BBC4 9pm Tonight - Ride of My Life: The Story of the Bicycle

TinyExplosions

pirelli wrote: »

I did check sales before i posted a while back.

Have you got a link? It would definitely help your credibility to quote some sources

pirelli

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Have you got a link? It would definitely help your credibility to quote some sources

As Lumen pointed out that Lance Armstrong has made Trek a success and no matter where I look Lance Armstrong is credited for Treks return to success.

However these articles will show that after the success of the Mountain Bike the worlds biggest Cycle company saw it's sales slump and the market for bikes became stagnant. Whether Lance armstong revived a flat cycle market or Research and development and Marketing new Products with Treks unique style saw the company return from a declining market to doubling its revenue will always remain a mystery.

However I hope have saved my credibility and can now return to posting innocent comments after my brief euphoria from watching BBC 4 "Ride of my life". Now the excitment has passed I will most likely return to my interest in security analysis. I am not a bike Geek although I do like Trek and respect the Quality products they have brought to the Cycle market at an affordable price. I can ride a great bike without spending hundreds if not thousands of euros. I would also probably beat most you guys in a small tour or race.

Trek is also the most likely candidate to capture the chinese market in my opinion with their low cost high quality hybrid bikes.


An article on Reuters.com By Leigh Buchanan, Inc.com, August 2006,

Quote from Treks Burke:

"I think now that Lance is retired we will just continue to push cycling. He's a poster boy for us, but our focus is still technology, quality products. We put a lot of emphasis on R&D"


A Trek through Time – The History of Trek Bicycles
Posted on the Trek Dealer Site, Feburary 2002


The company pressed on with startling financial success over the next few years. Trek had ridden the wave of the mountain bike, and by 1996 mountain bikes accounted for 80% of the company’s product line. They invested heavily in research and design, employing the largest team of engineers in the business. The domestic dealer base had swelled to 1500. Thousands more around the world came on board through the seven subsidiaries and over 60 distributors. Overseas business had accrued to roughly a third of overall sales. Worldwide annual sales soared near the $350,000,000 range.
Trek had quietly become the world’s largest manufacturer of bicycles sold through specialty retail stores. But growth had hidden a lot of sins. By 1997, the bicycle market had flattened. John Burke stepped in an assumed the role of Trek President. “When the growth stops, it’s time to manage the company,” said John Burke.

Managing a mature company in a stagnant market forced management to reassess their identity. Were the guiding principles the same, had goals changed? “We took a long look at our mission statement and determined what was true ten to fifteen years ago, is still true today,” said John Burke. “We built this business by meeting the needs of our customer, the retailer, and that’s still our number one goal.”


http://www.vintage-trek.com/TREK_History1.pdf



http://www.vintage-trek.com/trek_history_INC.htm

pirelli

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Have you got a link? It would definitely help your credibility to quote some sources

My credibility! :rolleyes:

I was just a geneneral punter enjoying the cycling documentary. You and Lumen and harrry and endwin are (by your post history) bicycling enthusiasts.

I would hazard a guess your more focused on the sport of cycling and racing and downhill racing. In fairness the mountain bike that revived cycling was not by any means confined to professional racers or even cycling enthusiasts. The revival of the cycling by the introduction of the mountain bike is simply marketing and sales to the general public.

"Managing a mature company in a stagnant market forced management to reassess their identity".

A quote from Trek themselves that clearly shows that after the mountain bike the general public lost interest and cycling was once again dying. Scooters if I recall saw a revival.

Trek have since seen a return to their revenue and now boast a higher sales revenue than their peak sales during the mountain bike era. They are selling more hybrids than they have ever sold mountain bikes. Now that deserved a mention and not a lot of .


http://www.vintage-trek.com/TREK_History1.pdf
http://www.vintage-trek.com/trek_history_INC.htm

TinyExplosions

pirelli wrote: »

My credibility! :rolleyes:

I was just a geneneral punter enjoying the cycling documentary. You and Lumen and harrry and endwin are (by your post history) bicycling enthusiasts.

I would hazard a guess your more focused on the sport of cycling and racing and downhill racing. In fairness the mountain bike that revived cycling was not by any means confined to professional racers or even cycling enthusiasts. The revival of the cycling by the introduction of the mountain bike is simply marketing and sales to the general public.

"Managing a mature company in a stagnant market forced management to reassess their identity".

A quote from Trek themselves that clearly shows that after the mountain bike the general public lost interest and cycling was once again dying. Scooters if I recall saw a revival.

Trek have since seen a return to their revenue and now boast a higher sales revenue than their peak sales during the mountain bike era. They are selling more hybrids than they have ever sold mountain bikes. Now that deserved a mention and not a lot of .


http://www.vintage-trek.com/TREK_History1.pdf
http://www.vintage-trek.com/trek_history_INC.htm

I'm interested in the sport, but not in MTB at all.

You've posted a few links, but nowhere on any of them are sales figures that show Hybrids selling more than MTBs, or any other kind. All I was wondering is where these sales figures were coming from. You seem to be extrapolating it from somewhere, and I don't know where, hence the

pirelli

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I'm interested in the sport, but not in MTB at all.

You've posted a few links, but nowhere on any of them are sales figures that show Hybrids selling more than MTBs, or any other kind. All I was wondering is where these sales figures were coming from. You seem to be extrapolating it from somewhere, and I don't know where, hence the

I am not a Security Analyst and Trek are not a publicly traded company. So that information would not be readily available.

If you read the link or even the transcript I copied it has a revenue of 350 million thanks in the most part to MTB. They also had bought many of the MTB companies. Trek report the MTB craze not only flattened but the entire bike market became stagnant. They had invested heavily in MTB's and were in a difficult position. They now boast twice those revenues which IMO have only 35% of the demand for MTB's that they used to have so hybrids and hybrid MTB's make up the revenue MTB's used to make.

All those Trek 7.1 and similar are what revived the market or satisifed customer need. Very few people wanted mountain bikes and instead wanted hybrids. You also don't see even a fraction of the mopeds you used to see.

Do they even make that many MTB's .. I think they have long since diversified into hybrids.

ednwireland

this and the tom simpson doumentry repeated tonight from 8pm

yep bbc4 sorry

its repeated later on set the vid (how come we dont dsya ste the hard drive recorder ????)

fat bloke

ednwireland wrote: »

this and the tom simpson doumentry repeated tonight from 8pm

Cool - What channel??:)

edit - jut found it, bbc4 9pm for the Tom Simpson show (fraid I'll have to go with Top Gear BBC2 at 8... - I know . -I'll leave my cleats and helmet at the door on my way out )

neris

thought that tom simpson programme was very good. looked like a bastard of a climb on that mountain.

fat bloke

Anyone else feel slightly uncomfortable with the adulation for a cyclist who had no issue with use and indeed over-use of performance enhancing drugs?

Hermy

fat bloke wrote: »

Anyone else feel slightly uncomfortable with the adulation for a cyclist who had no issue with use and indeed over-use of performance enhancing drugs?

I feel a bit more than uncomfortable to be honest. The fondness the British media have for Simpson really bothers me especially given how what killed him is an ongoing problem today.

seve65

fat bloke wrote: »

Anyone else feel slightly uncomfortable with the adulation for a cyclist who had no issue with use and indeed over-use of performance enhancing drugs?

sure, didnt see the program though.

however, take Fausto Coppi, the guy is lauded as a saint in Italy, symbolising the recovery of Italian pride post the second world war, and he took drugs (e.g. la bomba) openly. I think there is probably a difference of perspective over drugs cheats from decades ago, when attitudes were different to the current day.

ednwireland

seve65 wrote: »

sure, didnt see the program though.

however, take Fausto Coppi, the guy is lauded as a saint in Italy, symbolising the recovery of Italian pride post the second world war, and he took drugs (e.g. la bomba) openly. I think there is probably a difference of perspective over drugs cheats from decades ago, when attitudes were different to the current day.

and lets be honest the drugs were waaay less effective pre EPO