View Full Version : Future of Imported Frames into the US
I was just thinking this morning, with most of the pro teams now riding bikes from the big manufacturers such as Trek, Cannondale and Specialized and most of these bikes offered at very attractive price points and good quality at the bike shops, what will the smaller European frame builder need to do in order to get the attention of the buying public and be able to bring in a consistent stream of frames into the US market?
For example, Tommasini is now importing frames through a new arrangement which is essentially a factory direct distribution through a Tommasini USA office in San Diego. You can buy a frame directly through Tommasini USA whether you are an end user or a bike shop. I guess Tommasini is changing their strategy in order to sell more of their frames in the US. What is perplexing is that why is such an excellent product such as Tommasini having a hard time selling here? IMHO their frames are among the best coming out of Italy right now with excellent construction and beautiful fit and finish by any standard. So what gives? What's wrong with this market?
Antonio
saab2000
10-08-2006, 07:18 AM
New cyclists who are in the sport or getting into it have never heard of Tommasini. They have heard of Trek. The Lance factor cannot be underestimated.
It's all marketing and the best marketer of Italian frames is Colnago. Colnago is very active in racing and that is a bigger thing than most people realise.
BMC is a small company in Switzerland. They are growing obviously. But what kind of name recognition or market share could they possibly have if not for the agreement with the Phonak team? That team started out small in Switzerland about 7 or 8 years ago. But in the past couple years they were pretty big.
It's all marketing and the smaller European companies don't have the power to market their stuff properly. Trek and Specialized and Cannondale do have the power and money to push the product.
Other companies have come and gone here too. Can you still buy a new Peugeot today in the US? I don't think so.
random thought atmo -
call something paradise, kiss it goodbye.
with apologies to eagles fans.
I agree with what you're saying saab, but in lieu of being able to sponsor a Pro Tour team, what can the smaller European builders do in order to be recognized. I don't think it's an easy question to answer, but it's something that needs to addressed and soon otherwise we'll all be riding Specialized. ;)
Antonio
CNY rider
10-08-2006, 08:26 AM
I agree with what you're saying saab, but in lieu of being able to sponsor a Pro Tour team, what can the smaller European builders do in order to be recognized. I don't think it's an easy question to answer, but it's something that needs to addressed and soon otherwise we'll all be riding Specialized. ;)
Antonio
Why does that necessarily have to be the case? Go into a busy LBS and ask the next 10 newbie cyclists, there to buy bikes, if they've ever heard of Tom Kellogg, Ben Serotta, or David Kirk or Mike Barry? You will probably get 10 blank stares. Yet as far as I can tell all those quality framebuilders, and otheres like them, are buried in waiting list orders for bicycles. They've never been busier.
There's a niche of people, like those that frequent this board, that matter much more to smaller framebuilders than the masses who see Lance riding a Trek and then go buy one.
mike p
10-08-2006, 08:55 AM
What goes around comes around. When something becomes too popular be it music or bike frames it becomes uncool to own it and people seek out something unique.---That may be gross generalzation but not too far off.
Mike
1centaur
10-08-2006, 09:29 AM
The fact that the key demographic for road bike buyers is guys 35-50 who are generating disposable income and, importantly, moving past entry-level everything should assure that any bike maker with a modicum of marketing talent should be able to get on the radar as an alternative to Trek/Specialized/Cannondale that's worth checking out, much like that new wine from Australia. Some of these guys will start with a mass market bike and as they get more serious and want variety and exclusivity will actually consciously avoid T/S/C.
The problem for Tommasini is not T/S/C as much as it is Serotta, Kirk, Vanilla, etc., etc., etc. Once you are dedicated to moving past T/S/C the world gets MUCH broader, at which point you are dealing with lower barriers to entry, what the cool kids like, how you view yourself, the effect of price-pull marketing (MeiVici), and a clamor of well-qualified voices putting out thoughtful, careful, quality work. Some of the more snobbily opinionated, informed and well-heeled metal bike lovers I have ever heard from are on this forum, and Tommasini does not come up. A maker like that needs to put its product into cycling magazine reviews and get effusive praise vs. the competition. They need to get in the frame makers guide that ProCycling puts out (as Serotta did last year and a small Italian maker did this year). They may need to pay opinion makers on bicycle forums. Or maybe they sell all the frames they can reasonably make through word of mouth and we should not worry about them.
alancw3
10-08-2006, 10:39 AM
perhaps it is as simple as saying that the smaller european bike manufacturer needs to concentrate on his own geographic market area. with all the quality manufacturers in the usa why buy a small european manufacturer's frame. economics 101. law of supply and demand.
Why does that necessarily have to be the case? Go into a busy LBS and ask the next 10 newbie cyclists, there to buy bikes, if they've ever heard of Tom Kellogg, Ben Serotta, or David Kirk or Mike Barry? You will probably get 10 blank stares. Yet as far as I can tell all those quality framebuilders, and otheres like them, are buried in waiting list orders for bicycles. They've never been busier.
There's a niche of people, like those that frequent this board, that matter much more to smaller framebuilders than the masses who see Lance riding a Trek and then go buy one.
Yes, I understand what you are saying. I am in the niche that seeks out quality, artisan built frames. I've been lucky to own a Mondonico, Della Santa, Spectrum, and now Pegoretti and DeSalvo. No, I do not expect the average newbie at a bike shop to know who David Kirk, Curt Goodrich, Richard Sachs, Sasha White or Peter Wiegle is. What I'm really trying to hone in on is the only real way for European builders, big or small, to successfully sell their frames here is to have a good distributorship and have good representation at the good bike shops.
I guess things are changing. About 10 years ago the top frames in a quality shop would have been Pinarello, De Rosa, Colnago (they're still up there) and maybe a smaller brand such as Tommasini or Daccordi or something. Now a lot of these frames are either not there at all or way in the background. Things have changed.
Antonio
catulle
10-08-2006, 11:30 AM
I believe that by definition the "smaller European frame builder" should aim towards a small niche market; like Dario is doing. Trying to reach a larger market forces him to economies of scale, large marketing budgets, access to distribution channels, and ultimately to China. The problem is that there are very few small European builders with the product to reach a sophisticated niche of the market. Which might be the reason why I have seen so many Serotta bicycles in Europe. However, this might change, believe it or not, with the help of the Internet. The Europeans might still be able to expolit their history and airs of sophistication when it comes to the bicycle market. The Swiss managed to do it with the mechanical watch market (and Hayek wasn't even Swiss...), so there might still be hope. ATMO, just my $0.002, etc.
A.L.Breguet
10-08-2006, 01:31 PM
Uh, Internet catalogs and international shipping? ;)
Grant McLean
10-08-2006, 01:34 PM
It hurts European sales that the USA $ is low against the Euro now.
g
(just bitter that campy would be 30% cheaper if the dollar was even with the euro)
swoop
10-08-2006, 02:08 PM
mcdonalds sells a lot more burgers than le cirque.
both are food.
both end up in the same place.
there's room.
stevep
10-08-2006, 04:57 PM
the premium end of the bicycle enthusiast market is much smaller than anyone realizes....understanding that they are all on this forum but in reality how many $5-6-9 thousand dollar bikes are going to be sold.
you add 'em up
serotta maybe 3,000
seven maybe 2,000i
indy maybe 2,000
colnago maybe 2,000
richard sachs possibly 1
time 1,000
ridley 500
pinarello 1000
bmc lucky if theyve sold 100
assorted custom builders 75 frames each
trek 7,500
cervelo 1,500
add the brand of your choice....maybe total of another 8,000
it just is not that big a market. hard to find a place for a lot of these brands.
an interesting survey would be to grant each member of this forum with a certificate for the frame of their choice without regard to price and compile how it came out.
97CSI
10-08-2006, 05:39 PM
random thought atmo -
call something paradise, kiss it goodbye.
with apologies to eagles fans.Thought they paved paradise. Something about a parking lot........
manet
10-08-2006, 06:26 PM
A.L.Breguet and i were semi-contemplating something semi-related;
what the T-Town swap will be like in 10 or so years, when the market
will be flush (or rife) with spent crunchy carbon? especially frames.
we got semi-depressed, but then went here, to a real happy place, and soon
i had semi-used podium girls dancing in my head:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e61/easterncaster/IMG_3067.jpg
catulle
10-08-2006, 06:35 PM
A.L. Breguet and Manet share the same type of hair and taste for coffee and bicycles... :eek:
A.L.Breguet
10-08-2006, 06:47 PM
A.L. Breguet and Manet share the same type of hair and taste for coffee and bicycles... :eek:
Woah! Woah! That's not Manet, that's my Lord and Saviour Papa Hayek!! :D
A.L.Breguet
10-08-2006, 06:54 PM
A.L. Breguet and Manet share the same type of hair and taste for coffee and bicycles... :eek:
http://www.nghayekwatchmakingschool.org/
catulle
10-08-2006, 06:54 PM
Will he be the Lord and Saviour of Mercier Bicyclette...? :eek: :eek: :eek:
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.