e-RICHIE wrote in part;
"more than ever before, the bicycle industry is now part of the sporting goods industry. it mimics the packaging, the synergy, the glitter,the merchandising , etcetera of the ski biz, the running shoe biz, the name-your-fav-high-profile-sport biz. imho, the way some of the major firms promote their bicycles, you'd think they'd (the bicycles) pedal by themselves. that take some big balls! perhaps this is attributable to the tennis market's 'influence'."
Richie, Will the "bicycle industry" ever wake up to the fact that the "bicycle industry" has always been the same as every other industry? It just shows how far out
of step the bike biz is with reality to think different rules apply to them.
As a buyer in the "sporting goods" industry, who has purchased at least 100 million dollars of sporting goods in the past ten years, I'll finally expose my secret formula: We buy what sells. The consumer, whether conscious or not, is always the most powerful influence on any industry. Yes, we buyers consciously try to get people to buy certain things over other ones for our/their own good, but in the end, it's the billions of choices made by the consumer that change things, for good or bad. The "industry" is powerless to prevent this, the rules are set.
The difference I see today is the customer. The golden rule today for selling anything is "game improvement". Golf clubs to tennis racquets, to bikes, everyone wants to buy their way to greatness. Why spend time you don't have at the driving range, learning to smooth out your swing, just buy better clubs!
Grant McLean Toronto.Ca
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