[Closed] Halfords to stock Pinarello

That's a great idea Pinarello!

Said no one, ever.

I doubt they will stock many dogma's or the like. But can see them shifting plenty of FP1's and the other Alloy models.

Pinarello's range for 2013 is disappointing anyway IMO. The only Dogmas are all with EPS, and no Team Sky replica - bike or frame. I'd expect that to be 'the one' people aspire to. The catalogue is filled with photos of Cav and Wiggins, but you can't get that bike.

No doubt, but how much damage will it do to the brand long term. People buy a Dogma for exclusivity, they don't want a similar bike sold through the local car engine oil retailer.

Never understood the idea of buying a Dogma for exclusivity when they're so high profile. I think its more likely people buy them because they're a status symbol that most people with an interest in cycling will be aware of.

I don't get them at all. It looks like they've been left out in the sun too long. Ugly melted things.

I'm sure they'll sell plenty in Halfords though.

Hamfisted mechanic write off £3000 carbon frame.....

And pinerello lose all appeal they ever had

Meh. Any credibility Pinarello had has just gone right out the window. I hope Halfrauds know what they're doing - Pinarello bikes are massively overpriced, you're paying for the name.

Where was it announced? got a linky?

[url= http://www.halfordspressoffice.com/Press-Releases/Halfords-becomes-Official-Stockist-of-Pinarello-Cycles-4f1.aspx ]Trashing the Pinarello brand[/url]

They have trouble supplying there existing dealers with bikes as they are just a little company, can't see that getting any better when they now have Halfords to feed.

Get over yourselves, you pretentious ****ers.
what's wrong with a brand attempting to reach a broader market? Just because it meand 'joe Bloggs' might buy one doesn't make it a bad thing.
I'm quite sure that oinarello wouldn't have signed the del if it wasn't worth their while.

Cheers. Wind up email to Dogma owning friends sent! 😀

[i]they're a status symbol that most people with an interest in cycling will be aware of[/i]

Yeh a passing interest rather a 'real' cyclist. I don't think many proper cyclists lust after a pinarello

I've nothing at all against Halfords and I'm sure they'll put a lot of effort into doing a good job. But in the UK at least, this must be commercial suicide for an aspirational brand like Pinarello?!

guess I'm a pretentious four star then.

I wouldn't buy a bike that Halfords stock.

Any credibility Pinarello had has just gone right out the window.

I think that already happened

[img] [/img]

I'd have a Boardman hardtail off Halfords tomorrow. Just would'nt let them service it, is all. 😀

Jees, that one fugly bike..

Why shouldn't they cash in by selling alloy bikes through halfords. They must have poured a fortune into Team Sky over the years, because I bet Brailsfords innundated with offers for kit from Spesh/Trek/Cannondale/Felt/Canyon/Bianchi/etc so whatever they're paying it won't be cheep to get Sky riding them.

They're a business, they exist to make money, not appease people on internet forums who in all likelyhood would never buy a dogma whether they could afford it or not.

Having said that, they are unforgivably ugly.

The easy availability of chinarellos have done far more to damage the brand than choosing to sell in halfords will do.

[IMG] [/IMG]

There is a bigger picture here about Halfords wanting to play with the big boys. Lots of the the leading mfrs / distributors are locked into or owned by larger retailers - think CRC/Wiggle/Evans.

Selling Pinarello's could be the straw that breaks the camels back, and widens the market of distribution up, meaning lower prices, more choice and better access to products for all. Could even help get more cyclists on bikes....

They must have poured a fortune into Team Sky over the years, because I bet Brailsfords innundated with offers for kit from Spesh/Trek/Cannondale/Felt/Canyon/Bianchi/et

Cav had personal sponsorship with Spec and it was costing a fortune to buy that contract out- rumour was if he was staying at Sky they were going to drop Pina and go with Spec.

Pinerello at Halfords? Rapha sponsoring Sky? I obviously dont understand business as the meeting of mass-market and niche/aspirational brands doesnt make sense to me. Are Pina going to extend their "entry level" alloy range? Will they be better looking than the Dogma, the ugliest road bike on the market?

The easy availability of chinarellos have done far more to damage the brand than choosing to sell in halfords will do.

How do you figure that? Fakes dont devalue a brand. Loads of fake Oakleys about but doesn't harm their business as people with the money to buy the original do so. Selling them in Tesco might.

I bet that posh bikeshop in central Manchester will be pleased............

another brand bites the dust...

Are Yellow still distributing Pinarello then? I wonder if this is going to be like the Kona and GT Halfords deals where they offer different models to those sod via IBD's.

3 for the price of 2 anyone ? 🙂

Some very sad people on this thread

Love this thread, watch the brand snobs explode 😆

Doubly ironic as only one brand has been seriously damaged by Halfords recently- and it was GT, when Halfords dropped them and they lost the majority of their UK sales.

Mattbee + 1 why the snobbery?

Silly me! Forgot I was on STW 😉

Dark Side - Member

People buy a Dogma for exclusivity, they don't want a similar bike sold through the local car engine oil retailer.

So, it's brand bought by pretentious idiots who don't really care about bikes then?

Pik n Mix - Member

guess I'm a pretentious four star then.

I wouldn't buy a bike that Halfords stock.

I'd buy the best bike for the price, even if it had 'ASDA' or 'ALDI'
engraved on the downtube in flaming letters of fire.

Love this thread, watch the brand snobs explode

Hmmm brands that halfords killed....saracen, kona, airborne, voodoo...and Im sure there are others...

But good luck to them anyway, i can see the appeal dropping after a while and by then the brand "snobs" will have moved to another brand..

Get over yourselves, you pretentious ****.
what's wrong with a brand attempting to reach a broader market? Just because it meand 'joe Bloggs' might buy one doesn't make it a bad thing.
I'm quite sure that oinarello wouldn't have signed the del if it wasn't worth their while

Well said (If not spelled 😉 ) Matt!

Brilliant thread, snobbery at it's worst!

The product hasn't changed, just the vendor and now the posers are up in arms....this reminds me of those bellends who were happily frequenting Harris & Hoole coffee shops until they found out that Tesco have a large stake in the company... now the poor dears are moaning they have to find a different 'indie' coffee house to go to!

I like good products at low prices, good news.

i don't have any issues about pinarello being sold by halfords.if it means more people can afford to buy them (more people become cyclists e.t.c) then it's all good in my book. 🙂

nasher - Member

Hmmm brands that halfords killed....saracen, kona, airborne, voodoo...and Im sure there are others...

Kona are dead? Interesting. Voodoo only exist in the UK because of Halfords these days.

Rusty Spanner - Member
Dark Side - Member
People buy a Dogma for exclusivity, they don't want a similar bike sold through the local car engine oil retailer.
So, it's brand bought by pretentious idiots who don't really care about bikes then?

In a lot of cases, yes it is. That's the point I was making. I think a lot of people on this thread are confusing pretensions for opinion. I don't care if Pinarello are sold through the local Asda, but a lot of their customers do. If you remove the exclusivity or status of owning a Pinarello, perceived or otherwise, they are just another bike manufacturer with a high price and poor spec. Imagine Louis Vuitton being sold through Lidl, do you think you'd still have WAGS and wannabes lining up to have exactly the same bag as every other WAG or wannabe?

but I can buy a pin for £300 🙂

[img] http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwOVgxNjAw/$(KGrHqZHJBYE+PEE)TRWBP2d!VsP0Q~~60_1.JP G" target="_blank">http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwOVgxNjAw/$(KGrHqZHJBYE+PEE)TRWBP2d!VsP0Q~~60_1.JP G"/> ?set_id=880000500F[/img]

Blimey the pretend ones look even more minging than the real thing.

"Halfords, who are the UK's largest bike and accessories retailer"

Aye, and even after having their "forecourt" done up I still have to lock my bike to the crate of antifreeze cos they ain't got any bike racks outside.

Orange Crush - Member

Aye, and even after having their "forecourt" done up I still have to lock my bike to the crate of antifreeze cos they ain't got any bike racks outside.

I take mine inside.

What dark side said. Im not a fan of Pina or a hater of halfords I just don't see the match. Selling a high end niche brand in a mainstream/budget store devalues the image of that supposedly prestigious brand. Will fans be happy handing over £4K to a kid busy trying to fit bulbs to a mondeo? Or are we going to see a massive expansion in the range of 'entry level' Pinas which will make up halfords stock? What of the small specialists, they must be gutted.

[quoteBrilliant thread, snobbery at it's worst!

Blimey imagine if halfords started stocking on-one frames..now that's a thread is like too see!!

i don't have any issues about pinarello being sold by halfords.if it means more people can afford to buy them (more people become cyclists e.t.c)

Except it won't make the slightest difference to the number of cyclists. It's not like a non-cyclist is suddenly going to start because a Pina is suddenly more readily available (and possibly a bit cheaper).

Pinarello's all look awful imo. Why will they lose credibility by selling them in Halfords? My first MTB was a Carrera Vulcan from Halfords-I chuffin loved it, even if it did weigh a tonne!

Some terrible snobbery on here, though I agree it might look a weird decision from Pinarello.

I wouldn't buy a bike that Halfords stock.

I got the Boardman Team CX from Halfords this summer,and it's turned out to be the best value bike I've ever had.
£740, and its done the Walney to Wear C2C, the 3 peaks cyclo cross race, my local and flat offroad route, an adventure race in the Pentlands, and commuted on it every day. Prefectly set up when I got. No complaints, so build a bridge and get over it.

 

Personally I couldn't care less if Halfords stock Pinarellos or not. I'm very anti Halfords, but it's nothing to do with snobbery. I've been in their shop and heard then give bad advice to customers, and also tell blatant lies. I've also heard loads of stories (first hand) of badly, in fact dangerously, built bikes. Forks being put on the wrong way round for example.

I don't like them because I suspect their policy of flogging cheap, heavy BSOs to people buying their first bike has probably put a lot of folk off cycling.

nasher - Member
Hmmm brands that halfords killed....saracen, kona, airborne, voodoo...and Im sure there are others...

Saracen died because the bikes where junk. Most of the Saracens sold by Halfords were around the £2-300 end. They were constantly coming back in for new wheels and crank arms (Saracen branded parts). Halfords got fed up of the warranty claims and dropped them.
Kona were really difficult to sell. The average customer came in looked at the Kona, looked at the Carrera and then the difference in price. Halfords customers tend to be looking for "value" and not a decent frame to build up on. Plus the Fury had started to get reviews at the same time.
Voodoo used to be next to impossible to sell as they were catalogue only. On the rare occasion a customer wanted one they took forever to order in. Seem to be doing much better now many stores have them in stock.

Anyway back to topic. I suspect Halfords may be using one of the Carrera factories to help with production numbers. The "better than half price" Cav replica is likely to be a lie. Halfords have a few products that are marked up by 100% for the legal minimum of weeks in a few stores and then reduced back to the intended selling price. They use it to stick in the newspapers etc. to draw in customers. It's probably the thing I hated most while working for Halfords. So dishonest and unnecessary.
I'd be surprised if Halfords stock the expensive models - Halfords struggle to sell over £1k bikes, even in flag ship stores.
I don't really know much about the Pini' brand. I'm guessing the UK isn't a big market for them compared to the continent? Presumably they want the money. And with the economy as it is, can we hold that against them?

It's not snobbery to question why a high-end, aspirational brand would distribute via a mass market non-specialist retailer. They're just not well-matched.

Association is everything in positioning a brand. From a marketing/brand strategy point of view this is a very odd decision and a real mismatch. It's likely to make Pinarello a lot less desirable IMO, it takes away all the exclusivity which is currently part of the Pinarello appeal

Surely you by a Pinarello though because it is exclusive!?

If you wanted a great bike at a reasonable price you'd go for a Boardman. Your not really getting much more performance for the £kkkk's more your paying for a Pinerello, your paying for the exclusivity.

As someone mentioned, would designer clothes be as attractive if you paid near the actual proper manufacturing costs at somewhere like asda! Would Rapha be as popular if it was sold in bulk at a lower cost at Halfords?

who cares? not me!!!!!

wheelie for the dark side!!!!

Ladders - Member
As someone mentioned, would designer clothes be as attractive if you paid near the actual proper manufacturing costs at somewhere like asda!

Depends if you think people value you for who you are or your ability to afford what others cannot.
Obviously they would still be attractive to non brand snobs, but would lose appeal to the shallow minded.

Pathetic, isn't it?

Completely wrong on every brand there Nasher. Halfords didn't 'kill' any of them, they went downhill for different reasons each but being available in Halfords wasn't one of them.

Plenty of bike shops around the country have rubbish staff or give bad advice; they are either independent or small chains whereas Halfords are national and bad experience in one store colours opinion of the whole chain.

Haterz gotta hate though, eh? x

There's a huge lack of understanding of how Brands work on this thread. 😕

Anyway... Some people want the best value for money no matter the name on the product. Some people are more than happy to pay a slight premium for a product from a brand with an aspirational image. And some people will readily pay over the odds for a product that carries a strong brand name that has lots of history and an enviable track record.

That's life! Deal with it...

There is no point whatsoever arguing from your own standpoint, and why your buying decisions are more valid than another person's. We're all different, we all buy things for different reasons. Pinarello obviously falls squarely into the last category I described above, they are not cheap, in fact they're pretty steeply priced compared to most of their competition when you compare like for like, but they do have an enviable performance track record if (like most people) you judge that by TdF wins. It's a very strong, instantly recognisable brand, ridden by the current (British) TdF winner! Like it or not, people aspire to owning Pinarello's.

Now... How does this sit with those in the industry? Well I can only give a snap reaction as someone who works for a small independent shop that sells Pinarello's, and the initial reaction is not good. The case with most aspirational brands (such as Pinarello) is that people who buy their products, have lusted after them for some time, and often have even saved up for a while to be able to afford such a product. To find out that the bike you just bought after having lusted after it for ages and saved up for just as long, is now going to be available in Halfords (perceived whether you or they like it or not as the Bargain Basement of Bike shops), has caused a few heightened emotions already.

Whether or not you or I entirely understand their purchasing decision is totally irrelevant, the point here is that what is very likely to happen unless it is managed exceptionally well, is that the brand image of Pinarello will change quite drastically, very quickly. Halfords have almost undoubtedly been good for Kona, GT, Voodoo and even Saracen in terms of sales volume, but without exception each brand has suffered an image problem as a result of being sold in Halfords. Back in the late 90's everyone I knew who rode lusted after Kona's and GT's, these days (regardless of it being right or not) people associate these brands with Halfords, and the cheap image that goes with it.

Stella Artois (ironically) used to use the advertising slogan "Reassuringly Expensive". They ran this slogan for 25 years! It obviously worked for them, judging by how prevalent Stella is as a drink. It's absolute swill, but they sold it based on an aspirational image, and it sold well.

You can apply the same theory to a VW Golf (or even more so to an Audi A3). Everyone knows that a SEAT Leon is the same car (and that the Skoda Octavia is too, just with a slightly bigger boot), but some people are happy to pay a 20% premium for the Golf. Try getting a big discount on a new Golf at your local VW dealer. In fact, take a look at the residual values of 3 year old models as a percentage of their new value, then compare it to other brands. VW work hard to maintain the aspirational image of the Golf, and it works. If every car supermarket suddenly started banging out new Golf's at 30% off list price, it would totally devalue the brand, people with Golf's would no longer want them, and values of used vehicles would drop drastically too, which would further infuriate existing customers and devalue the brand further (entering a vicious circle).

Brand identity is big business to some people, and many brands work hard to keep an identity thus. Whatever my personal opinions of Pinarello are don't matter at all, Pinarello has an image that is going to come under severe scrutiny very soon, and those that do buy into the brand are very edgy right now! 😕

if its sold at halfords most folk will think its crap. kona is defo still recovering and so is gt. hows boredman doing ?

I've been blasted about my opinions on image, but where ever it's sold a Pinarello is a Pinarello.
Halfords IMO is far better than some storage container some where in the middle of an old industrial estate with a fancy website.
How many bike snobs will go into Halfords to try them out for size, then go home and do a snide search for the cheapest place to buy one.

Mboy: possibly the most eloquent and well rounded post I've ever read on STW. Good work.

(Obviously that's excluding the "Lance is a ****" style posts, which are a little more succinct)

NB for Halfords, do you do mystery shops? Do you send in a "customer "with real world bike issues and see how the shop deals with it, do you also have secret cameras on these mystery shoppers so there is no ambiguity on the feedback?
If not maybe you should then you will weed out your shite staff and every one else will always wonder if there next customer is a mystery shopper.
This is what my company do and it works, national retailer too

Yes well said MBoy!

What about the support network at Halfords for them as well. Hi can I get a Super Record mech for the Pinerello I bought from you 6 months ago?

If you buy a bike from halfords where do you have to take it if there are any issues within the first year? That's why I won't buy a halfords bike.
Plus I don't want to look like you peasants (he says owning a Giant a Marin and a Spesh!)

I wonder if they're going to stock the Team Sky Rapha kit alongside them? The Rapha fans will be crying in the streets.

Why will they lose credibility by selling them in Halfords? My first MTB was a Carrera Vulcan from Halfords-I chuffin loved it, even if it did weigh a tonne!

You've answered your first question with your second sentence.

I got the Boardman Team CX from Halfords this summer,and it's turned out to be the best value bike I've ever had.

And a further answer to the question. Nothing wrong with Halfords, nothing wrong with Carrera or Boardman, but they are all perceived as being value-driven. Value is not a term associated with Pinarello which markets itself as a premium, aspirational brand.

I can only see it working if it is in fact a branding exercise and they are going to massively expand their range for volume sales with cheaper alloy bikes badged up as Pinarellos, with the odd Dogma sat around along with loads of pictures and Sky merchandise to give them kudos. I can't see Halfords actually selling Dogmas etc.

I can only see it working if it is in fact a branding exercise and they are going to massively expand their range for volume sales with cheaper alloy bikes badged up as Pinarellos, with the odd Dogma sat around along with loads of pictures and Sky merchandise to give them kudos. I can't see Halfords actually selling Dogmas etc.

I suspect they'll do the entry level ones, not sure about producing a specific line solely for the Halfords market. I think them doing Dogmas would cause issues, unless they also have some specially trained staff (which they may). How many people on here even would know how to set up EPS and glue tubs? Your average Halfords employee? Of course some will be fine, but I doubt many IBDs give their teenage Saturday boys the Dogmas to build.

Anyway back to topic. I suspect Halfords may be using one of the Carrera factories to help with production numbers. The "better than half price" Cav replica is likely to be a lie

I assume that's a joke - the picture is:
a) not a Sky replica in spec or colour
b) a £7000 bike

As above, not sure what you mean about the Carrera factories? They're not making Pinarello, merely selling them. I really can't see they'll do a specific 'budget' line of bikes.

wouldnt have bought a pinarello from anywhere , let alone halfords.

pinarello have not had a good reputation for a long time.

a mate was sponsored for triathlon by them and they even managed to stiff him when his frame broke - trying to find and get used to a new bike in time for the world champs.

[url= http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/halfords-to-stock-pinarello-36180/ ]Not doing Dogmas[/url] just entry level road and urban bikes. Seems reasonable. They're still expensive for what they are, but it keeps the really posh ones aspirational.

Halfords do mystery shop, or did when I worked for them as a manager a few years ago.
Pinarello will most likely be seeded into stores in the same way that Airborne was. Stores with highest sales of 'premium' bikes (Higher end Boardman & Carrera, Voodoo) will be given Pinarello bikes in stock, maybe one or two of them. You will be able to go to those stores any either buy from stock or order. Any other store will be able to order for a customer but not for stock.
Many of Halford's 'Cycle Specialists' are either Cytech qualified or training although I have to admit I don't know which level they go to. They will more than likely be the ones who would be tasked with PDIing a Pinarello. In the same way as your LBS Saturday boy wouldn't be trusted with it neither would a Halfords part time sales assistaant who has been asked to cover holiday absence in the Bikehut dept.

Well if they focus on the entry level ones they're not really any more expensive than a Boardman, so it's a bit of a moot point.

But yes, that's the point I was making about the top end bikes, if they were doing them, which they're not.

Iirc even the top end Boardman road bikes aren't available through halfords, so seems to follow a pattern

Hmmm brands that halfords killed....saracen, kona, airborne, voodoo..

Some serious BS on this thread.

I bet boardman is in the top three brands owned on this forum if not the top.

Really? I doubt that I must say.

add GT to the list of brands they killed.

boardmans a different kettle of fish.

boardman represented value - the others they just downgraded the bits to a price point - in GTs case they made crappy heavier frames and gave them similar names to that which the LBS could get ... average joe the punter just saw forks and rear mech were better on the halfords bike and thought he was getting a deal.

one thing i noticed - it was usually a last ditch attempt as the importer or manufacturer went pop not long after. coincidence maybe.....

add GT to the list of brands they killed.

Really?? GT going globally Bankrupt was a direct result of them being sold by Halfords?

I wish I'd filled my boots with Halfords shares back in the Summer