Right? I just built up my test sample this morning. Certainly a bit heavy given the steel frame and somewhat lower-end spec, but I'm dying to see how the whole thing rides.
Funny, I was seriously just reminiscing about my old Salsa La Raza steel road bike that I had in the 1990s. Absolutely loved that thing, and will forever remember Ross Shafer himself answering the phone when I called in the order. One of the only frames I truly regret selling.
Still remember the conversation like it was yesterday, and even where I was in the shop when I made the phone call. He answered the phone as "Ross", to which I immediately replied, "Shafer???!!!". I was still in my early 20s and could barely believe who I was talking to.
The big four are much more cycnical about the impact of their direct/online sales on their retailers than smaller brands but I’m curious as to which impact a 40% discount has on the shops who chose to stock and sell Revel. Am I assuming too much or can we say a shop with a few Revel frames or bikes in stock expects some support and stabilty to be able to follow a brand that is great but will request more time and effort to sell compared to a more popular brand (as in well known and established).
I forwarded your question to Revel CEO Ben Coates. Here's his reply:
"That is a great question and supporting our shops is absolutely a priority for us and something that we spend a lot of time, energy and money to do. As it relates to sales on the website, we do our very best to protect our shops margins. We always notify them first about the details and offer them the opportunity to buy at a discount before we ever go on sale. In addition, we protect them with rebates when and we do not prioritize any inventory for DTC sales. This is a huge cost to Revel as we lose a fair amount of money making sure that our shops are taken care of during sales periods but we think the rider and the shop deserve it. The best way to put it for any time period is that we try to be agnostic about where the rider wants to get their bike. They are in control and we need to service their needs. It is our job to make sure the rider gets the right product, at the right price, at the time they want, from the place they want. In order to do that, we have to make sure our retailers have to ability to deliver and we take that very seriously."
That’s great to hear from Ben himself, that’s next level after sales @James Huang ;-) . I like the answer and and hopefully it doesn’t sugar Coat(e)s how the shops experience it (pun very much intended). It goes on to show there’s another way to deal with the challenges of multichannel sales and there’s hope in a model where both the brand and it’s distrbution network make the best of the available tools to offer great customer experience, it’s almost a REVELation (couldn’t help myself).
I’m looking forward to your No 22 piece after seeing the bike at MADE. It was mind blowing. The China trip will be cool! And yeah, it seems like they could put a dent in the US market with its pricing. If I had to buy a road bike, I’m likely to try it just based on the pricing alone.
I think the better-known Asian consumer-direct brands really do stand to shake things up in a big way, kind of like Canyon already has but on a potentially much bigger scale.
That new batch Stinner sounds mighty interesting. I look forward to your review 🫡
Right? I just built up my test sample this morning. Certainly a bit heavy given the steel frame and somewhat lower-end spec, but I'm dying to see how the whole thing rides.
My current steel ride is an old Salsa colossal in SRAM apex at 22 lbs and she’s still my favourite
That’s such a cool story James .
I’d be so giddy
Funny, I was seriously just reminiscing about my old Salsa La Raza steel road bike that I had in the 1990s. Absolutely loved that thing, and will forever remember Ross Shafer himself answering the phone when I called in the order. One of the only frames I truly regret selling.
That’s a great story. Nothing like dealing with the head maker himself.
Love that
Still remember the conversation like it was yesterday, and even where I was in the shop when I made the phone call. He answered the phone as "Ross", to which I immediately replied, "Shafer???!!!". I was still in my early 20s and could barely believe who I was talking to.
The big four are much more cycnical about the impact of their direct/online sales on their retailers than smaller brands but I’m curious as to which impact a 40% discount has on the shops who chose to stock and sell Revel. Am I assuming too much or can we say a shop with a few Revel frames or bikes in stock expects some support and stabilty to be able to follow a brand that is great but will request more time and effort to sell compared to a more popular brand (as in well known and established).
I forwarded your question to Revel CEO Ben Coates. Here's his reply:
"That is a great question and supporting our shops is absolutely a priority for us and something that we spend a lot of time, energy and money to do. As it relates to sales on the website, we do our very best to protect our shops margins. We always notify them first about the details and offer them the opportunity to buy at a discount before we ever go on sale. In addition, we protect them with rebates when and we do not prioritize any inventory for DTC sales. This is a huge cost to Revel as we lose a fair amount of money making sure that our shops are taken care of during sales periods but we think the rider and the shop deserve it. The best way to put it for any time period is that we try to be agnostic about where the rider wants to get their bike. They are in control and we need to service their needs. It is our job to make sure the rider gets the right product, at the right price, at the time they want, from the place they want. In order to do that, we have to make sure our retailers have to ability to deliver and we take that very seriously."
That’s great to hear from Ben himself, that’s next level after sales @James Huang ;-) . I like the answer and and hopefully it doesn’t sugar Coat(e)s how the shops experience it (pun very much intended). It goes on to show there’s another way to deal with the challenges of multichannel sales and there’s hope in a model where both the brand and it’s distrbution network make the best of the available tools to offer great customer experience, it’s almost a REVELation (couldn’t help myself).
Thanks for the story on Jason and I’m thankful for all the Jasons in this world. Being able to still ride is a gift at any age.
Highland Bob
I’m looking forward to your No 22 piece after seeing the bike at MADE. It was mind blowing. The China trip will be cool! And yeah, it seems like they could put a dent in the US market with its pricing. If I had to buy a road bike, I’m likely to try it just based on the pricing alone.
I think the better-known Asian consumer-direct brands really do stand to shake things up in a big way, kind of like Canyon already has but on a potentially much bigger scale.