BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The history of the Aussie bike industry in the past 30 years is
littered with the carcasses of retailers who have decided to become wholesalers, warns David Priestley, editor of the monthly Oz trade journal, Bicycle Industry Newsletter.
He emailed us from Melbourne with information on his Bikesource service. This is a personalised report for suppliers wishing to get a foothold in the bicycle markets of Australia or New Zealand. Pommie suppliers provide their product profile, Priestley comes up with a selection of pukka potential distributors.
Simply going to shows like Interbike and selecting a distributor for
your product Downunder based on what you are told at a show, or even
sometimes afterwards via e-mail messages, can be fraught with danger, reports Priestley.
There is so much product out there vying for some marketplace share, and because the two markets [of Oz and NZ] are pretty small, it is
essential a company gets it right first time.
Priestley claims several UK companies have discovered they actually signed up a retailer rather than a multi-account distributor, with subsequent relatively slow market penetration.
Having been around the industry since 1960 I have the knowledge and experience to customise a report based on a companys product lines to ensure they can have contacts that will best suit that range.
There is little point in wasting time, effort and money in getting a
distributor to only find that your product is lost among their product
lines, they already have a competitive product, or if they are a
retailer, other retailers dont like to buy from them because of
preconceived notions about being undersold.
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Priestley is a regular reader of the BikeBiz website and was the first off the mark to provide copy for the BikeBizBible. This is his blurb and his contact details:
BICYCLE INDUSTRY NEWSLETTER: Monthly electronic newsletter covering the bicycle, skates and outdoors industries of Australia and New Zealand.
Produced after 20th each month. Annual subscription 30 pounds sterling.
Major news updates as they happen are included.
BICYCLE INDUSTRY NEWS DIRECTORY 2001, covers the bicycle, in-line
skates, skateboards and outdoors industries of both Australia and New
Zealand. Listed companies have paid for the privilege of participating.
Airmail copies 10 pounds sterling.
BIKESOURCE: Want to know about the bicycle, skates or outdoors
industries of either Australia or New Zealand? Industry’s longest
serving journalist and the only independent operator, can provide
indepth reports to satisfy your requirements. Credit card facilities.
David Priestley, What A Group, 125 Kangaroo Rd, OAKLEIGH VIC
3166 Australia.
Tel: 61 3 9563 3447
Fax: 61 3 9569 5322.
E-mail: biksorce@ihug.com.au
