Originally Posted by
Mobile 155
And you could advertise Omafiets till you were blue in the face and "enthusiasts' wouldn't buy enough of them to keep even one LBS open.
Exactly my point. And non-enthusiasts, who would be interested, wouldn't see the advertising, because they have no reason to read the bike magazines or forums. That doesn't mean non-enthusiasts wouldn't buy and ride them if they knew they were available.
Enthusiasts know where to look to find purpose built commuting/utility bikes like those used in places with high bicycle modal share. Non-enthusiasts do not. (I suspect if Walmart started carrying Flying Pigeons, they would be one of their better selling adult bikes.)