I've seen this story before, and you're correct...other companies are taking their concept and working with it
Best thing a dealer can do is to have the intestinal fortitude to give them the boot
Quote:
Originally Posted by carlucci1106
Wow, that's quite the thread over there. And I thought we were getting feisty.
The sentiment by one Spesh dealer really echoes my sentiments... and I didn't even own the shop, but I watched multiple owners take it in the chin for years:
https://www.mtbr.com/threads/special...replies-header
This was exactly what my shop experienced from a loyalty timeline, and about 5 years ago everything started to change. Spesh is not a single actor working alone like the Big Bad Wolf, but they are a model for which other every company takes cues from. And those cues are, it's okay to tell the IBD (Independent bike dealer, as Spesh referred to us), that we matter, and we've been a team all along, and slash and burn those same dealers when the opportune time comes. And that time is where the direct model actually seems viable.
I underlined "manufacturer" in the quote because this is a misnomer. Specialized is a design firm, a marketing firm, an importer, a distributor, and a retailer. They are literally everything except a manufacturer. |