George White Motorcycles

Discussion in 'UK Motorcycles' started by mark, Aug 22, 2010.

  1. mark

    mark Guest

    So what does the font say about GW? He has just bought out a local
    dealer with 3 branches in Devon & Cornwall and its a company I have
    had no previous dealings with. Looks good on paper and seems to have a
    few bargains at the moment but what about attitude and after sales?


    Mark
     
    mark, Aug 22, 2010
    #1
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  2. mark

    Lozzo Guest

    I can see them going down the pan in the same way that Carnells,
    Motorcycle City and all the other multi-franchise/multi-site bike
    dealers have gone.

    --
    Lozzo
    Versys 650 Tourer, CBR600F-W racebike in the making, TS250C, RD400F
    (somewhere)
    BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
    they churn out)
     
    Lozzo, Aug 22, 2010
    #2
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  3. mark

    mark Guest

    Fair point but is that because of their business model failing or
    because they are a bunch of bastards.

    Mark
     
    mark, Aug 22, 2010
    #3
  4. mark

    nicknoxx Guest

    Really, they've been around for 50 years why should they fold now?
     
    nicknoxx, Aug 22, 2010
    #4
  5. mark

    Lozzo Guest

    Woolworths managed it.

    Dixon Car Group, who owned Carnells, managed it.

    Loads of other retailers of long standing have managed it, what makes
    you think their length of time in business is relative to their chances
    of not going bust





    --
    Lozzo
    Versys 650 Tourer, CBR600F-W racebike in the making, TS250C, RD400F
    (somewhere)
    BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
    they churn out)
     
    Lozzo, Aug 22, 2010
    #5
  6. For two possible reasons - if the government is going to increase taxes,
    reduce expenditure across the board and simultaneously chuck a million
    people on the dole then I'd say discretionary expenditure will shrink to
    zero for an awful lot of people. Bye bye spending on motorbikes (and
    lots of other things].

    The second reason - and I'm guessing this is what Lozzo is getting at -
    is that no one has managed to successfully create a nationwide brand for
    selling and servicing motorbikes. The examples he quotes have all gone
    bust largely because the much vaunted promises of VFM and quality of
    service have never been delivered. It seems to me that successful
    dealerships are local businesses which develop a market niche, a rapport
    with their customers and a reputation for fair prices and good service.
    You have to be exceptionally talented or have very good management
    systems to carry that business model to a national level in a trade like
    motorcycles sales and servicing.

    I used Motorcycle City and they were highly variable and at times
    downright awful. Same with Carnells. I ended up using local dealers
    like Woodford Motorcycles or Lloyd Coopers [1] because they did what
    they said they would, on time and at a good price. Their reputation was
    clearly built on doing this.

    [1] cue VAM saying they were shit.
     
    Paul Corfield, Aug 22, 2010
    #6
  7. Absolutely. Motorcycle City probably got closest. One problem is that
    the actual volumes in bike retailing are very small indeed: roughly
    one-tenth of the car market, for example.
    Agree with all the above. Also, the bike trade is very cyclical: the
    retail pattern we're seeing now is very similar to what it was a couple
    of decades ago.

    We get boom and bust very frequently. For many people, a car is a
    necessity. A bike isn't, and it competes for disposable income with many
    other things. Like sporting goods. And computers.

    Your comments about good local dealers are right on the money. Bikes
    need regular and frequent servicing. A typical car service interval
    these days is 12,000 miles. Bike service intervals are half that, and
    then there's the aftermarket parts (people tend to ding bikes more than
    they do cars), accessories (apart from the real car enthusiasts, the
    average motorcyclist simply doesn't buy accessories) and clothing
    (people don't buy special clothing for driving their cars).

    One reason why so many chains have come and gone is that the owners have
    been blidned - usually at times of rising bike sales - by the prospect
    of simply shifitng metal and ignored the service, clothing, parts and
    accessories business which operates on much greater margins and should
    really be the bread and butter of a good dealership.

    It's no coincidence, I think, that the only (seemingly) successful chin
    in the UK right now is Hein Gericke, which isn't actually involved in
    moving metal.

    I'd be interested to hear Lozzo's take on this.
     
    The Older Gentleman, Aug 22, 2010
    #7
  8. Oops. That should be 'average motorist'.....
     
    The Older Gentleman, Aug 22, 2010
    #8
  9. mark

    wessie Guest

    Well, in the SW, Riders seem to be doing okay. However, they only have 3
    branches and stick to non-Jap franchises. Might've bit off more they can
    chew by opening a BMW franchise in Cardiff. Many have tried, none lasted
    more than a couple of years.
    Depends. Carnell/M&P etc took on too much debt and then went seeking
    short term profit to service the debt, ignoring quality of service and
    fleecing customers with shonky warranties and service contracts. They
    paid crap wages and you never saw the same staff if you went back 2
    months later. Hopefully GW will look to the long game and have the
    capital to ride out the lean times.
     
    wessie, Aug 22, 2010
    #9
  10. mark

    Lozzo Guest

    The Older Gentleman wrote:

    I agree completely with everything both you and Paul have said. It
    really is a niche market and a seasonal one at that, therefore it takes
    a rather special dealership or a smaller more customer orientated
    business to survive through the leaner months. Discounting bikes
    through the floor when you have huge overheads doesn't pay the bills,
    especially when you have customers moving to other smaller dealers to
    have their servicing done.

    Bike shops rely on service depts and clothing to make a real profit,
    the bikes don't really make a huge amount for any of them. The likes of
    Carnells could only bring in servicing work by selling servicing deals
    with the bike, which is something a lot of new riders got caught out
    with when they went pop. Most people bought their bike from Carnells
    then went somewhere else to get it serviced for a couple of reasons; a)
    they lived too far away and travelled to buy the bike cheap, and b)
    they had a bad experience of Carnell's pitiful aftersales service so
    went elsewhere.

    Carnells had to bring their own range of Riossi clothing out to keep
    clothing sales profitable - their efforts at selling Dainese and
    A/stars failed as the buyers of what was then top quality kit didn't
    want to buy it from what looked like a bike supermarket, they wanted a
    specialist to sell them it. In winter time sales were down through the
    floor because their business model didn't appeal to the year round
    motorcyclist, but they still had huge sites to keep running. Even the
    sales bonus available on each bike wasn't enough to call a profit, so
    things got very tough for them. In the end it was Dixon's parent
    company that took them down, but the writing was on the wall for
    Carnell/City a long time before that.

    Gericke in the UK have got it sussed - forget the bikes, specialise in
    everything else. Staff costs are lower, rents are lower, you can cater
    for a wider range of customers even in winter when you have some of the
    best wet/cold weather gear at affordable prices and decent quality
    summer clothing always in stock.

    --
    Lozzo
    Versys 650 Tourer, CBR600F-W racebike in the making, TS250C, RD400F
    (somewhere)
    BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
    they churn out)
     
    Lozzo, Aug 22, 2010
    #10
  11. mark

    Beav Guest

    Experience at dealing with the vagaries of the marketplace for 50 years?
     
    Beav, Aug 22, 2010
    #11
  12. mark

    Beav Guest

    Or, as in the case of my Honda Civic, 50,000 miles between oil changes:)
     
    Beav, Aug 22, 2010
    #12
  13. mark

    darsy Guest

    .....ignoring the rest of the typos. Forgetting LTSTPRU, for a moment,
    you really need a decent sub-ed...
     
    darsy, Aug 22, 2010
    #13
  14. mark

    Cab Guest

    Nah, that means we'd be able to understand his posts.
     
    Cab, Aug 22, 2010
    #14
  15. Troo
     
    The Older Gentleman, Aug 22, 2010
    #15
  16. mark

    Pip Luscher Guest

    On the face of it though, this is Good News for anyone who does
    servicing, especially in today's leisure-oriented market.
     
    Pip Luscher, Aug 22, 2010
    #16
  17. mark

    Gyp Guest

    Except that the George White of now is very different to the George
    White of 50 years ago.
     
    Gyp, Aug 22, 2010
    #17
  18. mark

    zymurgy Guest

    TBQH, it doesn't really matter who's name is over the door.

    The (ex) Motorcycle City in Farnborough has had at least 3 names over
    it since i've been there, but it's always in the same location,
    churning out the same stuff.

    Paul.
     
    zymurgy, Aug 22, 2010
    #18
  19. mark

    zymurgy Guest

    Impressively out-tat'ted by the pound shops ...

    Paul.
     
    zymurgy, Aug 22, 2010
    #19
  20. mark

    zymurgy Guest

    I had experience of their pitiful pre-sales service too. And
    afterwards when they morphed into Infinity

    I went elsewhere after they had really, really crap trade in values
    for the Blackbird and CCM. I sold one via a dealer (trade in for the
    12R) and the other via Bike-Trader.

    I didn't like their sales techniques, but they did have good discount
    deals on kit occasionally ..

    Paul.
     
    zymurgy, Aug 22, 2010
    #20
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