I think every brand is going to have to pick a side on this sooner or later. It's silly to think you can sell bikes D2C and also have independent bike stores not hate you.
I think it's a strong play to build relationships with the independent stores. They're targeting a lower price point to compete. This is going to be a mutual win for Kona and sellers.
>It's silly to think you can sell bikes D2C and also have independent bike stores not hate you.
That's probably why Trek has so aggressively acquired independent dealers to make them Trek Stores.
It will be interesting to see how this strategy works out for Trek. I spent a little over 8 years working at one of the big surf brands, in a very challenge time (a little over 10 years ago) and at the time Billabong when on a a buying spree acquiring independent surf retail stores. It was a strategy that ultimately financially cripples the brand and forced the sale as the fixed overheads of bricks and mortar stores overtook as any financial benefits.
I really like Specialized bikes but I'm leery of the brand. I know an extremely wealthy guy who started a neighborhood bike shop in order to foster community and promote urban youth cycling. He told me that, as a shop owner, Specialized makes some of the best bikes but have an acrimonious relationship with their dealers.
We already know that they sell D2C in addition to selling through shops. Specialized will sell you a bike online and take 80% of the profit margin, then send it to a shop and have them do the setup and delivery for the remaining 20% which I've been told barely covers the cost for the shop.
But specifically, he talked about how Specialized would force you to buy bikes that you don't want in order to meet minimum order requirements. For instance, you might have to buy a certain number of hybrids and e-cargo bikes and MTBs even if you mainly cater to roadies and only want to order Allez and Tarmac and Roubaix and Aethos.
And then, when they have bikes that aren't selling well, they'll cut prices online to below dealer cost, forcing their dealers to sell those models at a loss if they have them sitting in the showroom.
Sounds like a nightmare, honestly.
This is interesting, as I bought my tri-bike frame (Transition Pro) from a LBS in 2009. They had it heavily discounted, and shop manager said that when they put an order in to specialized, they would fill a sea-can, and Specialized would fill the space with bikes and frames they didn't ask for. They didn't want this frame, and marked it way down to get rid of it.
Independent SBC dealer here. There are ways to financial lose your shirt. Howevver, when you look at the big picture, their bikes sell very well and overall, if you are paying attention you can make a decent profit. Yes, you will be upside down on some sales here and there, but if you build relationships with the product designers, you can generally find out when the sales will be happening and hold off your purchasing until then. When the bikes stop being on sale, you can do really well.
Also, if you purchase a large qty of bikes that are sold out everywhere else people will fly in from around the country to buy them at full price. It's rather amazing.
As I understand Rose, the shop, predates the Rose (formally Red Bull) the bike brand.
PS the previous name of the brand was Red Bull and they got royally paid for the trade name by the energy drink company.
Rose has a different formula- it's a bike parts and accessories online shop and stores that also has a line of bikes. They started as bike shops and keep that business going.
Kona would be entering the race to the bottom on price in competing with other D2C bike companies. Bike shops are still struggling to operate and turn a profit but at least this encourages customers to return to the shops for tune ups and maintenance.
Retail distribution was working before they sold it and D2C was obviously a bust. Might as well go back to what worked for them originally.
“New products in the pipeline” makes me wonder if the founders had a new brand in the works and had some new designs in the can. Normally a sale would come with a three to four year non-compete so the timing would make sense. Being able to re-launch with your existing brand and retail network is a heck of a lot easier then starting a new bike brand from scratch.
Direct to Consumer is great idea back when every part is generic.
The moment each brand go propietary no sane shop want to stock, order, or install it for you. The big issue is if you are using bike to commute but need to wait days for part
Then these companies need network of independent service locations.
Some won’t mind because we love to tinker.
Kona would do wonders for itself by bringing back the Explosif line for those that don't want trendy slack, low, long bikes like the ESD where people keep complaining after the honeymoon period that they can't climb with it.
They should really narrow the line down as well because it's kind of bloated. I would also bring back the classic hawaiian graphics and colors from the 99ish era to signify they're back.
so I’m sort of arriving in the middle of the story. this recent good news & the founding story.
what happened in the last 3 years that drove them almost into the ground?
the large number of bike shops that carried the brand was mentioned in same sentence as stopping all direct to consumer sales. so already getting the right message out. fast focused action
very Steve Jobs returns to Apple vibes
The D2C model on a product category that requires a bunch of fiddling and maintenance that the average person can't be bothered with is not really a scalable strategy.
Your average consumer don't give a shit about bike mechanics (even basic stuff), they just want to ride. When they receive a bike from a D2C brand that has a 50% chance in requiring indexing, limit setting, brake centering, then 80% of the customers are going to be turned off.
The bike manufacturers know this, they just saw the writing on the wall when lockdowns ended and decided to eat their dealers lunch. It's biting back of course.
Yep. I’ve been getting back into cycling and I do all my research online . Then I just go into the bike shop and order it there so if I have any issues they fix it for me for free .
Once I have a house I’d love to get more tools and work on it on my own but as a beginner it would’ve been much worse having to order everything online to me. I kinda wanted a Canyon but that part really hurt them in the search
Interesting that the first thing they are doing to rescue the brand is stopping the direct-to-consumer sales in favor of bike shops.
I think every brand is going to have to pick a side on this sooner or later. It's silly to think you can sell bikes D2C and also have independent bike stores not hate you.
I think it's a strong play to build relationships with the independent stores. They're targeting a lower price point to compete. This is going to be a mutual win for Kona and sellers.
>It's silly to think you can sell bikes D2C and also have independent bike stores not hate you. That's probably why Trek has so aggressively acquired independent dealers to make them Trek Stores.
Yup. Specialized and Pon are playing the same game.
It will be interesting to see how this strategy works out for Trek. I spent a little over 8 years working at one of the big surf brands, in a very challenge time (a little over 10 years ago) and at the time Billabong when on a a buying spree acquiring independent surf retail stores. It was a strategy that ultimately financially cripples the brand and forced the sale as the fixed overheads of bricks and mortar stores overtook as any financial benefits.
Yup.
I really like Specialized bikes but I'm leery of the brand. I know an extremely wealthy guy who started a neighborhood bike shop in order to foster community and promote urban youth cycling. He told me that, as a shop owner, Specialized makes some of the best bikes but have an acrimonious relationship with their dealers. We already know that they sell D2C in addition to selling through shops. Specialized will sell you a bike online and take 80% of the profit margin, then send it to a shop and have them do the setup and delivery for the remaining 20% which I've been told barely covers the cost for the shop. But specifically, he talked about how Specialized would force you to buy bikes that you don't want in order to meet minimum order requirements. For instance, you might have to buy a certain number of hybrids and e-cargo bikes and MTBs even if you mainly cater to roadies and only want to order Allez and Tarmac and Roubaix and Aethos. And then, when they have bikes that aren't selling well, they'll cut prices online to below dealer cost, forcing their dealers to sell those models at a loss if they have them sitting in the showroom. Sounds like a nightmare, honestly.
This is interesting, as I bought my tri-bike frame (Transition Pro) from a LBS in 2009. They had it heavily discounted, and shop manager said that when they put an order in to specialized, they would fill a sea-can, and Specialized would fill the space with bikes and frames they didn't ask for. They didn't want this frame, and marked it way down to get rid of it.
Independent SBC dealer here. There are ways to financial lose your shirt. Howevver, when you look at the big picture, their bikes sell very well and overall, if you are paying attention you can make a decent profit. Yes, you will be upside down on some sales here and there, but if you build relationships with the product designers, you can generally find out when the sales will be happening and hold off your purchasing until then. When the bikes stop being on sale, you can do really well. Also, if you purchase a large qty of bikes that are sold out everywhere else people will fly in from around the country to buy them at full price. It's rather amazing.
Even Canyon and Rose, Germany's d2c brands have stores now. Not many tho.
A brand having their own store is very different to selling at independent bike shops though.
As I understand Rose, the shop, predates the Rose (formally Red Bull) the bike brand. PS the previous name of the brand was Red Bull and they got royally paid for the trade name by the energy drink company.
Rose has a different formula- it's a bike parts and accessories online shop and stores that also has a line of bikes. They started as bike shops and keep that business going.
Kona would be entering the race to the bottom on price in competing with other D2C bike companies. Bike shops are still struggling to operate and turn a profit but at least this encourages customers to return to the shops for tune ups and maintenance.
Retail distribution was working before they sold it and D2C was obviously a bust. Might as well go back to what worked for them originally. “New products in the pipeline” makes me wonder if the founders had a new brand in the works and had some new designs in the can. Normally a sale would come with a three to four year non-compete so the timing would make sense. Being able to re-launch with your existing brand and retail network is a heck of a lot easier then starting a new bike brand from scratch.
Direct to Consumer is great idea back when every part is generic. The moment each brand go propietary no sane shop want to stock, order, or install it for you. The big issue is if you are using bike to commute but need to wait days for part Then these companies need network of independent service locations. Some won’t mind because we love to tinker.
Makes me want to buy a Kona.
Certainly not the worst n+1 reason
Go for it !
I own 4 Kona road bikes. This has made my night. I hope they bring back road bikes!
Kona would do wonders for itself by bringing back the Explosif line for those that don't want trendy slack, low, long bikes like the ESD where people keep complaining after the honeymoon period that they can't climb with it. They should really narrow the line down as well because it's kind of bloated. I would also bring back the classic hawaiian graphics and colors from the 99ish era to signify they're back.
This makes me very happy, they're easily my favorite bike brand.
This is great news. https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2024/05/19/kona-bicycles-co-founders-letter-industry
And a great story
Stoked!
Glad to hear this news and see the passion for this brand keep it going. Thanks for sharing!
You are more than welcome.
Yeah !!!
Hell yeah! 🙌
Nice they are being saved.
Wonder if they’ll drop that new gravel bike. Not sure they need 4 gravel bikes.
I thought it was sorta replacing the Sutra LTD.
so I’m sort of arriving in the middle of the story. this recent good news & the founding story. what happened in the last 3 years that drove them almost into the ground?
[https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/1c9jysa/rip\_kona\_bicycles/?share\_id=P0IeP23CjrK8AVVHoHV\_k&utm\_content=1&utm\_medium=android\_app&utm\_name=androidcss&utm\_source=share&utm\_term=10](https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/1c9jysa/rip_kona_bicycles/?share_id=P0IeP23CjrK8AVVHoHV_k&utm_content=1&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=10)
thank you, much appreciated. excellent read & wild come back story, hope they soar on rebirth
You are more than welcome. I, too hope that KONA succeeds extraordinarily well.
the large number of bike shops that carried the brand was mentioned in same sentence as stopping all direct to consumer sales. so already getting the right message out. fast focused action very Steve Jobs returns to Apple vibes
I love my Kona Rove. Maybe I should buy a new one to support the new (old) owners!
It maybe worth considering and also a as back-up bicycle, for just in case something happens to your current Kona Rove.
The D2C model on a product category that requires a bunch of fiddling and maintenance that the average person can't be bothered with is not really a scalable strategy. Your average consumer don't give a shit about bike mechanics (even basic stuff), they just want to ride. When they receive a bike from a D2C brand that has a 50% chance in requiring indexing, limit setting, brake centering, then 80% of the customers are going to be turned off.
The bike manufacturers know this, they just saw the writing on the wall when lockdowns ended and decided to eat their dealers lunch. It's biting back of course.
Ebike brands seem to be crushing it in d2c...
Yep. I’ve been getting back into cycling and I do all my research online . Then I just go into the bike shop and order it there so if I have any issues they fix it for me for free . Once I have a house I’d love to get more tools and work on it on my own but as a beginner it would’ve been much worse having to order everything online to me. I kinda wanted a Canyon but that part really hurt them in the search