# Fewer Bianchi Dealers?



## KillerQuads (Jul 22, 2002)

Two different bike shops in my area have dropped the Bianchi Brand. Currently, none of the many bike shops in my city sell Bianchi. Maybe there is less brand loyalty. Maybe Italian bikes don't carry the same panache with younger riders. Maybe asian manufacture of some models diluted the Bianchi brand name. Maybe the current Bianchi range has too many models that are hard to stock. We have a new Performance retail store as well as two new high end bike shops, so local competition is fierce. Also, why did Team Liquigas drop Bianchi in favor of Cannondale?


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## lx93 (Jun 14, 2007)

That's interesting- according to the Bianchi website, there are 3 dealers close to me here in Virginia Beach; at least 2 of those have stopped carrying Bianchi as well.

I like my '97 CDI, but one has to wonder what's going on now in 2007.


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## Bianchi67 (Oct 16, 2005)

KillerQuads said:


> Also, why did Team Liquigas drop Bianchi in favor of Cannondale?


Cannondale out bid Bianchi. Same as Quickstep and Specialized. Pro teams ride whatever sponser puts up the most $.


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## Robbie59 (Apr 12, 2006)

The closest Bianchi dealer to me claims they dropped him because he didn't do enough volume to satisfy them. He told me his biggest reason for carrying Bianchi was to have an affordable steel road bike in his showroom. His main product line is Giant. He replaced Bianchi with Jamis and has been selling decent amount of Quests, Novas, and Auroras.


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## Bee-an-key (May 5, 2007)

Many different reasons why shops switch. Bianchi dropped Sky Yeager who was the american designer for Bianchi and are doing more direct from Italy. Sky would try to pick the best product for the American market. In some cases it was wasteful because they were producing bikes for the U.S. market only and the economy of scale was poor. In Europe the cataloge is almost the same in each country. Sky was also the brains behind the Rollo crap that junked up the cataloge for a couple of years.
Bianchi, like most Italian/Euro companies is different to deal with than the U.S. or Tai/Japan/China. Different mentality that is not always great for the LBS with the customer who expects to walk in and ride out or they will buy some place else where they can. Cannondale, Specialized and Trek want their shops, and incentivize them, to become more company stores. All bikes, clothing and accessories from one brand. Bigger is better, more discounts, more selection....which we know is not true. Trek has as many problems supplying product at the right time as anyone else.
Diversity. Face it, Bianchi is beautiful and romantic on the high end and the hard core (single speed, track-fixed, Milano) but even when they supplied the number one MTB rider in the world you never saw people riding a Bianchi high end MTB. LBS make money on being able to sell mid range family bikes. Good markups, easy to build, easy to plan your year around when ordering, everyday bikes. Bianchi's core of comfort and 500-700 dollar bikes does not compete with the same bikes coming out of Asia from Jamis, Fuji, and the others.
So if you are a pro shop, Bianchi works with lots of other small guys like Cervelo, Orbea, Pinarello, but for the guy selling to the yellow bracelet crowd..... "give me red, white and blue not Celeste"


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## lx93 (Jun 14, 2007)

I've never had any problems w/ my CDI. But if I crashed and had to order a new steed today, one item that would concern me would be possible warranty issues.

Another post stated that you pretty much had to go thru a Bianchi dealer for them (warranty issues to correct problems). 

If you live 50, 200 and up miles away from the nearest dealer, or don't have a car, that could be a major inconvenience.


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## CaseLawZ28 (Jul 14, 2005)

A very reputable shop in NC (Colnago, DeRosa, etc) dropped Bianchi because Bianchi wanted them to carry their full line of bikes and more of them. They had no interest in being forced to carry product that wasn't in their business plan, so they axed them.


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## KillerQuads (Jul 22, 2002)

Maybe it is a problem with Celeste green. Women find it difficult to color coordinate that shade and American men may not find it macho enough. I am not kidding, consumers these days are very fickle and color is a major deciding point with new bikers. Plus they have no concept of cycling tradition.

I agree that Bianchi's current product line is too extensive. It looks like it was designed by 8 different commitees.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

Brand loyalty or color have nothing to do with it. Bianchi USA is a jacked up co... 3/4 or 4/5 dealers here droppped them or were dropped last year. I ended up finding a shop that would ship the bike I bought... IIRC Bianchi discourages mail order, but that is what is sometimes needed if you really want one.


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## seany916 (Feb 8, 2006)

I ride Bianchi and love it. I'm sad and agree that fewer and fewer shops are carrying their bikes. Oh well, it's their business plan and the execution of it.


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## kazeebo (Jun 2, 2007)

Two shops near me basically traded Bianchi in the last 18 months. One dropped it after only one model year, then the other almost immediately picked it up. The first one stocked intermediate grade bikes, while the second is showcasing more upscale rides. No idea how well they're doing with it. I know my Pista took 4 months to deliver (ordered in Oct '05, delivered in Feb '06) and the shop was given no idea as to when it should arrive. 

A friend of mine bought an '06 carbon 928 in what must've been a size 50 or 53 (she's a tiny little thing) and the thing felt like a lead weight when I picked it up. I was super disappointed in finding that out b/c I'd always been a fan of the Luna even though I'd never been able to ride one (let alone see one in a shop).

While I like the Pista, I just think Bianchi is straying too far away from what everyone used to know them for (good quality italian steel) and are trying to compete in areas they just can't (carbon/ti). Granted, pretty interesting designs, but if interesting slows you down - who cares?


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## majura (Apr 21, 2007)

Same story, different country (Australia).

In my city, we had one shop - part of a chain of 3 shops whose income comes from spitting out Giant, Merida and Mongoose bikes. I'm pretty sure it was a bad move by Bianchi Australia- since as most of you have been saying, Bianchi really only appeals to more discerning buyers. A brand like that in a store that lives off (and known for) discounting and average service just wouldn't appeal to a potential Bianchi customer.


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## JimmyC (Feb 22, 2006)

Check out www.torpedo7.com.au or torpedo7.co.nz... they have crazy prices on Bianchi bikes at present, probably due to TdF being on. Seriously tempted by the 928 C2C 105 model... 

Dunno if they allow test rides, you'd need to come to NZ first anyway for that


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## JohnHemlock (Jul 15, 2006)

I like my Rollo!


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

alot shops of my part of los angeles have dropped bianchi too. wonder why.

but on the plus side, my new fav shop Cynergy Cycles has picked up Bianchi.


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## Mefistofeles (Sep 26, 2007)

Personally I think its operations Bianchi does not have its act together I remember putting money down on a Cross Concept probably at the start of August. Well the dealer calls me two weeks later and tells me that Bianchi does not have my size in stock and I need to get a 2008. 

So I tell him okay. By the begining of September I am begining to get anxious and call Bianchi and ask when when the Cross Concepts with the Shimano groups are coming in that they tell me maybe mid October. At this point my LBS has $2000 of my money and I ask Bianchi about the more expensive Concept Concept race, they say they are available for immediate delivery.

So I go to my LBS and pay the extra money to get a more expensive bike and get delivery. Compare that two ordering two Dahon bikes for my parents that are in stock and shipped within four days of the initial order.

A $2,000 bicycle is not a cheap POS and its really hard for the dealers when they can't get what they need. Its also quite an aggravating experience for the consumer. At that point I had to make a hard choice, either cancel the Bianchi, get another bike or ask for a refund, or upgrade.

If I had known what sort of trouble I would have to go to I would have certainly looked elsewhere.

Of course since I wanted a Cross bike and one with a carbon fiber fork and rear triangle my options were far more limited it was either the Bianchi or an outrageously expensive bike such as Colnago.

However if I wanted a road bike or a mountain bike, I would have certainly far more choices.

Of course the dealer mentioned that I wasn't the only customer who had been through this experience with Bianchi.

Now if you're a dealer and you almost lose a high end sale due to manufacturers ineptitude what are really suppose to do. Its obvious and that's why I think dealers are dropping Bianchi.


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## Bee-an-key (May 5, 2007)

your situation is nothing new to Bianchi or any other bike company Euro/American/Asian.
August is clearance time, end of season in the business and if they had a good year with their product they will be very low on stock on the hot bikes. For Bianchi it has been the fixed gears, single speeds, cross bikes. I have seen Trek, Jamis, Cannondale... all run out of product, be it style, color or size. For the big three it is the worst. They push the LBS to carry their product exsclusive, offer incentives but can not always deliver product. At the end of the year they tell the shop, "sorry you didn't make your minimums, your terms may not be as good next year, you need to carry more product." If you are a top 100 shop for one of the big 3 brands maybe you have a better chance at getting product. For the shop owner who can't get kids helmets, family hybrids or cheap shorts it is a nightmare. They loose credibility with the customer who then buys from Walmart or Target. Think about the scale of what we lust after, this hot italian porn is a rediculously small thing. If the average bike costs $300 and what we ride costs $2000, $5000, $7000 think about that in terms of the average person drives a $20000 Honda and we are talking about driving Ferrari at $250000. We are talking about product that is made in qty's of 1,000 versus 10 to 20 times that amount. No one is getting rich making or selling Italian bikes that are used for a sport that 100,000 people in this country have ever heard of. All the cross races in the US combined, how many spectators over those couple of months 15,000? There are a lot of races that have more participants than spectators.
Don't get me wrong, tomorrow morning I will put my $5,000 Bianchi on the roof of my $15,000 VW, think about how cheap it all is compared to going to a therapist, clear my mind, burn my lungs on cool fall air and be carried away to nirvana like every ride provides. On the way home I am lucky enough to be able to drop by any of the 4 or 5 Bianchi dealers in Central NJ and admire what hangs on their walls. In some ways I am jealous that these guys have dedicated their lives to bikes and must have the coolest job in the world, living the lifestyle. Then I think how it must suck when they walk a customer because of availability, get nickle and dimed by people wanting internet prices, how hard it is to compete against the big soulless shops and they do it all for $30,000 a year, no retirement benefits, no company provided health care. Work with your local shop, a good owner will get you what fits your needs be it for racing or fun. The truth of it is that it is a limited thing we want, not always available when we want it just like the Ferrari.


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