Shortage of Bike spares in future

[srw]

Yes and all that production gets shipped to Italy. @DRM is suggesting leaving some of it here, undoing what was presumably an economy of scale that was part of the reason SR bought Brooks and making the Brooks division less profitable. Another benefit of Brexit(!)

Fair enough. I misunderstood.

Brookes

Brooks! It doesn't have an E.

 

[Cycleops]

For Brookes, the simplest solution may be to load the Birmingham factory into the back of a few lorries and relocate to Italy.
Given the large shoe industry in Italy they won't find a problem getting experienced leather workers.

Presumably SR will already have considered this when they took over.
The Italians might have also have have some leather that didn’t previously house corned beef.

 

[Cycleops]

Brooks! It doesn't have an E.

That’s because he’s a European.

 

[Brains]

That’s because he’s a European.

As are we all.
(Spelling corrected)

 

[Drago]

An interesting article in Forbes magazine
Brooks Saddles made in the UK, can not be sold in the UK .

I suspect a lot of other smaller European manufacturers will stop (re)importation into the UK. It simply will not be worth the paperwork and additional cost.

The current UK Governments still seems to think "they need us more than we need them"
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlto...ycle-saddles-made-in-england/?sh=326bf64c5bbd

In the case of Brooks, that's an issue with a deeply flawed business practice which is inefficient and inflexible. The owners of Brooks have had 5 years to address this and have failed to act - that's an issue of commercial laziness and inertia. A relatively minor restructuring of the distribution and domestic tax arrangements, which could have been planned for half a decade ago, would have resolved this.

The article is also at odds with comments from many retailers, including Tesco, and they don't get much larger than that, who reckon it will make little real difference to process, availability, or cost to the custumer, of goods and food.

In addition, most of the doom and gloom forecasts about the efficiency of the movement of goods have been proven staggeringly wrong, with only 3 - yes, three - lorries being turned away from Dover on the first of January, such is the ease and simplicty of the customs process for the movelemnt of goods. The doomsayers were wrong about this on a breathtaking scale, so why should we believe anything else they have to say?

When it happens, I'll believe it. Until then its a 20p scenario.

 

[accountantpete]

Right so Brooks ship stuff to the EU.

On it's return it attracts VAT on output so the Italian company pays VAT to HMRC. It then goes to the UK operation - and guess what - it calls the VAT incurred Input VAT which can be offset against Output VAT. So the net effect is NIL - VAT is then charged to the customer and everyone is happy.

 

[lane]

I have read that a Dutch retailer will no longer supply the UK. That is because they will have to be UK registered for VAT , pay a registration fee to HMRC and keep separate records etc. for UK sales. They say if they had to do this for every country they supply to it would not be a viable business model.

 

[mjr]

In the case of Brooks, that's an issue with a deeply flawed business practice which is inefficient and inflexible. The owners of Brooks have had 5 years to address this and have failed to act - that's an issue of commercial laziness and inertia.

4 and a half years, but only if they didn't believe the promises about things like "British goods conveyed all over the place with Europa managed logistical systems. Isn’t that the right way forward? Yes it is, yes it certainly is."

The article is also at odds with comments from many retailers, including Tesco, and they don't get much larger than that, who reckon it will make little real difference to process, availability, or cost to the custumer, of goods and food.

We will see, but what does Tesco make itself? How many UK made bike parts do they sell? Not a surprise if they see things differently to a bike parts manufacturer.

In addition, most of the doom and gloom forecasts about the efficiency of the movement of goods have been proven staggeringly wrong, with only 3 - yes, three - lorries being turned away from Dover on the first of January, such is the ease and simplicty of the customs process for the movelemnt of goods. The doomsayers were wrong about this on a breathtaking scale, so why should we believe anything else they have to say?

Maybe don't believe the doomsayers but the reasonable commentators all say thr border friction is having an impact. You aren't seeing chaos at Dover because checks are happening elsewhere and the police have been deployed to redirect unapproved lorries before they get there, in a masterstroke of image management. Let's see what happens on the first full working day tomorrow, and the few weeks after as pre-Christmas stockpiles run down. Also, the doubling of Ireland-France ferries will have some effect.

 

[lane]

I have read that a Dutch retailer will no longer supply the UK. That is because they will have to be UK registered for VAT , pay a registration fee to HMRC and keep separate records etc. for UK sales. They say if they had to do this for every country they supply to it would not be a viable business model.

For those that are never hsppy without link

https://road.cc/content/news/dutch-bike-part-dealer-shipping-every-country-except-uk-279779

 

[screenman]

I see it as an opportunity for somebody to set up as a UK Distributor.

 

[lane]

I see it as an opportunity for somebody to set up as a UK Distributor.

Exactly what I thought! Couldn't work out if you would need to set up a company to purchase items in the Netherlands though to avoid the VAT issue for the company you are purchasing from.

 

[screenman]

Exactly what I thought! Couldn't work out if you would need to set up a company to purchase items in the Netherlands though to avoid the VAT issue for the company you are purchasing from.

Order £50,000 worth at a time and I am sure SR will be happy to serve you.

 

[DRM]

Order £50,000 worth at a time and I am sure SR will be happy to serve you.

No need there are lots of warehousing/storage facilities available, but they could probably extend the factories goods out area, they’ll already have fork trucks and drivers, I can’t see the sales in the UK being so large as to need a huge distribution warehouse seperate from the factory, after all they’ve had four years to sort it out

 

[Illaveago]

It will be their loss! If the manufacturers haven't adapted to the new situation then it is up to them.

 

[screenman]

No need there are lots of warehousing/storage facilities available, but they could probably extend the factories goods out area, they’ll already have fork trucks and drivers, I can’t see the sales in the UK being so large as to need a huge distribution warehouse seperate from the factory

I am a UK distributor for a USA company, it is usual to show you are serious when apply for distribution rights, hence the £50,000 worth. I think it is the lack of sales that is the reason they are not bothering too much.