MEC and Ghost Bikes
German Brand in Canada
Date: 2012-02-02
Mountain Equipment Co-op has announced a partnership with German bike manufacturer Ghost Bikes, becoming the first North American retailer of the brand. Exclusive to MEC, Ghosts won’t be found anywhere else in Canada.
Ghost Bikes are designed in Waldsassen, Germany, with every model reflecting meticulous attention to detail. Already well-established in over 30 countries across Europe and Asia, Canadians can now enjoy Ghost’s excellent reputation for manufacturing bikes that offer excellent performance, beautiful designs, and superb German engineering.
MEC is initially carrying seven full suspension mountain bike models, two hardtail mountain bikes, plus one road bike – which will be available in stores across Canada.
“When we looked at expanding our mountain bike offering we knew we had to partner with one of the industry’s leading brands. Ghost was an obvious choice for us due to their complete offering of bikes and cutting edge technology across their line. Up to now, Ghost has had no distribution in North America, instead focusing on European and Asian markets. We’re excited to offer this awesome brand to MEC members and finally give them the chance to own a Ghost bicycle,” said Tim McDermott, Bicycle Product Manager at MEC.
Jens Steinhäuser, Senior Manager of Business Administration at Ghost adds: “We are proud to announce our partnership with Mountain Equipment Co-op and are convinced that we have the best possible partner to become successful in Canada. At Ghost, a member of Accell Group since 2008, we design and manufacture high-tech bikes. Olympic Gold, World Cup victories, and World and European Championship medals have proven how good Ghost bikes are. We develop bikes that passionate riders consider a premium-class product – combining pioneering frame technologies, perfect geometries, innovative design, and quality without compromise.”
Some highlights of the line include the high-performance Ghost AMR Lector 7700 XC bike, featuring a super-lightweight carbon fibre frame and high-end Shimano® components, as well as the Ghost HTX 29 Aluminum 7000 hardtail 29’er with a lightweight aluminum frame and sophisticated details like hydroformed tubing and specific chainstay length.
The Ghost line will complement the existing line of MEC brand road, urban and hybrid
bikes. For more information, visit mec.ca/ghost.
MEC's foray into the world of bike retail last year was successful, but didn't dip into the mountain bike side of things. With the partnership with Ghost, MEC obviously hopes to shake up the fat tire scene as well. What are your thoughts on Ghost bikes and MEC's distribution?
Comments
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Mec is killing local bike shops!
Gee - I didn't realize they made recumbent bikes in full suspension. :P
"Ghost was an obvious choice for us due to their complete offering of bikes and cutting edge technology across their line." allow me to edit- 'Ghost was an obvious choice for us due to the fact that they would sell to us'.
i worked there, in mgt for 8 yrs, still buy from the place, but the bullshit factor is off the scale. just got an email from them (as did half of you) about gearing up for the tropics. essentially, MEC long ago became LL Bean, exclusively for the office set. funny.
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Originally Posted by cunningstunts
(Post 2614783)
"Ghost was an obvious choice for us due to their complete offering of bikes and cutting edge technology across their line." allow me to edit- 'Ghost was an obvious choice for us due to the fact that they would sell to us'.
i worked there, in mgt for 8 yrs, still buy from the place, but the bullshit factor is off the scale. just got an email from them (as did half of you) about gearing up for the tropics. essentially, MEC long ago became LL Bean, exclusively for the office set. funny. |
Lector? Are you serious? Were they designed by Hannibal?
Why did'nt McDermott approach Rocky? They coulda' partnered Rocky w/MEC, built a brand spankin' new factory in China and built to spec.
Please forgive me, I'm only an MEC member because they were the place to get good hiking gear in the late 70's. I need to spend a gift certificate, but otherwise I'll try not to be seen there. How could such a great concept have gone so wrong.
MEC are definitely using their tax advantage in an unethical way. With bikes they are now muscling in to markets that can in no way be described as not already being well served in Canada. Their original mandate was to bring in climbing gear that could not be purchased in Canada at the time. This is the only reason they got their tax status in the first place, branching out into a market as saturated as the bike market is unnecessary and unfair on those who have spent decades building up an industry only to find themselves unable to compete with the behemoth that MEC has become.
I agree ^^^^^^^^^
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Originally Posted by horizontally opposed
(Post 2614809)
Please forgive me, I'm only an MEC member because they were the place to get good hiking gear in the late 70's. I need to spend a gift certificate, but otherwise I'll try not to be seen there. How could such a great concept have gone so wrong.
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/sarcasm.
Why does everyone hate on MEC so much?
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Originally Posted by biggles604
(Post 2615134)
Making outdoor gear available to the masses? Yeah, they went so terribly wrong with that one.
/sarcasm. Why does everyone hate on MEC so much? |
jealousy?
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Originally Posted by Bushman
(Post 2614794)
can you send me a link....i need to gear up for the tropics
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"Even though these are designed for ice they work great on wet slippery clay in the tropics".
To explain my comment:
It seems odd that with so much local bike design talent, MEC went with a German company. Ya I know everything is manufactured in Taiwan. And maybe there's more to the story than meets the eye, but on the surface, it looks like a slap in the face to several companies who operate in the same region as MEC. Whatever, we're all free to express our beliefs with our wallets.
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Originally Posted by horizontally opposed
(Post 2615179)
To explain my comment:
It seems odd that with so much local bike design talent, MEC went with a German company. Ya I know everything is manufactured in Taiwan. And maybe there's more to the story than meets the eye, but on the surface, it looks like a slap in the face to several companies who operate in the same region as MEC. Whatever, we're all free to express our beliefs with our wallets. |
On the flipside, mec may also be deliberately trying not to step on Canadian toes and finds it easier to bring in an unknown brand, which is way simpler from a marketing perspective.
I am always of two minds about mec. I like cheap stuff and the coop concept is great, when it solves a market failure. But I don't like the idea of rolling over small business due to advantageous tax situations and the sheer size that mec has built up due to special tax treatment and lack of need for profit. It's a tricky situation and in the case of bikes I am not convinced there was a problem that mec needed to solve. Is mec as growth-driven as for-profit business? It shouldn't be.
Any business can pay and deduct a patronage allocation. This is not a unique deduction for a coop. Your favorite LBS could choose at year end to pay amounts back to their customers in proportion to purchases, as cash or shares, and deduct the payments like any other cost.
They choose not to.
Is MEC cheap?
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Originally Posted by tungsten
(Post 2615169)
Here you go.....
"Even though these are designed for ice they work great on wet slippery clay in the tropics". |
thats dumb....i was hoping for some cool shorts and hi tec sweat wicking shirts with nano cooling fans and brown girl repellent.
Watch out for them bikes, two mates got the Ghost DH it came with mis-aligned axles as is the rear axel would go thru 1 side but not line up on the other , head tube out of line and bolts that come undone regardless of correct torques and locktite.
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Originally Posted by horizontally opposed
(Post 2615179)
To explain my comment:
It seems odd that with so much local bike design talent, MEC went with a German company. Ya I know everything is manufactured in Taiwan. And maybe there's more to the story than meets the eye, but on the surface, it looks like a slap in the face to several companies who operate in the same region as MEC. Whatever, we're all free to express our beliefs with our wallets. |
People will still whine, but they will at least only be whining about the usual.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
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Originally Posted by biggles604
(Post 2615134)
Making outdoor gear available to the masses? Yeah, they went so terribly wrong with that one.
/sarcasm. Why does everyone hate on MEC so much? |
If mec is so bad, why do so many outdoor fitters thrive around the Vancouver location?
Why do the US bike shops not whine as badly as the Can. Bike shops, is REI not pretty much the same as MEC?
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Originally Posted by Bryan
(Post 2615341)
If mec is so bad, why do so many outdoor fitters thrive around the Vancouver location?
Why do the US bike shops not whine as badly as the Can. Bike shops, is REI not pretty much the same as MEC? |
Haters will hate and lovers will love. I am in the middle and could care less about either.
PS why have you not called me for a night ride.
REI in Seattle carries Marin, Scott, Cannondale, GT, Raleigh and Surley bikes.
"Any business can pay and deduct a patronage allocation. This is not a unique deduction for a coop. Your favorite LBS could choose at year end to pay amounts back to their customers in proportion to purchases, as cash or shares, and deduct the payments like any other cost.
They choose not to."
This is not the case at all, MEC do not have their particular tax status because they give back share dividends, that is something they have to do as part of it. Bike shops would not be able to get co-op status as MEC has it. To be granted it you have to prove you are selling to markets currently unserviced in Canada. Which of course the bike industry isnt.
REI although a co-op, doesnt have the same tax advantage as MEC so do not undercut LBD pricing to the same degree. Take a look at the pricing of the MEC bikes and you can see how aggressive they are being on price already.
I respect everyone's right to their own opinion, however I'm baffled by all the claims that MEC has an advantageous tax status. Co-ops pay corporate income taxes at regular corporate rates (which, incidentally are over twice as high as the small business tax rate that applies to bike shops). And as Hikite mentioned, deduction of the dividend to customers is available to all businesses, they just choose not to do this. Can someone explain what tax advantage you are referring to?
There is no unfair advantage, just different structures and objectives - owned by the customers rather than by private individual(s), and trying to put gear in the hands of users affordably rather than marking up products a little more to create a healthy return on investment for the owner(s).
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