Bike sales in decline
- Thread starter Smokin Joe
- Start date
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SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
The exchange rate doesn't make a blind bit of difference to my day job. On a personal level, the weaker the Pound is the better, as I have some investments that declare their profits in Dollars. Most of the money I spend myself is spent in the domestic economy, within the UK. I'm not bothered about the prices of things like foreign holidays or imported goods from the EU.
That’s up to the market to decide surely.
- Location
- London
Very possibly true. Or even definitely. I used to work for a company which kitted out its account managers with bright red audis. Which it put "personalised" company plates on to look flash. But none were bought new. All were second hand but with extremely low mileage. Very canny. I always wondered how they found them. My theory, which i shared with the office, was that they had been used by stressed out execs who had gassed themselves in them before clocking too many miles / edit remembered: and that they identified them by scanning death notices. Your explanation is more likely. And less tragic. I eventually disposed of one of mine, after a few driving adventures, by crashing it into an unmarked police car.
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How about imported things from outside the EU?
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
Obviously the cost of any imported product depends on the exchange rate, and currencies constantly fluctuate for a variety of reasons. Ultimately, we in the UK need to go back to making more things ourselves and importing less, so that we don't run a horrendous balance of payments deficit. The UK and USA are amongst the worst offenders for sucking in loads of imports and relying on a surplus in financial services to bail out the figures. It's a risky strategy, as it exposes our domestic economy to the vagaries of all sorts of external factors we have little influence over.
One of the highest costs involved in manufacturing is wages, the rest you can figure, how do the UK get around that one.
There is a shop in Lincoln that would lend itself well to a bike shop, £34,000 pa rent £19,000 rates. That is a reason things are slowing.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Well no as that would be the additional base cost if we are outside the EU single market.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
It's not going to be domestically viable to manufacture low-value goods without a high degree of automation, due, as you say to pay costs.. It's a different matter for things where wages aren't the biggest cost component though.
As regards the shop, that's symptomatic of the obsession in the UK with property prices as though they in themselves, are a generator of prosperity. Rents are high because investment yields on property are related to the value of the property being rented out. Rates are high because they are based on rental values! Our government wastes far too much money on all sorts of pointless nonsense and levies far too much tax on bricks & mortar businesses. We don't have a small business-friendly environment that encourages enterprise. That needs to change, regardless of Brexit..
Indeed it would. The market (as in buyers and sellers) would then decide if things continue as is. If UK purchasers decide they aren’t prepared to pay the new price fee, then they either won’t buy at all or buy elsewhere. The sellers would then adjust pricing accordingly. As said before, it’s Demand and Supply.
What if they cannot adjust price, how low can you go on the products you supply. There also comes a time when some customers are no longer worth having.
Well the current exchange rate gifts them 10% straight away. The rest depends on their profit margin I guess. I agree that there’s only so far that they can go. Also agree on the custom no longer being valuable.
That’s where their governments come in when striking the deals.
All this rubbish about no deal is scaremongering.
Johnno260
Veteran
- Location
- East Sussex
He was a total tool.
jefmcg
Guru
Sigh. Not keeping up with this thread, but just like to emphasise....
(mind you, most of the reason posted apply to all big purchases so ....)
(mind you, most of the reason posted apply to all big purchases so ....)
