PlanetX - calls in the administrators

[Illaveago]

It is a shame !
My brother has a Holdsworth classic style replica bike. I can't think of the proper name at the moment but it is a lovely looking bike . It is purple and red with chrome lugs . He bought it second hand. I only pointed it out to him that it was on the bay and the next thing I knew was that he had bought it !
I am a bit jealous! He even goes faster than me when we are out together .
Ah sad news !

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

It is a shame !
My brother has a Holdsworth classic style replica bike...

I had a lot of respect for Planet X when they acquired the Holdsworth name almost by accident and tried to make a go of it as a retro brand with 531 and 753 frames.

Sadly almost nobody wanted them so they didn't make any more.

Yet for a heavily internet based business they seem rather web naïve, for example

the above (https://www.planetx.co.uk/news/prod...t-holdsworth-753-will-be-launched-at-bespoked) is on their news page https://www.planetx.co.uk/news/products/?page=5& yet for some odd reason they have deleted older content so not only doesn't the link go anywhere useful, search engines will have deleted the page.

Really positive stuff about Planet X has been deleted, just to save a few pennies on web hosting?

Unless of course they were embarrassed by being associated with us "not with it" crowd.

Bye

Ian

 

[midlife]

If I was a supplier to PX who got their fingers burnt when it was sold as a pre pack I’m not sure I would supply them again….

 

[Jameshow]

Will be interesting which way it goes?

Clothing only or full bikes parts and accessories.

I'm guess the margins are alot tighter in components esp compared to clothing, bags etc.

 

[wafter]

Good to hear they've not gone under, however IME the involvement of "private equity" groups doesn't bode well..

As already mentioned up-thread; seems to be another supplier / retailer sold to its employees off the back off the Covid boom - obviously I don't know all the details but on the face of it seems like a very naive purchase...

 

[Cycleops]

If I was a supplier to PX who got their fingers burnt when it was sold as a pre pack I’m not sure I would supply them again….

You might think this would be the case but I've worked in manufacturing and in 90% of the cases where this happened we were back supplying the offending individuals or new companies.

 

[Svendo]

You might think this would be the case but I've worked in manufacturing and in 90% of the cases where this happened we were back supplying the offending individuals or new companies.

I imagine the payment terms are tightened though? Cleared funds before dispatch rather than 30 days credit?

 

[fossyant]

PS, Carnac shorts are perfect, as is the £9.99 plastic lid - quite well vented given today's weather.

 

[Cycleops]

I imagine the payment terms are tightened though? Cleared funds before dispatch rather than 30 days credit?

Lines of credit would be strictly monitored.

 

[cyberknight]

PS, Carnac shorts are perfect, as is the £9.99 plastic lid - quite well vented given today's weather.

whats the difference to the clubman light shorts ?

 

[fossyant]

whats the difference to the clubman light shorts ?

Top bib is white, and the leg bit has a large gripper - like 2". They work OK - I'm a die fast Decathlon bib 900 wearer, but no longer sold. Fine, comfy, did the job.

 

[fossyant]

PS my bit's were OK.

 

[cyberknight]

PS my bit's were OK.

ooh matron !

 

[bonzobanana]

Are there really any unreliable cars these days ? - I ve drove low end Citroen and Peugeot for well over 20 years with very few problems. Serviced once a year from a non franchise mechanic.

I wouldn't call those premium. Small basic cars tend to be more reliable. The cars with poor reliability tend to be more complicated. Lots of options added, complicated engines and automatic gearboxes, lots of electronics. A typical £40-50k German rep mobile is quite unreliable and makes sense to lease to avoid big surprises. They are also the most likely to have engine and transmission failures which sometimes can make a car uneconomic to repair. There's an old report below but if anything things have got worse as emission standards keep getting stricter so meeting those emission standards has become more difficult. The Bosch dieselgate situation is perhaps a indicator of how much pressure manufacturers are under to meet difficult emission's standards. I believe 3 cylinder engines in smaller cars have reduced their reliability somewhat compared to 4 cylinder engines. They typically would have a turbo too that adds to the complexity. So long term reliability is compromised. As we become a much poorer country people are keeping cars longer or buying cheaper older cars but some new cars are not lasting that long these again tend to be the more complicated designs which become uneconomic to repair. No one wants to spend £4k repairing a car only worth £3k. On the old warranty direct site you had some cars that cost on average £200 to repair and others over £2k and that is just the average and the cars with £2k plus repairs often had a much greater frequency of faults too which was even more painful.

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/62383/german-cars-among-worst-engine-failures

https://web.archive.org/web/20210430103028/https://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer

 

[kingrollo]

I wouldn't call those premium. Small basic cars tend to be more reliable. The cars with poor reliability tend to be more complicated. Lots of options added, complicated engines and automatic gearboxes, lots of electronics. A typical £40-50k German rep mobile is quite unreliable and makes sense to lease to avoid big surprises. They are also the most likely to have engine and transmission failures which sometimes can make a car uneconomic to repair. There's an old report below but if anything things have got worse as emission standards keep getting stricter so meeting those emission standards has become more difficult. The Bosch dieselgate situation is perhaps a indicator of how much pressure manufacturers are under to meet difficult emission's standards. I believe 3 cylinder engines in smaller cars have reduced their reliability somewhat compared to 4 cylinder engines. They typically would have a turbo too that adds to the complexity. So long term reliability is compromised. As we become a much poorer country people are keeping cars longer or buying cheaper older cars but some new cars are not lasting that long these again tend to be the more complicated designs which become uneconomic to repair. No one wants to spend £4k repairing a car only worth £3k. On the old warranty direct site you had some cars that cost on average £200 to repair and others over £2k and that is just the average and the cars with £2k plus repairs often had a much greater frequency of faults too which was even more painful.

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/62383/german-cars-among-worst-engine-failures

https://web.archive.org/web/20210430103028/https://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer

But that's part of my point. 3 of 5 most unreliable cars have a failure rate of below 3% - meaning 97% of cars made by those unrealible manufacturers don't have engine failures.
Figures from the article you quoted.