Peter said, inter alia,
Places like
Quoted message said:Licktons and Branford would pay more for shimano they sell, they didn't like
that.
For record straightening purposes, Lickton's continue (continues?) to
be a Shimano Authorized internet dealer.
Branford's dealings, from their website:
Shimano America is implementing a new distribution program that
authorizes select retailers to sell Shimano products via the web and
mail order. In a recent letter to Branford Bike Shimano America stated
that the purpose of their new sales policy was to "ensure that
consumers are provided with the highest levels of service, receive
proper product and warranty information, and that Shimano's products
are promoted in a manner that furthers Shimano's reputation for
quality products."
We called Shimano America and asked George Eubanks, the policy
creator, for a clarification. George Eubanks stated that he was not
familar with Branford Bike and then added that we were not on
Shimano's list of six "authorized web retailers". However if we agreed
to stop selling all Shimano products over the web we would still be
allowed to purchase them for resale through a brick and mortar store.
We explained to him that we only sold Shimano products via our online
catalog and previously with a paper catalog. We added that Branford
Bike has sold Shimano products for over 28 years and currently
serviced riders on every continent including Antartica. George Eubanks
explained that this was their policy. However in a year or so there
may be an opening and we could apply for "authorized web retailer"
then. He added that soon they would be sending a list of banned
retailers to Shimano distributors. He assured us that we would be
included on that list if we continued to sell Shimano products via our
online catalog.
As a result we have decided to discontinue all Shimano products from
our Online catalog. Many are on sale already and they will be removed
from our catalog once our stocks are sold out. We regret that we can
no longer offer Shimano's fine products to our customers around the
world. If you would like to speak with Shimano America or George
Eubanks you may call them at 800-423-2420 or fax them at 800-206-0010.
You may also call them at (949)951-5003.
Recent Developments...
Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) did some excellent
investigative reporting in regards to the Shimano price fixing issue.
They established that there is an active and ongoing effort by
multiple manufacturers in the bike industry to blacklist specific
dealers so as to prevent them from selling their (the manufacturer's)
product at a discounted price. BRAIN discussed how it is illegal for a
manufacturer to require a retailer to sell at a specific price if that
retailer is buying the manufacturer's products from a middleman or
wholesale distributor. However, it is legal for a manufacturer to
require that a retailer sell their products at a specific price if the
retailer buys those products directly from the manufacturer. Thus the
idea, we believe, behind Shimano's policy of forbidding their
distributors from selling to any internet or mail order retailer. By
setting up "Authorized" Web/Mail Order retailers Shimano can legally
require that the prices of their products be fixed at a price Shimano
believes riders should pay.
Click on the underlined text to read the complete BRAIN article.