Evans Cycles

shiznit76

TurboTommy wrote:

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

Better get in a bunker and pray then cause big Mikey owns or has stakes in a vast number of businesses on the high street

pblakeney

shiznit76 wrote:

TurboTommy wrote:

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

Better get in a bunker and pray then cause big Mikey owns or has stakes in a vast number of businesses on the high street

I can't remember the last time I walked down the high street to go shopping, far less actually bought something there.

big_harv

Hmm. Hands up who's going to boycott online shopping....no? Thought not. This forum would be f00ked otherwise. Ref: I can't pump my tyre up...

My best LBS has just closed, usual story. Just a showroom for his distributor, no stock, relied on his community (us) for bits n' pieces, and sponsored some local events. Oh, and the site is wanted for housing development.

Bit peed off actually. If Mr Big Boll0x buys Evans good on him. Hey, maybe he'll sponsor a Pro team.....?

chippyk

Ashley isn’t daft, you don’t get as rich as him if you are.

He’s also bought TriUK in Yeovil, meant to be opening a range of shops. They’re not just a Tri retailer so there may be some thing to tie up there.

I also had a couple of trips in Ashley’s helicopter a few years back. A proper way to travel.

turbotommy

FishFish wrote:

So what stores do you find acceptable then ?

Stores that treat their workers in a fair and decent manner. I don’t presume that every place I shop treats their staff well. But I can’t knowingly shop somewhere that doesn’t.

turbotommy

TurboTommy wrote:

FishFish wrote:

So what stores do you find acceptable then ?

Stores that treat their workers in a fair and decent manner. I don’t presume that every place I shop treats their staff well. But I can’t knowingly shop somewhere that doesn’t.

turbotommy

Double post

gavinbay

Few weeks back I went into Sports Direct after JD Sports as I was after a quick fix, just to buy a pair of running shoes, note running shoes and not trainers, and JD's shoes were all about standing around in a pub / gym rather than actually running.

So was pleasantly surprised to see a reasonable range of shoes that might actually do the job, and as I was looking this member of staff came over (who did not exactly look like a runner) and proffered advice.

And it was the biggest load of bollox that I had ever heard.

Basically he was telling me that karrimor shoes were far superior in every way over established brands like Assics, the downright lies he was peddling were mind boggling.

At the time I did not know that Sports Direct owned Karrimor but my suspicions were raised and a quick bit of Googling confirmed as much along with various threads on dubious sales practices by Sports Direct staff.

So I can well imagine what will happen to Evans now and feel sorry for the gullible punter walking in looking for advice.

turbotommy

Triple post...

carbonclem

Anyone who has tried to return something from a Sports Direct store will know to take caution. They are nailed down on only refunding for faulty items and everything else gets a credit note. No exceptions. No goodwill.

I went into my local House Of Fraser store last week for the first time since take over and already, any spare floor space was being taken over with racks of flouro ticketed 'sportswear' - in an area where the clientel is anything but target market.

It will suit some people, but Evans days as a semi respectable cycle retailer are all but over.

apreading

CarbonClem wrote:

Anyone who has tried to return something from a Sports Direct store will know to take caution. They are nailed down on only refunding for faulty items and everything else gets a credit note. No exceptions. No goodwill.

I went into my local House Of Fraser store last week for the first time since take over and already, any spare floor space was being taken over with racks of flouro ticketed 'sportswear' - in an area where the clientel is anything but target market.

It will suit some people, but Evans days as a semi respectable cycle retailer are all but over.

Thats a very good point about returns - I flippin hate that with Sports Direct and it has often been the reason I havent ordered something because if it doesnt fit I have to pay return postage because I cant take it to a store. If that were the case with Evans I would have spent very littie with them as the risk with clothing is too high. I would shop more with CRC/Wiggle as a result because of their free returns. At least with Evans at the moment I just have a slight inconvenience of having to travel to a store.

apreading

GavinBay wrote:

... this member of staff came over (who did not exactly look like a runner) and proffered advice.

And it was the biggest load of bollox that I had ever heard.

I have heard just as much bollox at several LBS as I have in places like that. Being independant is not guaranteed to give you good advice/service.

Granted, Sports Direct doesnt fill me with great confidence but currently I think the advice/knowledge/service you get from the Evans stores I have dealt with has been just as good as any LBS - possibly better, and they have access to a much bigger range of stuff. Depends what the new owner wants to do - retain the qualities of the brand or morph it into a cycling arm of Sports Direct. If he wants to sell it on in a few years for a profit then he would do well to consider keeping standards up.

tyke999

high end brands out........Lower spec crappy brands in ...cos they sell more !!

tyke999

apreading wrote:

CarbonClem wrote:

Anyone who has tried to return something from a Sports Direct store will know to take caution. They are nailed down on only refunding for faulty items and everything else gets a credit note. No exceptions. No goodwill.

I went into my local House Of Fraser store last week for the first time since take over and already, any spare floor space was being taken over with racks of flouro ticketed 'sportswear' - in an area where the clientel is anything but target market.

It will suit some people, but Evans days as a semi respectable cycle retailer are all but over.

Thats a very good point about returns - I flippin hate that with Sports Direct and it has often been the reason I havent ordered something because if it doesnt fit I have to pay return postage because I cant take it to a store. If that were the case with Evans I would have spent very littie with them as the risk with clothing is too high. I would shop more with CRC/Wiggle as a result because of their free returns. At least with Evans at the moment I just have a slight inconvenience of having to travel to a store.

KARRIMOR were a great technical brand until Sports Direct got hold of them.

keef66

Tyke999 wrote:

KARRIMOR were a great technical brand until Sports Direct got hold of them.

When I first started buying mountain gear in the 70s Karrimor was up there with Berghaus and Mountain Equipment. I suspect they'd already lost their way by the time Mr Ashley got his hands on them, and it's been a steady race to the bottom since then, which has been sad to see.

pblakeney

ChippyK wrote:

I also had a couple of trips in Ashley’s helicopter a few years back. A proper way to travel.

Also great for bringing you back down to earth with a bang.

apreading

Yes - Karrimor has been a real shame, as has Muddy Fox.

own brands dont necessarily become a bad thing though - OEX and Calibre at Go-Outdoors are really good value, as is Boardman at Halfords and Pinnacle at Evans. Mike Ashley doesnt have the best track record though and I think its a shame because I think he lost out on the value that he could have achieved from some of those brands.

rolf_f

keef66 wrote:

Tyke999 wrote:

KARRIMOR were a great technical brand until Sports Direct got hold of them.

When I first started buying mountain gear in the 70s Karrimor was up there with Berghaus and Mountain Equipment. I suspect they'd already lost their way by the time Mr Ashley got his hands on them, and it's been a steady race to the bottom since then, which has been sad to see.

I think all the Sports Direct brands are basically now junk. I bought some Carrera and Karrimor Trainers once from Sports Direct. The Carreras were wearing out within a couple of weeks so I got an exchange on another pair of the Karrimors which I hadn't worn much then. Basically both wore out ridiculously quickly but at significantly different rates. So not only was the materials quality control dire in absolute terms, it was dire in relative terms as well. Quite an achievement.
If you shop at Sports Direct it is probably best to just regard your spend as a charitable donation to poor, hard up Mr Ashley who deserves your money more than you do.

ddraver

I spent much of last winter ferrying Sports Direct's more successful store managers to an all expenses paid ski/piss up trip in a very exclusive swiss resort so if the managers of the surviving Evans Stores do a good job I would expect they may get that same reward...

bristolpete

Evans have been on a sales drive with Pinnacle much like Sports Direct and their brands. No change there.

apreading

Except that Pinnacle stuff is actually pretty darn good as far as I am aware Not so with Sports Direct own brands

bristolpete

apreading wrote:

Except that Pinnacle stuff is actually pretty darn good as far as I am aware Not so with Sports Direct own brands

I buy the odd bits and bobs in there. Some of the stock rather decent at good prices but some of it clearly cheap tat.

Ashley sounds like a c**k but hey ho, we all know plenty of those.

chris_bass

sports direct is a it like poundland, a lot of it is rubbish but if you stick to the branded stuff (not sports direct owned) you can sometimes pick some decent stuff up at a reasonable price.

If sports direct also now own pinnacle expect them to get very bad very quickly.

navrig2

Chris Bass wrote:

sports direct is a it like poundland, a lot of it is rubbish but if you stick to the branded stuff (not sports direct owned) you can sometimes pick some decent stuff up at a reasonable price.

If sports direct also now own pinnacle expect them to get very bad very quickly.

The problem is recognising what SD actually own. AS mentioned above, I grew up using and respecting Karrimor kit. Then we had kids and I stopped needing outdoor kit. Fast forward 15-20 years and I found myself in SD, holding something badged as Karrimor and it was cr4p. I think it was a pair of walking shoes, I till have a pair of KSBs from before Sports Direct days so could make an easy comparison.

chris_bass

they are all in here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Direct


Retail outlet brands
Current
EAG. Austrian sports chain in which Sports Direct acquired a 51% stake for €40.5m (£34.6m) in May 2013.[52]
Field & Trek
Firetrap
Flannels (51%)
Gelert
Heatons (51%) Ireland
House of Fraser[51]
Lillywhites
MegaValue.com[53]
SportsDirect.com. High street and internet retailer created from the merger of Sports Soccer and Sports World, and progressively rebranded as SportsDirect.com since 2007 after the company's domain name.[54] Sponsor of St James' Park, home of Premier League football team Newcastle United, since 2009.[55]
Sportland International Group. Major Baltic sports retailer in which Sports Direct acquired a 60% stake in May 2013.[52]
Sweatshop
USC
European Golf
Eastern Mountain Sports
Bob's Stores
Clothing and equipment brands
Agent Provocateur (partial stake)[56]
Airwalk
British Knights
Campri
Carlton
Donnay
Everlast
Firetrap
Gelert
GoldDigga
Gul
Hot Tuna Clothing
Kangol
Karrimor
LA Gear
Lonsdale
Miss Fiori
Miso
Muddyfox
Nevica
No Fear
Slazenger
Sondico
SoulCal
USA Pro
Voodoo Dolls

cookeeemonster

I worked in Lillywhites for my first job at age 16.

OMG as the kids say. From the Harrods of sport to a downmarket poundland...quite shocking to see. Fingers crossed he largely leaves Evans alone. From what I understand their main problem was too big an expansion, too soon. Hopefully not too many will lose their jobs, which is the main thing here.

shirley_basso

Basically all of those are now pretty much tat.

I used to look up to half those brands as a kit. Now? Shyte.

term1te

All a bit sad really. My first 'proper' bike was an F W Evans lightweight tourer, 531 frame with Suntour XCD. Beautiful bike, I don't know what possessed me to give it away.

evs78

Tried to redeem vouchers today and told not able to accept them at the moment. I was told they were expecting to be able to accept them at some point but I’m not convinced in the slightest. Be very surprised if they accept them.

If they don’t, I won’t bother buying from them again, but sure Mr Ashley doesn’t give a ****!

bmxboy10

Evs78 wrote:

Tried to redeem vouchers today and told not able to accept them at the moment. I was told they were expecting to be able to accept them at some point but I’m not convinced in the slightest. Be very surprised if they accept them.

If they don’t, I won’t bother buying from them again, but sure Mr Ashley doesn’t give a ****!

What type of vouchers?