as risky for us as it is for them really. But the early signs are positive.

Thanks
Greg

Well I just hope for your sake this does happen Greg.

FrankM

greg roche wrote:

Me and the guys here were able to deliver product training to the staff in those branches personally in conjunction with their national training manager. We were genuinely impressed with the levels of enthusiasm and existing knowledge that the staff had, and we’ve also had good feedback from customers who’ve dealt with Evans over our range.

And turnover of staff seeming to be what it is, I hope the training is not a one-off!