Evans Cycles

apreading

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 ****!

Did you try using them online? I would give it a go asap just in case the website is still taking them.

daniel_b

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 ****!

I used mine online on Monday, plus bc discount.

Went through fine, and items being delivered today.

This was a gift card.

timothyw

The deal wasn't announced until fairly late on Tuesday, I'm feeling pretty relieved as I redeemed my tesco clubcard vouchers for evans early Monday, got them through early Tuesday, spent them late Tuesday as soon as I heard about it, and thankfully the goods are arriving today.

Skin of my teeth!

Got a friend who applied to redeem his Evans Tesco vouchers on Tuesday, hasn't heard anything since and Tesco have now put 'this deal has expired' on the clubcard site.

daniel_b

My workplace discount scheme is showing this:

Evans Cycles is currently going through a period of change which will impact their ongoing trading operations. In light of this, they will temporarily be suspending the sale of Evans Cycles Instant Vouchers. If you have an existing balance on an Instant Voucher, this cannot currently be used to purchase in-store or online. However, we have been assured by Evans Cycles that as soon as their offer becomes available again, any existing balances you may have can then be used.

My items arrived this morning, so used up all my credit now at least.

apreading

Daniel B wrote:

as soon as their offer becomes available again...

This doesnt exactly commit them - it may never become available again...

daniel_b

apreading wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

as soon as their offer becomes available again...

This doesnt exactly commit them - it may never become available again...

Agreed, very vague.

Just to go back up the thread, someone mentioned Lillywhites, and I recall going in there in the very early 2000's to get my squash racket restrung, really knowledgable staff in there, talked through the options, paid my money, and collected it a few days later.
Revisited a few years down the line, again to get a racket restrung, to find it was now stacked up with boxes of this and that piled up, and staffed by people who had no knowledge other than selling as much as they were able.
I believe I received a blank expression when I asked about having a racket restrung :?

Will never go back there again, the knowledge, skills, and quality items are long gone, never to return we must assume.

Disappointed to hear sweatshop had been bought by him as well, had some good dealings with them in the past.

Did anyone else get a message from Always Riding, they are ending their own retail business, and concentrating on working with other suppliers, which they do already apparently.
Sad to hear, as have bought a fair amount from them over the years, they often had good deals, fast despatch and well packed items, a good returns policy, and stocked some brands I liked that few others did, such as Etxeondo.

bmxboy10

did anyone else get a message saying the Merlin Rewards discount thing has ended too?

daniel_b

BMXboy10 wrote:

did anyone else get a message saying the Merlin Rewards discount thing has ended too?

Yes indeed, never really used it tbh, so didn't investigate it.

cooldad

Daniel B wrote:

BMXboy10 wrote:

did anyone else get a message saying the Merlin Rewards discount thing has ended too?

Yes indeed, never really used it tbh, so didn't investigate it.

I blame Bungle.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

BMXboy10 wrote:

did anyone else get a message saying the Merlin Rewards discount thing has ended too?

No I didn't, or at least not that I'm aware of. :evil:

What day did this happen this week?

Got date of e-mail, please?

I had ~300 points.

timothyw

I was assuming it's just because it's been 12 months since I bought anything much at merlin - it might be they're temporarily turning off the loyalty offers in advance of black friday pricing.

That's hardly unheard of nowadays, I think that's why a lot of BC discounts etc have been pruned in the past month or two.

My email came in 9:30pm on Halloween which would support the black friday/november discounts theory.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

TimothyW wrote:

I was assuming it's just because it's been 12 months since I bought anything much at merlin - it might be they're temporarily turning off the loyalty offers in advance of black friday pricing.

That's hardly unheard of nowadays, I think that's why a lot of BC discounts etc have been pruned in the past month or two.

My email came in 9:30pm on Halloween which would support the black friday/november discounts theory.

Yeah, points stay valid as long as you buy something within the next 12 months, IIRC.

The rewards symbol appeared under a new title of "Merlin rewards" after I logged in again after posting and now shows up on a full webpage, rather than the old style window.
https://www.merlincycles.com/account/?t ... nformation

luv2ride

I've got 315 points at Merlin but had an email suggesting I was being relegated from Silver to Bronze? Looking at my account it also says "You also have 63 points awaiting validation, which happens 21 days after an order is placed. Please check back later, or contact us for more information." Confused as last order was February this year.

evs78

Mine was a gift card bought from Morrison’s by a family member for my birthday. They would’ve had no knowledge of Evans’ situation and it is a regular, go-to birthday present. Glad they didn’t spend any more than they did.

When I went in (Deansgate, Manchester), I was surprised how the shop had changed over the last 6 months, much fewer bikes and about half of the stock seemed to be FWE branded. Like many retailers, once the distributors have taken their cut or if the big manufacturers are supplying directly at tight margins, the only way to make decent margins is on cheap, own brand Chinese imports.

bristolpete

My mate who works in the industry in the big smoke said that Madison, who we all know supply Shimano amongst other things are calling in all debts 45/60/90 day invoices and legacy debts which could suggest other retailers web or otherwise are tightening their belts / halting discount. Can only imagine how much stock Evans hold or held regarding Shimano kit - cassettes etc. Lot of shops out there owe Madison money and lots of it.

timothyw

I see my Evans Quidco cashback from buying my frame a couple of months ago has now been rejected because the retailer no longer participates. Lots of goodwill being lost for the sake of a couple of quid.

I bet Madison have taken a hefty hit on Evans - I think they were pretty much the only big retailer still using them, I expect wiggle bypass them and source everything grey market - probably what Evans will now do - if they even survive as a retailer.

Wouldn't surprise me if we see Evans disappear entirely, with the stock on the sports direct website/piled high in store.

apreading

You say a couple of quid but I wonder how much the total is across all claims.

Effectively the old company has ceased to exist - he has bought the assets including the brand but the actual company is still in administration and all its debts not transferred across.

I have been wondering about Madison - I was told but not sure about this, that they owe them millions. Regardless of the amount, if they want to be supplied by them in the future, they would do well to pay up - not doing so might affect their business going forward as Madison is the UK distributor for lots of brands I think. Maybe they will negotiate a reduced amount but even doing that would affect the amount of credit Madison give them going forward. Unless they have a totally different plan for sourcing stuff.

timothyw

apreading wrote:

Unless they have a totally different plan for sourcing stuff.

Buying a load of tat from China and slapping pinnacle/Evans/muddy fox/whatever other brand they own on the label.

That's the sports direct model isn't it?

bristolpete

TimothyW wrote:

I see my Evans Quidco cashback from buying my frame a couple of months ago has now been rejected because the retailer no longer participates. Lots of goodwill being lost for the sake of a couple of quid.

I bet Madison have taken a hefty hit on Evans - I think they were pretty much the only big retailer still using them, I expect wiggle bypass them and source everything grey market - probably what Evans will now do - if they even survive as a retailer.

Wouldn't surprise me if we see Evans disappear entirely, with the stock on the sports direct website/piled high in store.

I think the Ashley will merge several business's to become a 'one stop' solution. He did not want the long term leases of Evans and suggests 50% will go, but has House of Fraser buildings which may in turn become one stop shops sports orientated. The paradox of Britain - a super lazy getting ever fatter nation, but 'most' people buy and wear the casual sportswear uniform. In cycling terms he is 6 years late, but will sweep up the cheaper end of the market as he always does.

thistle_

TimothyW wrote:

I was assuming it's just because it's been 12 months since I bought anything much at merlin

I had an email from Merlin too and assumed it was for the same reason.

cookeeemonster

My works cycle to work scheme is tied to Evans.. wonder how this will be affected?? With half the stores closing, maybe we'll be allowed to go elsewhere?

bmxboy10

CookeeeMonster wrote:

My works cycle to work scheme is tied to Evans.. wonder how this will be affected?? With half the stores closing, maybe we'll be allowed to go elsewhere?

Wonder what happens with the extended hire agreements ? This was the main draw for using Evans own scheme.

jamiedal

CookeeeMonster wrote:

My works cycle to work scheme is tied to Evans.. wonder how this will be affected?? With half the stores closing, maybe we'll be allowed to go elsewhere?

We can choose Evans as a choice for cycle to work as many have, would also like to know where we stand

timothyw

Frankly, I wouldn't go near Evans at this moment in time until it's future becomes more clear, so either use a different retailer or wait until store closures or whatever are straightened out.

Obviously for parts you needn't worry so much but for a whole bike aftercare and warranty is a big part of the package buying new.

shiznit76

are gift cards being accpeted in the shops?

Beatmaker

I've just tried to use a voucher which was a refund for an item that never turned up, and its invalid. Now I have no goods and no voucher. Utter *****

barongreenback

apreading wrote:

You say a couple of quid but I wonder how much the total is across all claims.

Effectively the old company has ceased to exist - he has bought the assets including the brand but the actual company is still in administration and all its debts not transferred across.

I have been wondering about Madison - I was told but not sure about this, that they owe them millions. Regardless of the amount, if they want to be supplied by them in the future, they would do well to pay up - not doing so might affect their business going forward as Madison is the UK distributor for lots of brands I think. Maybe they will negotiate a reduced amount but even doing that would affect the amount of credit Madison give them going forward. Unless they have a totally different plan for sourcing stuff.

Big suppliers are likely to have been insured and what’s more, this is business and if Evans remains a big enough presence then they cannot hold them to ransom. Plus with Shimano and other brands the stock is easily identified and presumably they were sensible enough to have retention of title written into their supply agreements.

My guess is that this is one of the reasons why Halfords didn’t buy them - a prepack administration would have forced them to pay for stock at full price due to existing relationships with most of the same suppliers (ie into Halfords, Tredz and Cycle Republic). And Evans was not worth buying as a solvent business due to the need to cut costs. Redundancies and exiting leases is very expensive.

FWIW I think that Ashley is demonised unfairly sometimes. No one else was rushing to buy Evans so at least he’s kept half the business alive. Don’t like his business practices or his stores but he knows how to sell.

cooldad

barongreenback wrote:

....
FWIW I think that Ashley is demonised unfairly sometimes. No one else was rushing to buy Evans so at least he’s kept half the business alive. Don’t like his business practices or his stores but he knows how to sell sh1t.

FTFY.

chippyk

cooldad wrote:

barongreenback wrote:

....
FWIW I think that Ashley is demonised unfairly sometimes. No one else was rushing to buy Evans so at least he’s kept half the business alive. Don’t like his business practices or his stores but he knows how to sell sh1t.

FTFY.

Maybe, but I wouldn’t mind being a quid behind him.

carbonclem

bristolpete wrote:

I think the Ashley will merge several business's to become a 'one stop' solution. He did not want the long term leases of Evans and suggests 50% will go, but has House of Fraser buildings which may in turn become one stop shops sports orientated. The paradox of Britain - a super lazy getting ever fatter nation, but 'most' people buy and wear the casual sportswear uniform. In cycling terms he is 6 years late, but will sweep up the cheaper end of the market as he always does.

Makes sense - local to me he has a large central multi floor store in House of Fraser, so he can cram everything up a bit and stick an Evans outlet in the basement with not too much bother - surround it with a 'sports' department and jobs a good (bad) 'un.