Evans Cycles

tangled_metal

There's a Halfords everywhere so which stores aren't near Halfords?

My local Evans is staffed by a mix of straight out of school trainees to people who seem to know their stock and know about bikes in general plus in depth. A local LBS in the same town that's run by two older fellas deep in a part of the local cycle scene (usually the older club cyclists) are the sorts most think of as having the most knowledge. Well tbh of they do they keep it to themselves because with the cash to spend but not sure what's best they gave no advice only told me to effectively come back when I knew what I wanted. I told them what the bike was going to be used for but their attitude was p1$$ poor. Went into Evans and got terrific service. Now I know what I want so perhaps they would serve me but tbh that lbs is dead to me as a retailer.

My point is you can't make generalisations that work everywhere. I would say that all our lbs near us aren't remotely good. The best places are Evans and much further away wheelbase Staveley. I've yet to find an lbs in my patch worth visiting. To give you an idea of how bad, I'd rather buy things from Halfords (not bikes obviously but tools and consumables, even parts).

So if Evans cycles dies completely it would be a disappointing situation for us.

graeme_s-2

If Halfords buys them out, I would expect them to merge them with their Cycle Republic brand, with either all of the Evans stores they choose to keep open being rebranded as Cycle Republics, or all of their existing Cycle Republics being rebranded as Evans Cycles depending on which brand they feel has the best recognition/"value".

shiznit76

Got to say, i was in Evans tonight and the staff were excellent, no complaints at all, very on the ball and good advice

First.Aspect

Tangled Metal wrote:

My point is you can't make generalisations that work everywhere.

There's nothing wrong with generalisations though, providing you understand what that means. I mean, you wouldn't respond to "the UK life expectancy is 82", with, "some people live longer than that" would you? Maybe you would.

carbonclem

So if Halfords take on Evans, along with Cycle Surgery thats the high street chains wrapped up along with the 'exclusivity' of the Boardman, Hoy, Pendleton, Trott and Wiggins ranges of bikes.

bmxboy10

Please no!

Bumo_b

Personally I see nothing wrong with having Saturday lads and newbies in a shop as long as there is an experienced "expert" in the branch. I was in my local Halfords the other day and was served by a Saturday lad who went out of his way to be helpful and find the correct BB for my folding. At the end of the sale, he quickly went to the experienced person to confirm what he had said was correct and apologised but stated he was still learning. I found it quite refreshingly honest, I would much rather shop in a place of humble people than up your nose experts, although obviously there is a happy medium.

awavey

Bumo_b wrote:

Personally I see nothing wrong with having Saturday lads and newbies in a shop as long as there is an experienced "expert" in the branch. I was in my local Halfords the other day and was served by a Saturday lad who went out of his way to be helpful and find the correct BB for my folding. At the end of the sale, he quickly went to the experienced person to confirm what he had said was correct and apologised but stated he was still learning. I found it quite refreshingly honest, I would much rather shop in a place of humble people than up your nose experts, although obviously there is a happy medium.

that was Halfords supposed goal when they caught the cycling bug wasnt it ? to have an expert, cytech qualified, in each branch, which seemed to work for abit but then ended up with Id guess most leaving over pay and conditions which left some stores understaffed with the qualified people and they couldnt do 7 days a week all opening hours, and then most bikes being assembled with forks back to front and bolts loose.

fine I dont goto Halfords to chew the cud about technicalities of bikes, but I do like to feel if I do ask "will this fit this type of bike, or what I can fit to this bike, ie the exact same bike you sell in your store right there (its a Boardman dont fret)" Id like to think the answer is based on knowledge/reality and not just a guess.

and fair enough Ive had exactly the same problems in an LBS when their trainee saturday jobbers have sold me mudguards,jockey wheels and even I think a derailluer hanger none of which fitted the bike properly even though I told them the correct details, after the 3rd time I learnt not to bother buying bits like that from them so its certainly not limited to Halfords

pblakeney

Mike Ashley?
Bye bye Evans.

Vino'sGhost

awavey wrote:

Bumo_b wrote:

Personally I see nothing wrong with having Saturday lads and newbies in a shop as long as there is an experienced "expert" in the branch. I was in my local Halfords the other day and was served by a Saturday lad who went out of his way to be helpful and find the correct BB for my folding. At the end of the sale, he quickly went to the experienced person to confirm what he had said was correct and apologised but stated he was still learning. I found it quite refreshingly honest, I would much rather shop in a place of humble people than up your nose experts, although obviously there is a happy medium.

that was Halfords supposed goal when they caught the cycling bug wasnt it ? to have an expert, cytech qualified, in each branch, which seemed to work for abit but then ended up with Id guess most leaving over pay and conditions which left some stores understaffed with the qualified people and they couldnt do 7 days a week all opening hours, and then most bikes being assembled with forks back to front and bolts loose.

fine I dont goto Halfords to chew the cud about technicalities of bikes, but I do like to feel if I do ask "will this fit this type of bike, or what I can fit to this bike, ie the exact same bike you sell in your store right there (its a Boardman dont fret)" Id like to think the answer is based on knowledge/reality and not just a guess.

and fair enough Ive had exactly the same problems in an LBS when their trainee saturday jobbers have sold me mudguards,jockey wheels and even I think a derailluer hanger none of which fitted the bike properly even though I told them the correct details, after the 3rd time I learnt not to bother buying bits like that from them so its certainly not limited to Halfords

Im not sure cytech is a guarantee of quality tbh. Id rather have a competent and engaged technician

crescent

I’ve just bought a bike from Evans using their trade in deal. It was a significant purchase, in the region of £2000. I’m generally a fan of Evans, I like the feel of their shops - there is usually a good range in store and plenty of scope for click and collect. They’re perhaps not the cheapest but probably my retailer of choice in terms of high street bike shops. My latest purchase was a bit of a disappointing experience, though. I reserved the bike in-store, having tried it for size etc, and arranged to collect it in 48hrs when it would have been safety checked and PDI’d etc - no problems there, I could happily do it myself but appreciate they have a responsibility to check the bike first. When I went to collect it there were a couple of niggles about the process. First of all I asked about using my British Cycling discount and was told “we don’t do that”. I assured them that they did and eventually the supervisor came over and confirmed that they did but it was not applicable for an interest free HP purchase or on an already discounted trade in deal - fair enough. The bike was then brought out for me with a dirty great “reserved” sticker on the top tube - this was removed but left a sticky mess on the paintwork - the supervisor cleaned this off but it was a strange place to put it. By this point they were in a bit of a flap because the process was stuttering a little. I am not a difficult customer by any means, I was not jumping up and down complaining, just standing quietly looking forward to getting my new bike. When it came to setting up the saddle (again something they are obliged to do) I intervened and stopped the guy because he wasn’t using a torque wrench on the carbon seatpost wedge - I told him I would do it when I got the bike home and could try it with my cycling kit on. The actual HP application was done by me on my own, at a small desk next to the counter. I was literally handed an iPad and asked to progress the application, handing it back to the assistant at the appropriate points. Quite strange, I thought. Lastly when I got the bike home and tried it on my rollers the indexing on the gears was very poor - I fixed it with a couple of simple adjustments but the point is I shouldn’t have had to.
All in all a bit of a shoddy service - lovely bike and the three assistants I dealt with during both store visits were genuinely nice individuals to deal with but just not particularly slick at their jobs.

shiznit76

Sports Direct and JD sports both rivalling Halfords for Evans. Mike Ashely spreading his net wide. TbF, if he did take them over they might prove more of a competition for wiggle etc

Dorset_Boy

Sports Direct bought Tri UK within the last year and plan on opening a couple more Tri UK stores beyond the original in Yeovil I believe.

Vino'sGhost

Dorset Boy wrote:

Sports Direct bought Tri UK within the last year and plan on opening a couple more Tri UK stores beyond the original in Yeovil I believe.

I didnt know that. I have to say ive been in tri uk and it was so full of stuff it was like a bikey equivalent of sportsdirect. Great shop.

thefog

Dorset Boy wrote:

Sports Direct bought Tri UK within the last year and plan on opening a couple more Tri UK stores beyond the original in Yeovil I believe.

They are opening a new flagship at Shirebrook this month

flasher

Sports Direct also bought The Sweatshop, now nowhere near the shop it used to be

overlord2

I can't imagine BMC will be happy to see their major outlet in a 'Sports Direct' store. BMC will probably find another way to sell.

Its a shame for the Pinnacle brand, they make good bikes aimed at british riders and the british weather.

timothyw

Neither bid has actually been successful yet has it? Or do you know something we don't?

shiznit76

If Adidas and Nike are happy to be sold by sports direct I can't see BMC complaining, could actually increase their sales with increased footfall. I don't think people should be alarmed by Mike Ashley taking over, he owns a good few different higher class shopping chains, it's not all sports direct stack them high and sell them cheap routines

shiznit76

It's official, been bought over by Sports Direct as part if a "pre pack administraton"

schlepcycling

BBC reporting 1/2 of Evans stores to close https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46037259

tyke999

so they will be having a clearance sale

apreading

I reckon they stories of half the stores closing is to put pressure on the landlords to reduce rents against the fear of losing them as tennants altogether.

They put themselves in administration so that Sports Direct doesnt have to take on the liability for any stores they dont want, so if the landlords dont play ball they get nothing.

Hopefully they are actually aiming to close less than that and just using scare tactics.

I could see them merging Evans outlets into Go-Outdoors stores where they have one nearby though - with Evans division taking on the cycling part of Go-Outdoors and incorporating their own brands which are quite good. They could still run as a separate business unit within the larger store in case he wants to sell off later - a bit like Bikehut within Halfords stores.

So maybe they would close both the less profitable ones and the ones where they can operate from a big go-outdoors store nearby.

shiznit76

wonder if Sports Direct will void all oustanding gift vouchers like they did when they took over Frasers

pblakeney

October 3rd.

PBlakeney wrote:

Mike Ashley?
Bye bye Evans.

ayjaycee

apreading wrote:

........I could see them merging Evans outlets into Go-Outdoors stores where they have one nearby though - with Evans division taking on the cycling part of Go-Outdoors and incorporating their own brands which are quite good.........

I could be wrong (and it wouldn't be the first time!) but I don't believe that Go Outdoors has anything to do with Sports Direct. I understood that they were owned by JD Sports .

robertpb

apreading wrote:

I reckon they stories of half the stores closing is to put pressure on the landlords to reduce rents against the fear of losing them as tennants altogether.

They put themselves in administration so that Sports Direct doesnt have to take on the liability for any stores they dont want, so if the landlords dont play ball they get nothing.

Hopefully they are actually aiming to close less than that and just using scare tactics.

I could see them merging Evans outlets into Go-Outdoors stores where they have one nearby though - with Evans division taking on the cycling part of Go-Outdoors and incorporating their own brands which are quite good. They could still run as a separate business unit within the larger store in case he wants to sell off later - a bit like Bikehut within Halfords stores.

So maybe they would close both the less profitable ones and the ones where they can operate from a big go-outdoors store nearby.

Go Outdoors is part of JD Sports amd Sports Direct has only a 11.9% holding in them so Evans ending up in them is a long stretch.

turbotommy

I wouldn’t buy anything from any company Mike Ashley has anything to do with. So I guess that now includes Evans.

FishFish

So what stores do you find acceptable then ?

apreading

ayjaycee wrote:

apreading wrote:

........I could see them merging Evans outlets into Go-Outdoors stores where they have one nearby though - with Evans division taking on the cycling part of Go-Outdoors and incorporating their own brands which are quite good.........

I could be wrong (and it wouldn't be the first time!) but I don't believe that Go Outdoors has anything to do with Sports Direct. I understood that they were owned by JD Sports .

Sorry - was getting mixed up because JD were in the running early on too.

Interesting quote here:

Sports Direct’s warning that it was likely to close half of Evans’ stores appears to have come as a surprise to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the advisory firm that sealed the sale of Evans and put it into administration immediately ahead of the sale on Tuesday.

Matt Callaghan, joint administrator and PwC partner, said: “Evans is a longstanding, well known and trusted brand with nearly 100 years of heritage in the cycling market. To have managed to preserve the business and transfer all staff to the purchaser is particularly pleasing; 2018 has been a very difficult trading year for the business, in part due to the impact of the extended winter weather in the early part of the year and a lack of cash to invest in stores and develop the online platform. A combination of losses, the capital expenditure requirements and tightening credit has led to a liquidity crunch.”