c r c to stop selling Shimano to USA & Canada in 2019

[Ross]

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industr ... -us-canada

LONDON (BRAIN) — U.K. online retailer Chain Reaction Cycles has announced on its website that it will stop selling Shimano products into North America starting Jan. 1, 2019. As of Wednesday afternoon Pacific time, there was no similar announcement on fellow U.K. e-commerce site this link is broken, which merged with Chain Reaction in a $400 million deal in 2016.

When shoppers in the U.S. and Canada visit the Chain Reaction site, the home page currently states: "Unfortunately from January 1, we will no longer be able to sell Shimano into your country. We're working with Shimano to be able to sell to you again in the future."

Emails to Shimano, Chain Reaction and their last known public relations agencies were not immediately returned to BRAIN.

Many North American IBDs have long criticized Shimano for not clamping down on sales by Chain Reaction and Wiggle at retail prices well below dealers' wholesale cost. As a result, many retailers have dramatically reduced their inventory of Shimano parts or stopped stocking the brand altogether.

In fall 2016, BRAIN reported that SRAM had instituted new policies that got its products off European e-commerce sites including Wiggle and Chain Reaction.

[10speedsemiracer]

am just sitting here waiting for us to be affected in the same way, and the environment turn into what we now experience with SRAM.

[RonK]

am just sitting here waiting for us to be affected in the same way, and the environment turn into what we now experience with SRAM.

?????? As I recall, that was announced a couple of months back.

[10speedsemiracer]

..................As I recall, that was announced a couple of months back.

Oh..

[AUbicycles]

Thanks for sharing, will be an interesting move to observe.

[Calvin27]

Can't buy shimano on c r c anymore.
Happy new year consumer suckers.

*Edit: Still on wiggle site though, but mtb stock is patchy as practically useless.

[Baalzamon]

Went to all brands and shimano isn't even listed! So looks like I'm never buying from c r c again.

[metalrideroz]

I did a spare parts panic order on the 29th just in case. Shimano items in wiggle wishlist "no longer available". Looks like it's sunrace cassettes and kmc chains from now on.
https://youtu.be/fP0MXJAQhmo

[ldrcycles]

retail prices well below dealers' wholesale cost.

See I'd have thought the sensible move would be to stop charging the dealers like a wounded bull....

[uad782]

I contacted c r c who said it is only for four days with sales resuming on 4 Jan???

[Calvin27]

I contacted c r c who said it is only for four days with sales resuming on 4 Jan???

I don't understand why NA stuff had to affect Australia. I mean if anything c r c stocking shimano alleviated the pressure on the local Shimano distributor that was never really any good and called... Shimano?

[Jmuzz]

I don't understand why NA stuff had to affect Australia.

It's not really a North America thing.
Shimano headquarters has just given in to regional distributor demands to give them protected markets so Shimano has prohibited everyone from selling cross region.
Of course not every seller obeys and many can fly under the radar.

Hopefully the Chinese brands hurry up and take over the market and leave these price gougers with outdated distribution model behind.
A brand like Xiaomi will really shake the old boys up when they seriously enter the bicycle market.